RICS and its partners have launched CLEAR to create a global baseline for whole life carbon reporting, a move with major implications for sustainable construction, sustainable building design and environmental sustainability in construction. A consistent whole life carbon assessment will give developers, investors and regulators a stronger basis to compare projects, test net zero whole life carbon claims and measure the true carbon footprint of construction. It also sharpens scrutiny of...

A RICS-backed coalition is pushing sustainable construction into a stricter era of measurable performance. CLEAR aims to standardise whole life carbon reporting across the built environment, giving developers, investors and regulators consistent data on embodied carbon, embodied carbon in materials and the carbon footprint of construction. That creates a stronger basis for whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and life cycle cost decisions, all central to sustainable building...

An annual £22.1trn cost of resource waste is turning environmental sustainability in construction into a boardroom priority, pushing sustainable construction towards sustainable building design, sustainable design and eco-design for buildings that improve life cycle cost and cut the carbon footprint of construction. The strongest market signal is a sharper focus on whole life carbon, with whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment increasingly used to measure embodied carbon,...

The UK’s sustainable construction agenda is being recast by the Future Homes Standard and the debate over new towns, with sustainable urban development now judged on infrastructure, resilience and services as much as housing numbers. Environmental sustainability in construction is moving to the centre of policy, and sustainable building design must deliver low carbon design, energy-efficient buildings and net zero carbon buildings through stronger fabric standards and electrification....

{ "meta_title": "Sustainable construction pivots to resilience", "meta_description": "Flood defences, resilience economics and biodiversity carve-outs are reshaping sustainable construction around utility, risk and returns.", "digest_text": "Climate resilience is becoming the most bankable expression of sustainable construction. The Environment Agency's delivery of flood protection for 62,000 properties, beating its target by 10,000, shows where public spending is moving: towards asset...

UKGBC’s latest message is that sustainable construction will be won through retrofit, operational optimisation and tougher evidence, not through glossy replacement schemes. Upgrading existing commercial assets with low carbon design, better fabric and smarter controls is emerging as the most credible route to decarbonising the built environment, cutting the carbon footprint of construction and improving building lifecycle performance. That places whole life carbon, embodied carbon and a...

Procurement frameworks are emerging as a decisive tool in sustainable construction, moving retrofit from policy ambition to installed measures in warmer, healthier homes. Faster, more consistent routes to market support sustainable building design and sustainable building practices by tying delivery to whole life carbon, embodied carbon, embodied carbon in materials and life cycle cost, not just headline commitments. This is central to environmental sustainability in construction, where a...

Social housing is becoming the proving ground for sustainable construction, with Octopus Energy’s Tenant Power tariff addressing the split incentive that has long blocked retrofit investment. Clearer returns for landlords should accelerate energy-efficient buildings, sustainable building design, sustainable design and eco-design for buildings, placing whole life carbon, net zero whole life carbon, embodied carbon, embodied carbon in materials, whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle...

The Considerate Constructors’ Scheme has tightened and standardised its checklist and scoring model across the UK and Ireland, raising the bar for sustainable construction and environmental sustainability in construction. Clearer benchmarking should make procurement more rigorous and force contractors to support sustainable building practices, sustainable building design and sustainable design claims with measurable evidence on whole life carbon, embodied carbon, whole life carbon assessment,...

Sustainable construction is entering a stricter commercial and accountability phase. SDCL Efficiency’s planned wind-down shows that retrofit and energy-efficient buildings are vulnerable when investor confidence weakens, even though they remain central to net zero carbon buildings and to decarbonising the built environment. The message is blunt: environmental sustainability in construction must prove life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and durable returns, rather than rely on...