Tech talk | Green buildings for the future

A green buildings ‘revolution’ could open a $1.8 trillion global market opportunity by 2030 – but the supply chain is crucial, the World Economic Forum suggests.

Globally buildings are estimated to be responsible for over one-third of the carbon emissions. Therefore they are an obvious target when it comes to decarbonisation towards the 2050 net zero target.

As buildings cover a wide range of shapes and sizes and ownerships and uses, they potentially require different approaches towards decarbonisation. But overarching is the introduction of energy efficiency measures and practices and the installation of distributed energy resources such as rooftop PV and possibly storage.

That is for existing buildings and new buildings present an altogether different opportunity in that all these measures can be built in from the start – but there are various barriers that must be overcome and the building value chain needs to be unified, a new WEF study reports.

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Within this, China is expected to have a significant impact, as the largest building material and construction market, producing more than half of the world’s steel and concrete and accounting for half of the world’s new construction each year.

Green buildings

First off, what is a green building?

The WEF suggests that as choices such as design and construction materials will set the baseline of a completed building’s impact on nature for decades, a comprehensive approach to the green transition must consider the entire life cycle of buildings, from planning through construction to use and end of life.

Thus there are four key characteristics:

• Net zero life cycle, including circularity in material use, transition to renewable energy sources and enhanced energy efficiency;
• Nature positive, with the integration of nature-based elements and solutions such as green roofs, rainwater harvesting and stormwater management;
• Resilience, with adaptability to and mitigation of physical climate risks, and
• Physical and mental well-being oriented with leisure and other activities and access to shared facilities and public transport.

The report continues that various solutions to green buildings already exist, but they often address singular areas such as pollution reduction, net zero goals or human-centric sustainability in isolation.

To achieve a comprehensive green transition in the building value chain, a holistic understanding that encompasses climate, environmental and people’s needs must be developed.

CO2 abatement ‘levers’

The report identifies several ‘levers’ that collectively offer an estimated abatement potential of approximately 80% if properly implemented.

These are green energy supply, recirculation of materials and minerals, decarbonisation of traditional materials, heating and cooling system upgrades, integrated energy management, building insulation retrofits and upgrades, conversion to sustainable materials, shared facilities and services, self-sufficient facilities, water recycling and design for the four key characteristics.

Together, these levers are anticipated to have the potential to generate $1.8 trillion in value by 2030 for a range of stakeholders, resulting from rent premiums vs ‘brown discounts’ on less energy-efficient buildings, new market growth, differentiated value propositions and enhanced talent attraction for building sectors, according to the report.

Solutions for green buildings

To realise the green building vision, the report states that several critical enabling factors need to be addressed. These include regulations and industry standards, data and advanced technologies such as AI and biomaterials, and financing and upskilling support.

To overcome the barriers, four key enabling actions across the value chain are proposed:

• Align global standards and methods of measurement for green and sustainable buildings.
• Identify flagship projects to enhance coordination among players.
• Develop effective policies and incentives to offset any cost disadvantages.
• Engage start-up communities and value chain stakeholders to push for technological breakthroughs.

These solutions require players in the building value chain to form a unified community and work together to surmount obstacles and transform the vision of the buildings of tomorrow into a reality.

Summing up, Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, says: “The new frontier of growth and competitiveness for players in the building sector will be to develop materials, design construction methods and achieve operational outcomes that are net zero carbon, nature positive and resilient to extreme weather shocks while promoting community well-being and people-to-people connections.”

If you are involved in the green building market, how do you enable the technologies to work together?

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

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