The State of Finance for Nature in Cities 2024 report: From Grey to Green: Better data to finance nature in cities, highlights the need for better data and tools to help cities integrate Nature based Solutions (NbS) into their financial and planning frameworks. The report showcases how investments in urban nature can support cities in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, with global NbS financing needing to rise from USD 200 billion to USD 542 billion by 2030. Through case studies and an innovative Urban NbS Framework, this report guides cities on how to track, budget, and scale their investments in nature, offering a path toward greener, more resilient urban futures.
Pan‑European whole life carbon certification has expanded to logistics assets across ten countries, forcing transparent whole life carbon assessment and comparable lifecycle assessment in a hard‑to‑abate segment. If investors and occupiers adopt it as a procurement gatekeeper, embodied carbon and embodied carbon in materials become price drivers, supported by environmental product declarations (epds), circular economy metrics and building lifecycle performance data.
The UK revival of council housebuilding, with funding for tens of thousands of social and affordable homes, is a once‑in‑a‑generation lever for sustainable construction and puts environmental sustainability in construction at the centre of delivery. Locking in fabric‑first, energy-efficient buildings, low carbon building principles, low carbon construction materials and low embodied carbon materials at brief stage is essential to achieve net zero carbon buildings and net zero whole life carbon. Robust sustainable material specification, eco-design for buildings, sustainable building design and life cycle thinking in construction should be mandated to control life cycle cost and performance risk.
Operational decarbonisation is scaling. A major heritage estate cut fossil fuel use by over a fifth in a year and reduced total emissions by 17%, showing heat decarbonisation, controls and plant optimisation can deliver rapid carbon footprint reduction on complex sites and underpin carbon neutral construction goals. A leading facilities manager now claims market‑based net zero carbon for its own operations, a useful signal while on‑site abatement and resource efficiency in construction increase.
A new NHS community health centre designed around sustainability shows public clients reshaping briefs toward verified performance, resilience by design and lower whole life carbon impact. Specifications point to sustainable building practices, green construction and eco-friendly construction with green building materials, green building products and renewable building materials, evidenced through whole life carbon assessment and ongoing building lifecycle performance monitoring, aligned with standards such as breeam and breeam v7, and supporting low-impact construction and sustainable architecture.
Climate risk is present, with transport systems strained by wildfires and researchers advancing AI for predictive maintenance to pre‑empt infrastructure failures. Designers are being tasked to prioritise multiple safe egress, climate‑aware siting, green infrastructure and sustainable design that measurably lowers the environmental impact of construction and the carbon footprint of construction. Teams able to verify outcomes across lifecycle assessment, low carbon design, sustainable urban development and decarbonising the built environment will secure the next wave of work.
Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do
get in touch.
Let's chat!
WLC Assistant
Ask me about sustainability
Hi! I'm your Whole Life Carbon assistant. I can help you learn about sustainability, carbon assessment, and navigate our resources. How can I help you today?
