On a Tuesday morning in late August, Rosemary Penwarden protested climate inaction in New Zealand. She sat down during rush hour traffic on the main road linking Wellington Airport to the capital’s city center.
The next day, Penwarden was in Arohata’s women’s prison just north of Wellington. She had been charged with endangering transport—a serious criminal offense that carries a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment.
According to Kris Gledhill, a professor of law at Auckland University of Technology, the current charge is disproportionate to the offense. “It’s designed for people who do awful things like cutting the brakes on a car,” he said.
But a lack of options may have driven police to the charge, he added. The comparatively minor charges used previously were not deterring other climate activists taking similar actions. And under New Zealand law, there is no middle-ground offense.
That’s because New Zealand has not followed in the steps of several countries trying to quell disruptive protests. In an increasingly global trend, state and federal governments across the U.S., U.K., Australia and Europe have passed legislation to tackle obstructive protest techniques. However, whether they work is yet to be seen—so far activists appear to have been emboldened by the changes.
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📸: Restore Passenger Rail, Don Arnold/Getty Images, Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
A recent report by BSRIA stresses that construction retrofit projects are consistently underperforming due to overlooked communication with occupants. Insulation and energy-efficient buildings must be matched with clear education on how to use new systems. Success in achieving net zero Whole Life Carbon will depend not only on technical improvements but also on behavioural change. Without this integration, the carbon footprint of construction remains underestimated and long-term targets for decarbonising the built environment are at risk.
The global picture shows slow adoption of credible transition strategies. Fewer than 3% of large companies currently disclose actionable plans, exposing construction firms to reputational and financial risk. Transparent Whole Life Carbon Assessment and lifecycle assessment are no longer optional—they are becoming investor expectations. Firms that demonstrate robust low carbon design and sustainable building practices are best positioned to align future value with climate resilience.
Innovation in retrofit technology is starting to address gaps between safety and sustainable design. New systems such as retrofittable lowering poles reduce reliance on ladders in industrial settings. These solutions highlight the importance of eco-design for buildings, resilient lifecycle performance and Circular Economy strategies that enable safer, faster, and resource-efficient retrofits. Scalable safety innovation sits alongside sustainable construction as an enabler of wider carbon footprint reduction.
Attention is also shifting to water consumption across construction supply chains. Cement, steel, and other materials embody significant hidden impacts. Improving disclosures on Embodied Carbon in materials must be matched with accurate accounting of water risks during material extraction and production. Whole Life Carbon accounting must work in parallel with Life Cycle Costing analysis to avoid overlooking resource efficiency in construction, particularly in regions vulnerable to climate-driven water scarcity.
The UK Government’s new £1.1 billion funding package for decarbonising ports represents investment with long-term implications for sustainable urban development and green infrastructure. While not centred on buildings, the initiative underscores the growing demand for low carbon construction materials and renewable building materials in future marine and coastal development. Green construction strategies applied to port infrastructure will reinforce how the Circular Economy in construction can extend beyond traditional real estate.
Finally, evolving global standards are placing emphasis on human rights, environmental sustainability in construction and supply chain ethics. Rapid growth in renewable infrastructure demands due diligence on labour issues and sustainable material specification. BREEAM, environmental product declarations (EPDs), and end-of-life reuse in construction are tools increasingly tied to ethical sourcing. The link between sustainable building design and social responsibility ensures that low carbon building efforts are matched with credible commitments to people as well as planet.
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