This baseline study report is an assessment of gender mainstreaming in the electric mobility (e-mobility) sector in Kenya. The study first delves into gender disparities prevalent in the transport sector, analysing the barriers that women encounter in using, operating, and interacting with the transport sector in Kenya. The study then assesses the current state of the e-mobility industry in Kenya, including the leading companies and key policies, and their gender sensitivity. Finally, the study evaluates the challenges and opportunities for boosting gender mainstreaming in the sector and developing the e-mobility industry to grow the pie for all. Women’s roles and agencies in the transport sector in Kenya serve as the beginning of this assessment, setting a baseline for the nascent e-mobility industry. Women’s usage of transportation, including trip types, modal choice and time of day are analysed to find out how women and men use transport modes differently. E-mobility’s recent developments are then parsed out through the policy environment and industry landscape, with an eye on gender mainstreaming. Key e-mobility related policies are assessed for their impact both on the e-mobility sector in general and their inclusion of gender mainstreaming. Several e-mobility companies are described with an eye on their employment of women, inclusion of women operators, and other gender-sensitive attributes such as working hours and safety design.
The Mersey Heat Network’s integration of heritage landmarks into a modern water-powered heating system marks a landmark in sustainable construction and environmental sustainability in construction. The retrofitting of Liverpool’s Grade II-listed Cunard Building, Georges Dock Building and the Museum of Liverpool shows how eco-design for buildings and low carbon design can reduce the carbon footprint of construction without compromising historic character. This project illustrates whole life carbon assessment principles, ensuring that heating efficiency, material preservation and operational performance combine to achieve net zero whole life carbon outcomes over each building lifecycle performance phase.
Centrica and National Gas have strengthened the UK’s decarbonisation pathway by trialling hydrogen integration in the national transmission network. Through this experiment in low carbon construction materials and infrastructure adaptation, the companies demonstrate how decarbonising the built environment can be achieved using transitional fuels. The effort’s success will depend on life cycle cost optimisation and a robust lifecycle assessment to verify genuine whole life carbon savings. Energy networks adopting such innovation could form a blueprint for carbon neutral construction strategies aligned with net zero carbon buildings targets.
The Co-op’s move into energy consultancy underscores the increasing role of business in practical sustainable building practices. By guiding organisations towards energy-efficient buildings, renewable sources and resource efficiency in construction, the service recognises the multidimensional benefits of sustainable design and green infrastructure. Its focus on life cycle thinking in construction and strategic energy procurement offers firms pathways to reduce operational embodied carbon in materials and total carbon footprint reduction while enhancing building lifecycle performance.
In parallel, the maritime sector’s push beyond methane-based propulsion technologies echoes lessons from circular economy in construction and circular construction strategies. Rotor sail innovation, once an anachronism, is being revisited as a model of sustainable material specification and eco-friendly construction thinking applied to marine engineering. This crossover shows how transferable principles of green construction and renewable building materials can transform adjacent industries and reinforce the broader circular economy vision underpinning global sustainability objectives.
Concerns around direct lithium extraction reflect the tension between innovation and unintended consequences in the transition towards low carbon building materials. Experts emphasise rigorous environmental product declarations (EPDs) and whole life carbon metrics to track the environmental impact of construction and related supply chains. Balancing end-of-life reuse in construction and fresh resource extraction will be essential to maintaining sustainable urban development and fair environmental management. The projects emerging across energy, infrastructure and design spheres reveal a sector committed to net zero carbon ambitions through evidence-based performance, resilience, and sustainable building design with measurable long-term results.
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.
