The idea of designing and constructing environmentally friendly buildings is not new. The so-called “green building” movement goes back as far as the 1960s and ’70s, when oil embargoes, rising energy prices and concerns about pollution came into public consciousness.
Rethinking buildings to combat climate change truly became part of the conversation in 1993 with the founding of the U.S. Green Building Council, or USGBC. The following year, the LEED certification program came into being and would transform the way we approach materials and construction.
LEED was the beginning of a series of goals and targets meant to drive the industry toward creating buildings that are less impactful, more efficient, healthy for occupants and resilient enough to face the challenges of a changing climate. The effort has become central to the philosophy of architects and other building professionals.
But the threats posed by climate change have not gone away. In fact, according to most scientists and recent reports from the International Panel on Climate Change, the need for action is greater than ever. And buildings are a significant part of the problem. The built environment generates about 40 percent of global CO2 emissions each year. Within that number, building operations are responsible for 28 percent annually and the embodied carbon from materials and construction are responsible for 13 percent annually.
However, buildings also can be a big part of the solution. The natural questions that arise for building professionals of all kinds: After 30 years, how are we doing? Where is the industry on its journey to battle climate change?
“The answer to this question is very different in different parts of the world,” says Matthias Hollwich, founder of HWKN Architecture. “In Europe, sustainability is becoming mandatory, and clients are competitive in making buildings more sustainable. In the U.S., it still feels more like it’s ‘nice to have’, and in the Middle East it’s just starting to become a thing. We are seeing progress. In London, we’re working on a reduced-carbon building, using a fascinating combination of material and geometry that generates efficiencies. What’s concerning is we are just not fast enough, and existing buildings are a big problem.”
“We need to give credit where credit is due to the green-building industry. LEED has been a foundational tool to initiate the conversation, and it’s really pushed things forward in terms of energy efficiency,” says Rachel Deradoorian-Beaudoin, sustainability engineer with Buro Happold. “What I love to see are more specific targets and frameworks coming to fruition; for example, MEP 2040 or Structural Engineers 2050. Having discipline-specific goals related to embodied carbon and other issues encourages those who are technically specialized to recognize their role, set more accurate targets and have an increased level of accountability.”
“People in the design and construction industry know how to reach sustainability and climate mitigation goals,” says Lotte Schlegel, executive director at the Institute for Market Transformation, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that seeks to advance public policy to improve U.S. buildings. “Corporate goals themselves have become more common among real-estate companies, real-estate investors and major tenants, and public policy is driving higher levels of performance, as well. All these demand drivers add up to a business case for high-performance buildings through the value chain. Now it’s a matter of bringing it all together.”
The Good
Progress is being made in many different areas. Industrywide, there is a greater emphasis on performance, carbon impact and materials transparency through environmental product declarations, for example. There are more tools in the toolbox than ever before to support a culture that is paying much more attention to the efficient use and reuse of materials and buildings themselves.
Additional initiatives, such as Architecture 2030, Living Building Challenge and Passive House, have gained momentum and given industry professionals a path to drive progress forward. Will is not lacking in the design and construction community, and there is growing acceptance of the role the industry plays and the responsibility it carries.
BANNER PHOTO: HWKN Architecture is working on a reduced-carbon building in London. The project uses a fascinating combination of material and geometry that generates efficiencies. PHOTO: courtesy HWKN Architecture