#GoodNews for our environment! 🐿️ A seven-year, EU-funded conservation...

EU Environment and Planet 2 hours ago

#GoodNews for our environment! 🐿️ A seven-year, EU-funded conservation programme has been launched in the Pannonian region to halt the decline of the European ground squirrel. The CitellusLIFE project aims to preserve and strengthen populations of the endangered species by establishing a “conservation safety net” to connect existing colonies. 🌊 Following the passage of Storm Goretti, strong winds and waves deposited large quantities of plastic waste along the Normandy coastline. This prompted a clean-up operation organised on 11 January in Fécamp by the Surfrider Fundation. More than 70 volunteers collected over one cubic metre of plastic debris, including bottles, caps, bags and cable sheaths. 🌬️ The Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security has allocated €60 million to the Piedmont region under a national €500 million programme aimed at improving sustainable mobility and reducing air pollution in urban areas subject to EU infringement procedures. 🪸 Portuguese government has approved the creation of the Blue Forest programme, dedicated to the ecological restoration of seagrass meadows, as part of the National Nature Restoration Plan. 💧 The Danish startup Vandrensnings.com has developed a mobile and scalable water treatment solution capable of removing up to 99% of PFAS from contaminated water, in compliance with the new, stricter limit values introduced in Denmark and at EU level. 🐦 The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) has been proclaimed Bird of the Year 2026 by SEO/BirdLife after a vote open to the public that has registered a record turnout with more than 11,000 votes. 🌱 Gävleborg County reports that it is proposing to designate an approximately 39-hectare marsh area around Lake Fräkentjärnen as a nature reserve. The proposed reserve contains habitat types and species protected under the Natura 2000 framework and the EU Habitats Directive. 🏞️ Serbia and Hungary are jointly implementing the EU-funded ADAPtisa project to improve cross-border management of the Tisza River amid increasing flood and drought risks. The initiative brings together universities and water-management authorities.

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 6 hours ago



The shift in sustainable construction is redefining how project success is measured. Attention is moving beyond carbon accounting towards hydrology, resilience, and site performance. Across drought-prone regions, water scarcity is reshaping planning, with authorities demanding evidence-based sustainable building design that integrates whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment. Developers are now expected to demonstrate life cycle cost efficiency and resource efficiency in construction alongside water-sensitive planning and low carbon design.

Major retrofits are bringing corporate estates closer to net zero whole life carbon performance. Deep upgrades, selective replacements, and low embodied carbon materials are reducing the carbon footprint of construction while strengthening environmental sustainability in construction. Such initiatives illustrate that the most valuable green infrastructure investment often lies in energy-efficient buildings and demand reduction, advancing goals for net zero carbon buildings and the broader circular economy in construction.

Whether in storm-struck regions of Scotland or landslide-affected Indian townships, hydrologic resilience, sustainable material specification, and circular construction strategies have become essential parameters for both embodied carbon management and long-term viability. Rebuilding without restoring watershed function or ecological value is now recognised as fiscally unsound and inconsistent with sustainable building practices. In response, project teams are applying eco-design for buildings and environmental product declarations (EPDs) to verify performance throughout the building lifecycle performance process.

Investors and corporate owners are prioritising district-scale upgrades that enhance low-impact construction, minimise embodied carbon in materials, and align with BREEAM and BREEAM v7 standards. Insurers and regulators are increasingly viewing net zero carbon and carbon neutral construction as preconditions for financial resilience. This signals a decisive shift: environmental impact of construction is no longer a qualitative measure but a determinant of economic continuity. The future of sustainable construction belongs to those who design for resilience, integrate circular economy principles, and prove through whole life carbon assessment that their developments are ready for both drought and deluge.

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