#WindPower is one of Europe’s largest clean energy sources, and last year even overtook natural gas as a source of electricity generation across the EU!
But, do you have your facts straight on wind energy?
✅ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 – Wind power combats emissions, and at least 85% of a wind turbine’s components can be recycled.
✅ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 – Onshore wind now costs less than half as much as coal.
✅ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 – Wind power contributes to lowering emissions and protecting biodiversity.
✅ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 – Wind turbines are quieter than you think, and their noise is even regulated.
✅ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 – Turbines don’t use much land, and their surroundings can be used for farming, nature, housing, or other purposes.
To get the whole picture, read our new article, link in bio!
A £400m UK government loan to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility tightens the link between embodied carbon and real forest outcomes. Bio‑based and renewable building materials will now be judged on credible, deforestation‑free supply chains as much as on glossy lifecycle assessment or whole life carbon assessment outputs, driving wider use of environmental product declarations (EPDs), green building materials and green building products. Expect stronger traceability, circular construction strategies and end‑of‑life reuse in construction when specifying low embodied carbon materials and low carbon construction materials to cut the carbon footprint of construction and support the circular economy in construction.
Updated damp and mould guidance from the Chartered Institute of Building and the Chartered Institute of Housing reframes indoor environmental quality as a health obligation, pressing social landlords towards whole‑house ventilation, insulation upgrades and continuous monitoring. The shift embeds sustainable building design and energy‑efficient buildings as compliance issues, with implications for life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and net zero whole life carbon pathways recognised by BREEAM and BREEAM v7.
A new retrofit procurement guide uses public spending to expand capacity, create local jobs and tackle skills shortages by baking training and labour targets into contracts. This gives sustainable construction and decarbonising the built environment delivery teeth, promoting life cycle thinking in construction, resource efficiency in construction and eco‑design for buildings, alongside sustainable material specification and low carbon building upgrades that support carbon neutral construction.
Escalating climate risks—from European wildfires to transboundary smoke and cascading Himalayan floods—are accelerating environmental sustainability in construction and sustainable urban development. Design for resilience is becoming core to net zero carbon buildings and green construction, with fire‑hardening, smoke filtration, heat‑safe interiors and green infrastructure specified to reduce the environmental impact of construction, deliver carbon footprint reduction over whole life carbon and strengthen eco‑friendly construction and sustainable architecture.
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