Browsing: Sustainability

As trends shift within the construction industry, one question is still in the forefront: How do we make our buildings efficient, sustainable, and cost neutral? For this reason, the Passive House Standard has become more prevalent within growing economic markets as well as larger cities pushing to meet demanding carbon reduction goals. Passive House construction significantly contributes to carbon reduction and aligns well with net-zero design ambitions in many ways.

Each year, DOE releases an annual report with key findings, updates, and metrics from the Better Buildings Initiative. Year over year, Better Climate Challenge and Better Buildings Challenge partners are pursuing ambitious GHG, energy, water, and waste reduction goals, and sharing their proven solutions with the marketplace.

A Seattle Amazon Fresh location has received a Zero Carbon Certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), becoming the world’s first grocery store—and Amazon’s first building—to receive the certification. ILFI awarded the certification in September, and is currently evaluating four additional Amazon locations, which are on track to achieve this validation of their carbon-reduction efforts.

Going green can save green and ensure long-term success, industry leaders say.

For that reason, construction executives continue to stress the need for environmental, social and governance initiatives and integration within construction, according to a recent panel session during the 2023 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.

With statutory regulation growing alongside investor pressure, several leading construction companies have announced net-zero targets in the past year. Such pledges are the culmination of an industry that is transitioning towards sustainability being the rule, as opposed to the exception, with BREEAM ratings, the reuse of concrete frames, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, smart management of energy consumption, and low-greenhouse-gas construction processes becoming largely adopted on construction projects throughout London.

Construction sites are known for their excessive water usage and generation of liquid waste, both of which have a negative impact on the environment. Despite the importance of efficient water management, it is often overshadowed by the focus on carbon emissions reduction in construction. This is partly due to the fact that water-related issues tend to be more localized and may not have as immediate a global impact as climate change. Additionally, there may be a lack of awareness and understanding of the importance of efficient water management in the construction industry.