This is a Summary for Youth of Global Waste Management Outlook 2024: Beyond an age of waste Turning rubbish into a resource. Jointly published with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and the cthe report provides an update on global waste generation and the cost of waste and its management since 2018. The analysis uses life cycle assessments to explore what the world could gain or lose through continuing business-as-usual, adopting halfway measures, or committing fully to zero waste and circular economy societies. The report also evaluates three potential scenarios of municipal waste generation and management, examining their impacts on society, the environment, and the global economy. Furthermore, it presents potential strategies for waste reduction and enhanced management, following the waste hierarchy, to treat all waste materials as valuable resources. Further Resources: Global Waste Management Outlook 2024
Europe’s transition towards a low carbon economy is entering a decisive phase as the European Commission extends carbon pricing to municipal waste under the Emissions Trading System by 2031. The inclusion signals a new commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of construction and accelerating decarbonising the built environment. Industrial sectors face mounting pressure to demonstrate compliance through whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment, aligning infrastructure investment with measurable environmental sustainability in construction. The emphasis on embodied carbon in materials and whole life carbon performance is shifting regulatory focus towards data transparency and circular construction strategies.
The Scottish Government’s approval of two gigawatt-scale wind projects in the Moray Firth represents a milestone in sustainable construction and sustainable building design. Offshore contractors are adapting to hybrid infrastructure that merges energy generation and marine engineering, advancing eco-friendly construction that meets net zero whole life carbon targets. These projects demonstrate sustainable building practices integrated with green infrastructure and renewable building materials to achieve carbon neutral construction outcomes and reduce the carbon footprint of construction.
Lincolnshire’s forthcoming sustainable aviation fuel refinery confirms the sector’s evolution towards life cycle cost optimisation and resource efficiency in construction. The project model embraces life cycle thinking in construction through low embodied carbon materials and end-of-life reuse in construction, illustrating how eco-design for buildings and industrial systems underpin sustainable material specification. Urban and regional developments now depend on verifiable carbon footprint reduction and environmental product declarations (EPDs) rather than stated intent.
These changes define a reshaped market where sustainable design and circular economy in construction reinforce investment resilience. Sustainability is no longer peripheral but central to energy-efficient buildings and low carbon design. The sector’s credibility increasingly rests on BREEAM, BREEAM v7, and other frameworks assessing building lifecycle performance. Net zero carbon buildings and sustainable urban development have become the benchmarks of value, proving that in construction today, performance extends beyond structural integrity to demonstrable environmental impact of construction and whole life carbon accountability.
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