Aaron Higgins
Aaron is a Boden Group Director, and Head of Boden Property. He's passionate about supporting net zero projects, and works with clients and candidates in Project Management, Development Management, Quantity Surveying and white collar site staff.
Working towards net zero isn't a new concept.
However, it might be time to rethink the strategy for reaching net zero within property development. For the first time since records began, the UK has experienced 40 degree heat. Climate change and its effect are being felt in very real terms now.
But despite this reality, the promises of COP26 already feel like a long time ago. Real estate owners need to act. While developers have committed to targets that support the UK’s climate change targets for 2030 and 2050, many simply won’t make it. Short term mindsets have made it difficult. There are lots of pressures on the industry at the moment. Investors and developers are dealing with the realities of:
– supply chain issues,
– labour shortages,
– rapidly rising energy costs,
– inflation,
– the war in Ukraine.
Real estate owners are used to looking at the energy efficiency of their buildings. Many have put in place schemes to reduce energy use and wastage. But it’s embodied carbon that creates the biggest emissions in property development. Embodied emissions come from the extraction of raw materials, manufacture, transport, and construction.
Why is there such a large gap between government pledges and the reality of embodied carbon emissions? Put simply, there is no regulation or legal imperative to improve them. Developers have a reason to look at the energy efficiency of completed buildings, but not at the construction methods.
So how can the industry move forward and close the gap between targets and reality?
The first step is to define net zero
The UKGBC has led the way in defining net zero. reducing the demand for energy and materials to a level that can be met by sources that don’t emit greenhouse gasses. Offsetting should be a last resort.
The target trajectory for energy efficiency for commercial offices is to reduce energy demand by 60% by 2050. But again, the focus is on energy usage, and no targets exist for embodied emissions.
There needs to be a clearer view of the levels of reduction required for embodied carbon. Once that picture is complete, developers will have a better understanding of what targets need to be in place for embodied emissions.
Step two is to acknowledge a whole carbon approach
Embodied carbon contributes between 30% and 70% of a typical building’s total lifecycle emissions. So pursuing net zero in whole lifecycle emissions of buildings, rather than just operational emissions will be crucial to making long term impact. This means identifying and reducing trade offs between embodied and operational carbon. A whole life cycle approach needs to guide our big decisions, and in many cases the biggest of all is whether to demolish or refurbish.
Constructing new buildings almost always generates more carbon emissions than regenerating existing ones. Existing assets bring with them lower embodied carbon.
For developers looking to achieve net zero across whole of life, exploring refurbishment over rebuild should be the preferred option.
For example, in Amsterdam, the old head office of the ING bank has recently been renovated into a sustainable residential tower.
One option is to mandate whole-life carbon assessments for buildings over a certain size. Another is to ask trade off questions for every decision, e.g. Does triple glazing save enough operational carbon to justify its embodied impact?
Step three is to incentivise innovation
The way to make meaningful steps towards net zero will be though innovation in building and renovation projects. There is a huge amount of opportunity for designers and developers to introduce innovative building methods and sustainable material choices to the build process.
- Hydrogen-powered energy systems,
- The use of timber frames rather than structural steel,
- The installation of solar panels on rooftops,
- Modular construction methods
All these could all have huge impact on embodied and operational carbon emissions in new developments.
Step four is to build for long life
New buildings will always create embodied carbon emissions. This is why adopting a long-term mindset to development is crucial. When designing and constructing new build developments, incorporating the principles of ‘long life, loose fit’ into the design improves the chances that they will stand the test of time.
Thinking forward about what can be done to ensure easy redevelopment or change of use in the future is an important way to deliver lower emissions long term.
What’s clear is that achieving net zero within property development cannot occur while the sector is only measuring operational emissions. While more than 20% of emissions created within the construction sector come from embodied carbon, addressing this issue and incentivising better practice is now crucial.
