Discover the latest milestone in global health collaboration with the release of 'The guide to implementing the One Health Joint Plan of Action at national level ' by the Quadripartite Collaboration on One Health. Launched during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, this guide provides a strategic blueprint empowering nations to bolster their One Health strategies, vital in mitigating the far-reaching impacts of a changing climate on all life. Highlighting actionable pathways like governance, sectoral integration, and knowledge, this guide champions successful One Health implementation. It is designed to help countries at different developmental stages of putting One Health into action, encouraging teamwork and involving different sectors. Aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, One Health is a key part of keeping people healthy in the long term. It brings different sectors such as health, agriculture, education together to work towards common goals and make sure everyone's health is covered. The collaborative mandate of the Quadripartite members— United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and World Health Organization (WHO)—is centered on tackling challenges across human, animal, plant, and environmental domains. This concerted effort aims to foster a more integrated and coordinated approach.
- UK on‑site solar is accelerating, cutting energy bills for energy‑efficient buildings and strengthening low carbon design pathways to net zero carbon buildings. Projects that pair rooftop PV with storage and demand‑side response advance decarbonising the built environment and improve resilience where grid access is constrained.
- BloombergNEF reports a global fall in renewables investment in H1 driven by policy shifts in China, tightening supply chains and finance for sustainable construction. Developers should diversify procurement and financing to protect sustainable building design goals and maintain momentum toward carbon neutral construction.
- Grid connection delays now shape delivery risk. Housebuilders face long queues behind data centres, slowing electrification of homes, heat pumps and EV charging. Private wires, co‑located storage and flexible loads offer near‑term optionality, with stronger cases for green infrastructure and connection reform to reduce the environmental impact of construction.
- Materials decisions are shifting to whole life value. Clients are prioritising whole life carbon, whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment over headline embodied carbon, using life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and life cycle thinking in construction to guide sustainable material specification. Environmental product declarations (EPDs), low embodied carbon materials and renewable building materials support eco‑design for buildings and resource efficiency in construction.
- Engineered timber and other green building materials can cut the carbon footprint of construction and embodied carbon in materials, yet rising prices are compressing margins and increasing latent defect risk. Robust specification, quality assurance and end‑of‑life reuse in construction are essential to protect warranties and deliver net zero whole life carbon with low‑impact construction.
- Resilience finance is scaling. A drought‑resilience platform launched at COP17 aims to mobilise up to $400m, reflecting a shift to paying for disasters before they occur. After the Himalayan floods in Nepal, insurers, lenders and planners are pricing resilience into approvals, premiums and valuations, embedding environmental sustainability in construction and supporting sustainable urban development.
- Delivery guidance for the sector: target carbon footprint reduction where policy tailwinds exist; build optionality into power supply; select low carbon construction materials and green building products for performance over decades; apply circular construction strategies and circular economy in construction principles; align designs with BREEAM and BREEAM V7 for credible sustainable building practices; pursue net zero carbon and eco‑friendly construction through sustainable design that withstands volatile markets and grid constraints.
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