The BRE’s 2025 BREEAM Awards have spotlighted exceptional achievements in sustainable building design, with key recognition given to projects and individuals advancing environmental sustainability in construction, especially across the U.S. The event highlights the growing adoption of whole life carbon assessment and challenging green building standards worldwide, confirming the built environment’s momentum towards lower-carbon, energy-efficient buildings and net zero whole life carbon targets.
Suffolk, a major industry player, has released a white paper focused on accelerating climate technology within sustainable construction and infrastructure. The report addresses strategies and barriers to deploying innovations that can drive down the operational carbon and embodied carbon of new developments. It presents approaches for reducing the carbon footprint of construction through technologies aligned with lifecycle assessment and low carbon design, supporting stakeholders in achieving net zero carbon buildings.
In the UK, debate around Labour’s forthcoming Planning Bill continues, with conservation groups expressing concern about risks to biodiversity and eco-design for buildings amid urban expansion. Calls have grown for planning policies to ensure sustainable urban development by integrating natural habitats and applying life cycle cost thinking in construction, balancing urban growth with resource efficiency and strict protections for green infrastructure.
Construction businesses face emerging reporting requirements on water risk, as new guidance from WaterAid supports companies in preparing for disclosures under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Effective water management and transparency are now vital to broader ESG commitments, reflecting improved building lifecycle performance, eco-friendly construction practices and the environmental impact of construction in both new and existing projects.
The circular economy in construction continues to gain traction, driven by corporate ESG goals and the need for low embodied carbon materials. Global market forecasts suggest that waste-to-fuel technology could reach $2.4 billion by 2030, harnessing construction and demolition waste to create energy-efficient, low-impact construction solutions and advancing circular construction strategies that close material loops.
Significant investments in materials recovery infrastructure have been announced, with Turmec’s £15 million contract for a new Glasgow Materials Recovery Facility allowing for end-of-life reuse in construction. These advancements optimise resource efficiency in construction by recovering materials, reducing emissions, and contributing to the shift towards decarbonising the built environment and net zero carbon objectives across the sector.
