It’s time to rethink what sustainable construction really means (Whitepaper and Podcast)
06/03/2021
Organisations in the public and voluntary sectors play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of the built environment – both directly, as landowners and developers, and indirectly, in their role as place-shapers.
Often, however, they face a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, they are expected to deliver homes, workplaces, services and amenities that meet community needs, both as they exist today and as they may evolve in the future. On the other, they need to do all this while meeting demanding sustainable development goals, operating within the constraints of a complex regulatory system, and working within finite budgets.
Our latest whitepaper, Sustainability in a changing built environment: Rethinking sustainable construction and development, discusses some of these challenges and importantly, outlines steps organisations can take to help get this balance right. This includes practical measures, such as fire and flood mitigation, and strategic suggestions, such as working with partners to address common sustainable development goals.
Download Sustainable Construction Whitepaper
Listen to the Sustainable Construction Whitepaper (33mins)
A number of important themes are covered in our report:
Sustainability isn’t just about a narrow set of targets
Discussions about sustainable development often focus on the decarbonisation of buildings, and about how the use of different methods and materials can help towards meeting net zero construction targets. These targets matter, of course, but it is also vital that buildings are adaptable, affordable to run and live in, and are fit for purpose.
Delivering sustainability means ensuring properties are built to last
Above all, buildings must be resilient. They must be built in a way that gives them the best possible chance of withstanding a major loss event, such as a fire, escape of water, flood, windstorm or heatwave. There is often a failure to understand that building resilience is a significant contributor to sustainability goals. In our whitepaper, we explain that while some contemporary construction methods and materials may have a lower carbon impact than more traditional methods, they may also be significantly more likely to require complete reinstatement in the event of a major loss, which can undermine their sustainability credentials.
Retrofitting once and well is crucial
It is estimated that 80% of the built stock that we will have by 2050 already exists today . To take residential development as an example, as well as focusing on requirements for new housing, we must also consider how best to retrofit the 29 million existing homes in a way that meets future low carbon and energy efficiency standards, while satisfying climate change mitigation and adaptation requirements.
The regulatory system isn’t working
In order for organisations to be able to deliver on sustainability, the regulatory system must be fit for purpose. Currently, it is failing to keep pace with the changing needs of the built environment. Building regulations guidance is updated too infrequently and there are construction materials widely used today for which there is still no recognised test methodology.
In our whitepaper, we explain how Zurich has been engaging with stakeholders across Parliament and industry, as well as organisations in the public and voluntary sectors, to try to achieve consensus on the need for change across a number of key policy areas – one of which is building regulations.
The end user must be at the heart of decision-making
In our conversations with key stakeholders, we emphasise the societal impact of a major loss, for example vulnerable residents being displaced from their homes, or schoolchildren missing out on education. It is the people who use our buildings who have most to lose when the worst happens. Sustainable decision-making must put the end user first.
