A new report on climate-resilient urban development stresses the critical need to align sustainable building design with increased climate risk. As floods and droughts intensify globally, construction stakeholders face mounting pressure to implement net zero whole life carbon strategies. Rising housing demands in high-risk zones make it imperative to adopt low carbon design principles, integrating whole life carbon assessment from early planning stages. Without action, urban expansion risks becoming unsustainable.
The rapid expansion of circular economy practices is redefining the construction sector. New research comparing circular-native companies with traditional counterparts shows that embracing circular economy in construction can directly accelerate growth. Developers incorporating end-of-life reuse in construction, reuse-and-repair systems and closed-loop supply chains are seeing economic and environmental returns. This reinforces the shift towards sustainable construction models backed by lifecycle assessment and life cycle thinking in construction.
Major investments in resilient infrastructure, like the $48 million upgrade to water and wastewater systems by Pennsylvania American Water, underscore the foundational link between green infrastructure and sustainable urban development. To support eco-friendly construction, utility resilience must be embedded into planning. Without robust base systems, the environmental sustainability in construction falls short, regardless of green building materials or façade standards.
The new ESG report from SmartCentres illustrates the growing industry trend of environmental transparency. As property developers standardise reporting on the environmental impact of construction, the sector moves towards measurable carbon footprint reduction. Alignment with platforms such as BREEAM and the wider use of environmental product declarations (EPDs) are becoming vital tools in driving carbon neutral construction and improving sustainable building practices.
Successful decarbonisation methods in heavy industry are offering scalable lessons for the built environment. INEOS’s £30 million hydrogen conversion at its Hull facility, which reduced emissions by 75%, signals potential for hydrogen integration into low carbon construction materials. This kind of innovation supports efforts to reduce embodied carbon in materials and contributes to wider goals of decarbonising the built environment.
Nature-based innovations are challenging conventional concepts of material sourcing. Kerecis’s award-winning use of fish skin in medical applications highlights the value of renewable building materials sourced through unconventional means. For construction, this exemplifies how sustainable material specification and green building products can be reimagined through bio-based solutions, reducing the carbon footprint of construction and enhancing bio-circular solutions across project lifecycles.
