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@NASA climate scientists travel far and wide to study water in all its forms.
Celebrate #EarthDay by sharing a #GlobalSelfie with us ā and bonus points if itās near water!
Image descriptions:
1: A woman kneels down in the snow, wearing snowshoes and a bright orange jacket. She is looking down at a scientific instrument in her hands.
2: A man wearing a black leather jacket and brown shirt takes a selfie in front of a light blue glacier. Between the man and the glacier is a small area of patchy grass. A second person in the background is walking toward the glacier.
3: A woman sits on a wooden boat with her legs stretched out toward the camera. She is smiling and wearing a bright orange life vest. In the background is a light blue body of water. A blanket of white clouds cover most of the blue sky.
4: A woman sits on a tan-gray rock to the right of the image. She is wearing a deep purple colored shirt and black pants. One of her legs is tucked up while the other hangs off the side of the rock, and her arms are gently crossed. The woman is at a higher elevation than the background, so the landscape behind her can be seen a far distance. The landscape to the left of the image is a nearly flat ground in dark green, brown, and orange colors, and centered in the image is a lake which is reflecting the color of the sky off of it. Above the horizon, the sky is a bright blue color, but is covered slightly by sparse gray clouds.
Momentum in sustainable construction is now driven by tangible progress in materials and methods rather than declarations. The focus on reducing embodied carbon in materials and undertaking robust whole life carbon assessment is reshaping how developers, architects and engineers define sustainable building design. Initiatives such as the Reducing Plastics in Construction Summit reinforce the value of renewable building materials, eco-design for buildings and circular economy in construction frameworks to eliminate petroleum-based polymers and improve resource efficiency in construction.
Biobased composites, recyclable resins and modular approaches are being evaluated through lifecycle assessment tools that can accurately measure the carbon footprint of construction and inform sustainable material specification throughout each project stage. Digitisation is rapidly becoming integral to low carbon design and energy-efficient buildings. Advanced platforms now enable unified modelling of cost, performance and carbon, aligning lifecycle cost optimisation with environmental sustainability in construction.
TM2āÆByggās software-led method illustrates how low carbon building processes built on data-driven insights help achieve net zero carbon buildings and deliver improved building lifecycle performance. At the policy level, regulators are reinforcing requirements for measurable reductions in embodied carbon and clear evidence of net zero whole life carbon outcomes. These shifts point toward an industry-wide transformation grounded in whole life carbon transparency and the adoption of BREEAM v7 and other sustainable building practices to standardise reporting.
The result is a market that values circular construction strategies, end-of-life reuse in construction and environmental product declarations (EPDs) as verification of a projectās environmental impact of construction. New renewable energy infrastructure, including nextāgeneration geothermal systems, could redefine the carbon footprint reduction potential of green building materials and low carbon construction materials. As baseload renewables expand, achieving carbon neutral construction and sustainable urban development becomes increasingly viable. The sector is moving beyond pilot projects toward a mature phase of green construction, integrating life cycle thinking in construction and decarbonising the built environment as core business practice.
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