As our founder and chairman @AlGore said yesterday: For climate advocates...

Climate Reality 2 years ago

As our founder and chairman @AlGore said yesterday: For climate advocates across the country, the outcome of this election means that all of us must find ways to redouble our efforts and find bipartisan solutions to the climate crisis that create jobs, promote prosperity and safeguard the future of humanity. In a moment such as this, it is important to remember that all major reform efforts, from civil rights to the climate movement, suffer dark days. And this is surely one. We can mourn a loss, but we can’t linger in despair. Our planet doesn’t have time for that. Now more than ever, this movement needs engagement and leadership from all corners of the country. During a down moment in the struggle for civil rights, Martin Luther King, Jr. said something about overcoming days like this: “If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.” We know the line to solutions is never straight or easy. But we have won major victories in tackling the climate crisis and reducing climate pollution in our country, and we will again. My greatest source of hope comes from the courage and commitment of grassroots leaders and advocates in the U.S. and around the world who are relentlessly pushing for progress. Onward.

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 11 hours ago



Low‑carbon construction materials that once featured only in research pilots are now being deployed across major European projects, signalling a tangible shift towards sustainable building design and environmental sustainability in construction. The European Patent Office refurbishment in Vienna integrates Holcim’s ECOPact concrete and ECOCycle® technologies to minimise embodied carbon while demonstrating architectural excellence. The project exemplifies the practical application of whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment, setting a benchmark for net zero carbon buildings and low carbon design across Europe.

In the UK, construction supply chains are increasingly defined by circular economy principles and resource efficiency in construction. Record renewable energy generation is enabling low carbon building sites powered by cleaner electricity, and the emergence of electric maintenance fleets underscores the shift to carbon neutral construction. The economic rationale for decarbonising the built environment is reinforced by a recent study linking reduced emissions to a measurable “clean air dividend” that enhances life cycle cost outcomes for both public health and infrastructure investment.

Financial institutions are embedding climate risk into portfolio management, with pension funds pressing developers to disclose embodied carbon in materials and adopt environmental product declarations (EPDs). This growing demand for transparency is driving sustainable building practices aligned with BREEAM and emerging criteria under BREEAM V7. The Duchy of Cornwall’s move to verify regenerative farming practices points to tighter integration between land management and construction supply chains, connecting healthy soils with lower embodied carbon concrete and renewable building materials that support a circular economy in construction.

The trend is decisive: sustainability has evolved from a narrative into an operational standard defining net zero whole life carbon strategies, green construction performance, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction. Replicating proven models such as Vienna’s will determine how rapidly the built environment achieves coherent, large‑scale transformation toward eco‑friendly construction and measurable carbon footprint reduction.

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