Aecon Group has expanded digital sustainability management across its construction projects by integrating ISNetworld® into its operations. This shift reflects a growing reliance on data-driven platforms within sustainable construction to enhance supply chain transparency and meet increasing regulatory and client requirements for low carbon design and resilient infrastructure. Improved reporting capacities support both whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment, which are now essential elements as the industry moves towards net zero carbon and net zero whole life carbon goals.
In the UK, community response to solar farm development highlights the ongoing debate between renewable energy infrastructure and local acceptance. While solar initiatives contribute to national decarbonising the built environment targets, their integration brings attention to the need for sustainable design and environmental sustainability in construction, especially where energy-efficient buildings and green infrastructure intersect with everyday life. Balancing local perspectives with eco-friendly construction is now a key consideration in sustainable urban development and planning permission processes.
Global efforts to streamline carbon credit trading, demonstrated by Project Ensemble’s focus on tokenisation of voluntary carbon credits, are likely to impact the construction sector. This could simplify efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of construction and encourage uptake of low embodied carbon materials and carbon neutral construction practices. Expanding access to carbon credits may result in increased investment in low carbon building projects and further adoption of circular economy strategies, supporting overall carbon footprint reduction objectives.
Recent rankings of Delhi’s top architects underscore a movement towards sustainable building design, with a focus on eco-design for buildings, resource efficiency in construction, and the use of green building materials. Projects are prioritising both embodied carbon in materials and operational carbon, showcasing that whole life carbon is central to contemporary sustainable architecture. These trends are shaping city landscapes as sustainable building practices and building lifecycle performance remain priorities in the global architecture and construction communities.
Battery recycling innovation, notably in black mass recycling and hydrometallurgy, is addressing waste from electric vehicle batteries, increasingly relevant to construction as electric equipment usage rises. Improved end-of-life reuse in construction and circular economy in construction approaches ensure more eco-friendly outcomes and reduce environmental impact of construction, aligning with industry targets for life cycle cost optimisation and sustainable material specification.
Industry analyses stress the growing prominence of green hydrogen technologies and adaptive reuse for historic buildings. Green hydrogen promises opportunities for decarbonising the built environment and supply chains, while adaptive reuse demonstrates life cycle thinking in construction by reducing embodied carbon and promoting the circular economy. Both developments reinforce the importance of building strategies that minimise environmental impact and promote sustainable building practices globally.
