If you picked up my book, Sustainable in a Circular World, then you know I sound the alarm about how our world needs to move from grey to green, fueled by design techniques that are sustainable in a circular economy. The construction industry is a big contributor to this movement, as I mentioned in my book and as we continue to see in new reports.
A new report from Nature Communications suggests the carbon footprint in the global construction sector is set to double by 2050. Simply insane! It seems we are heading in the wrong direction. Let’s unpack what exactly is causing this predicted spike and some solutions for addressing it.
Why are we heading in the wrong direction? Well, the challenge is each year that passes the world’s population is increasing by roughly 80 million. We are projected to have 9.7 billion by 2050. This growth will happen in cities, placing a high pressure on the need for more housing and infrastructure. Simply, it means there will be more construction projects, and thus more carbon emissions.
What exactly causes a large carbon footprint in the construction industry? The research suggests in 2022 more than half of the construction industry’s carbon emissions stemmed from cementitious materials, bricks, and metals, while glass, plastics, chemicals, and bio-based materials contributed 6%. The remaining 37% comes from transport, services, machinery, and on-site materials.
What dangers, then, lurk ahead? This spells bad news for any hopes of meeting the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming and keep the rise in mean global temperature to well below 2 °C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels, and preferably limit the increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F). Now we see the construction carbon footprint alone will exceed the per-annum carbon budget for the 1.5 °C and 2 °C goals in the next two decades. While many might have doubted this target, nothing happens without setting goals. People, companies, and governments become lethargic and even lackadaisical, becoming unwilling to work to make the world achieve the same common goals.
What, then, can we do to solve this challenge in front of us? Well, perhaps it starts with a revolution. Let’s break this down.
If more than half of carbon emissions stems from materials, perhaps we need to move to replace traditional materials with biobased materials. Here at Constructech, we have looked at how materials can change to reduce carbon emissions. We have also unpacked how AI (artificial intelligence) might help impact cement. We have also highlighted case studies and new innovations for cement-free concrete.
Of course, materials are only one part of the equation. If another 37% comes from transport, services, machinery, and on-site materials, perhaps we can use technology to identify ways to save costs in these areas? We have highlighted many times the need to decrease scope 3 emissions in the supply chain. And, of course, fleet management and AI can help reduce fuel consumption.
Here’s the stark reality though. Leveraging just one of these single efforts won’t be enough, multiple strategies must work in tandem. It takes a concerted effort—a concentrated effort around the globe. We must restore natural ecosystems through innovation. We need environmental, social, and financial resources to collaboratively work in concert to build up the digital age and lead to transformation. We need real disruption in all industries, perhaps most importantly the construction industry. Technology will be a tool to aid all of this. It’s more than thinking about this just as an evolution. We must commit to advancing cutting-edge approaches in work. We must take a giant step forward into a new way of working. It won’t be easy—but it will be necessary for the future of work.
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