The construction industry is responding to rapid global urbanisation, with efforts underway to address environmental sustainability in construction and reduce the carbon footprint of construction. Startups are providing innovative solutions, helping established companies embrace sustainable building design, whole life carbon assessment, and low carbon construction materials. The integration of circular economy principles and resource efficiency in construction is gaining ground, with industry leaders introducing circular economy in construction strategies to promote end-of-life reuse in construction.
Material reuse and recycling initiatives, such as AkzoNobel’s Community RePaint network, have demonstrated practical approaches to circular construction strategies by diverting millions of litres of surplus paint from landfill to beneficial community projects. These partnerships show how circular economy efforts can reduce embodied carbon in materials and the overall environmental impact of construction, while also supporting sustainable material specification and delivering life cycle cost benefits.
Product innovation continues to accelerate, with new low embodied carbon materials and green building materials gaining industry recognition. Technologies like Diasen Diathonite Thermactive.037 insulating plaster and IndiNature’s IndiBreathe Flex insulation, recognised through awards like Ofgem’s Innovation Uplift, set new standards in low carbon design and energy-efficient buildings. These eco-design for buildings solutions contribute to net zero carbon buildings targets, supporting both retrofit and new developments.
Retrofitting projects are becoming central to sustainable building practices, as seen with deep home refurbishments such as the Ward Grove project. These efforts improve building lifecycle performance and operational carbon reduction, helping to decarbonise the built environment without the need for extensive new construction, while supporting net zero whole life carbon objectives at local, national, and international levels.
Regulatory progress is also visible, with planning reforms for heritage sites increasingly supporting a balance between heritage conservation, energy performance, and sustainable design. Technological advances in energy storage and energy recovery from leading HVAC and storage companies further drive life cycle thinking in construction. Collectively, these trends mark a shift towards carbon neutral construction, green infrastructure and sustainable urban development around the globe.
