Grasslands — also known as prairies, steppes, pampas or savannas — are home to 25% of the world's population and all kinds of plants and wildlife, including elephants, rhinos and lions.
They also combat climate change by absorbing carbon from the air and storing it underground. Yet, even though they cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface, just 12% of grasslands are protected, with conservation efforts often overlooking them.
As a result, they are suffering heavily, especially through land degradation — such as the loss of vegetation cover due to overgrazing or the loss of key species due to pollution, agriculture or invasive species — and the replacement of native species with crops.
"We are advocating for the protection, sustainable management and restoration of grasslands and savannas globally," Leonie Meier, WWF Global Grasslands and Savannahs Initiative Lead, told CNN's Yara Enany at COP16, a conference of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, ongoing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, until December 13.
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A surge in regulatory focus and material innovation is realigning sustainable construction with measurable outcomes. Advances in fire protection for cross-laminated timber are addressing long‑standing barriers to its wider use in mid‑ and high‑rise projects, reducing the embodied carbon in materials while improving safety performance. As whole life carbon assessment becomes central to procurement and design, engineered timber is emerging as a key component of low carbon building strategies aimed at achieving net zero whole life carbon outcomes.
Natural England’s nature recovery plan demonstrates a shift in policy towards environmental sustainability in construction by integrating green infrastructure and ecological resilience into national planning frameworks. This alignment supports sustainable urban development that balances economic growth with resource efficiency in construction, underpinning a more accountable approach to the environmental impact of construction.
Private investment is beginning to parallel policy ambition. Enfinium’s proposal to implement carbon capture at its Parc Adfer energy‑from‑waste plant represents a step towards decarbonising the built environment. Such projects indicate a move from compliance to proactive carbon footprint reduction and support life cycle cost thinking in construction by addressing emissions across the full operational and material spectrum.
In Salford, approval of the £1.3 billion Regent Park redevelopment highlights how low carbon design principles and sustainable building practices are shaping real estate investment. The scheme exemplifies eco‑design for buildings that integrate renewable building materials and energy‑efficient buildings into commercially viable frameworks.
Professional bodies are reinforcing these trends. Collaboration between RICS and the UK Regulators Network signals a systemic effort to embed whole life carbon, lifecycle assessment and environmental product declarations (EPDs) into asset valuation and planning. The approach redefines sustainable material specification and circular construction strategies as fundamental financial tools rather than optional design features.
Across the sector, sustainable building design is being quantified through whole life carbon metrics that link life cycle cost with circular economy performance. The shift towards net zero carbon buildings and carbon neutral construction confirms that the future of green construction lies in verifiable data and continuous optimisation of building lifecycle performance rather than reputational aspiration.
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