Anzeige• 🇪🇺 Most EU citizens live near a protected Natura2000 site …...

EU Environment and Planet 5 months ago

Anzeige• 🇪🇺 Most EU citizens live near a protected Natura2000 site … and don’t even know it. 🌿 All the photos in this post were taken in my home region – within 30 km of where I live. 🫶 Some literally right outside my front door. They show landscapes from smaller and larger Natura2000 sites like the Bienwald and the Pfälzerwald – areas that are not just beautiful, but vital for protecting biodiversity in Europe. 🌲 I’m proud to support the @ourplanet_eu campaign to raise awareness for Natura2000 … a network of protected areas across Europe that help preserve our most valuable habitats and species. 🐾 But here’s the problem:
👉 81% of Europe’s protected habitats are in poor condition.
We’re losing what makes our landscapes so unique – sometimes without even realizing it. You don’t have to travel far to find wild beauty.
It might be just around the corner or right in your city.🏙️ 🗺 Want to know what’s protected near you?
Check the Natura2000 viewer: natura2000.eea.europa.eu
Or use the Natura2000 chatbot to discover the species that live next to you. Because only what we know, we can protect. 💚 *Advertisement #naturephotography #landscapephotography #nature

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 10 hours ago



The sustainable construction sector has demonstrated measured progress this week, with multiple projects advancing low carbon design principles and reinforcing a global shift toward environmental sustainability in construction. The UK finalist for the Earthshot Prize has attracted international attention with its “upcycled skyscraper” concept. The project exemplifies how sustainable building design can decarbonise cities by reusing existing structures rather than rebuilding, cutting embodied carbon in materials and reducing the overall carbon footprint of construction. It shows that net zero whole life carbon targets are achievable when adaptive reuse is supported by rigorous whole life carbon assessment. This approach represents a pivot away from demolition-led development and towards truly circular construction strategies.

G F Tomlinson’s completion of the Barnsley College University Centre modernisation delivers a tangible demonstration of sustainable building practices rooted in lifecycle assessment. The retrofit has safeguarded the building’s Art Deco heritage while integrating a low carbon building methodology that promotes energy-efficient buildings and greener infrastructure. By retaining the original structural frame, the project has cut the embodied carbon of construction, proving that low carbon construction materials and renewable building materials have comparable performance to conventional options when guided by life cycle thinking in construction. The work also highlights the significance of BREEAM and emerging standards such as BREEAM v7 in defining measurable sustainability benchmarks.

In Cambridgeshire, work is commencing on the £500 million Medworth Energy from Waste facility, a major investment designed to support a functioning circular economy in construction and energy supply. Through combined heat and power systems, the development will assist future net zero carbon buildings by providing renewable energy outputs while applying whole life carbon methodologies to reduce lifecycle emissions. Although energy-from-waste has detractors, its integration with eco-design for buildings reinforces its potential as part of wider carbon neutral construction strategies that prioritize resource efficiency in construction and whole life cost management.

At the global level, the announcement of the Earthshot Prize finalists underscores that sustainable design and green construction principles now define the benchmark for engineering relevance. With emphasis on embodied carbon reduction and net zero carbon pursuits, these initiatives promote sustainable urban development grounded in measurable environmental product declarations (EPDs) and transparent assessment of the environmental impact of construction. The shift signifies a maturing understanding that building lifecycle performance is fundamental to both commercial resilience and global climate commitments.

Concerns surrounding delays to the European Union Deforestation Regulation highlight the risk to sustainable material specification. Timber and green building materials remain vital in achieving low embodied carbon materials for eco-friendly construction, and a policy setback could compromise supply chain transparency. Safeguarding sustainable architecture relies on consistent international standards that support end-of-life reuse in construction and drive decarbonising the built environment. The week’s stories collectively show that sustainability in the built environment has evolved beyond aspiration—whole life carbon analysis, circular economy methodologies, and life cycle cost integration are now the practical core of how future cities will be designed and built.

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Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do get in touch.