Creating Circular Built Environments

Challenges ahead: Making the UN's Building Breakthrough a reality

Usha Iyer-Raniga (RMIT University) explains why a systemic and systematic approach is urgently needed to put the built environment on the right path to decarbonization, whilst recognizing countries are at different levels of progress. The UN’s Building Breakthrough agenda for a whole life cycle approach to the built environment and decarbonization is a game changer. This can place buildings and construction in a critical pathway towards decarbonisation and align with the long-term impact of decisions made today.

The planetary crisis trifecta facing humanity today are pollution, loss of biodiversity and a rapidly changing climate, mainly caused by increasing resource consumption (UNEP 2024a).  Calls for decarbonisation and associated action is needed NOW, more than ever, to ensure well-being, minimize impact and promote net nature-positive outcomes. The UNEP report states it is possible to reduce resource use while growing economies, reducing inequality, improve well-being, and reducing environmental impacts. However, bold action is needed to phase out unsustainable activities, catalyse responsible and innovative opportunities while promoting social acceptance.

In 2020, 55% of all global material demand was associated with the built environment and mobility. In 2022, buildings were responsible for global energy demand of approximately 34% and 37% of energy and process related CO2 emissions (UNEP 2024b). Most of this is demand is from high income countries and is not slowing down.

Material use has grown by an average of 2.3% per year and increased by a factor of 3 over the past 50 years. If not checked, material resource extraction could further increase by almost 60% from 2020 levels by 2060 (UNEP 2024a).

Building and construction policies

Globally, a collaborative effort is required to quickly decarbonise, which involves sustainability and circularity. The pressure on emerging economies where rapid infrastructure construction and important amenities such as housing need to be delivered quickly offers an opportunity, but policies for sustainable buildings and construction are still evolving. The EU’s Energy Performance Buildings Directive (EPBD 2024) requires member states to have emission reductions targets for buildings which include plans to phase out fossil fuel-based appliances in buildings, building renovation passports and renewable energy generated onsite.  

All over the world nations are acting, though countries are at different levels of progress. For instance, India and Indonesia are setting up new stringent standards, recognizing the importance of the built environment to decarbonise society (Raina 2023) and so are only at the start of their journey to decarbonisation (DEA 2022), with road maps to focus on liveable cities and eventually smart cities by 2045 (DEA 2022).

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to commit to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years. As of December 2023, 194 countries and the EU have submitted NDCs and 48 countries have updated or reaffirmed this commitment. Only 11 countries have however, considered buildings and the built environment as part of these updates (UNEP 2024b). Likewise, climate action roadmaps for buildings and construction do not exist with 161 nations still having to make a commitment to develop one. It is reasonable that nations should be at different levels of readiness, however when taken as a whole, the Global Buildings Climate Tracker (GBCT) (Kockat et a.l 2020) has shown that the global buildings and construction sector is not on track to realise whole-life carbon net zero new buildings by 2030 and an operational net zero building stock by 2050.

Towards action

To support international action on reducing the impact of the built environment, Buildings Breakthrough (BT), part of the Breakthrough Agenda was established, which sets a framework for all parts of society to strengthen their actions in key emitting sectors including the built environment, launched at COP28 in 2023. This year (2024) as part of BT, 10 Whole Life cycle (10WLC) recommendations have been launched, driven by the Materials Hub of the GlobalABC (GlobalABC et al. 2024). The framework was developed with input from over 100 academic, policy and industry professionals from over 42 countries in a consensus-based exercise. The ten recommendations are:

1.     Definition of near zero emissions and resilient buildings
Clarity and consistency in definitions are needed so stakeholders are clear on the terms being used. Terms such as whole life carbon, net zero, near zero and such others are not always clear across the different stakeholders of the buildings and construction industry.

2.     Alignment of whole life carbon standards
Standards, certification and attendant tools and methodologies underpinning the actions to drive circularity in the built environment need to be clear, transparent and consistent.

3.     Accessible and high-quality data
Evidence-based data needs to drive and support decision making across all stakeholders in the building and construction industry.

4.     Benchmarks for building emissions
A ‘cut and paste’ approach does not work for the industry. Context-based or place-based approaches, combined with monitoring and evaluation to close feedback loops enables a diversity of approaches to be used and supports effective decision-making. Voluntary measures may be used to engage the industry to embrace change before increasing stringency or changing to mandated legislative or regulatory options.

5.     Interoperable product standards
Putting such standards in place supports accounting for the environmental impacts of materials and products. The use of consistent metrics across all markets ensures decision-making is based on performance, rather than intent.

6.     Common language and diverse context
The use of a common language in diverse contexts enables a consistent and coordinated approach to support all actions to decarbonise buildings.

7.     Drive investment
Driving investment to near zero sets the framework to support market demand with procurement policies. Financing near zero supports greater investment, promotes international cooperation, and with appropriate tracking tools for monitoring and evaluation, formal and informal construction (an issue in developing countries) are also provided with the right feedback loops to continuously reduce environmental footprint arising from construction activities.

8.     Prioritise retrofitting
Valuing the extension of the life of the existing building stock and building retrofits is needed to serve changing needs of space function whilst improving efficiency and reducing life cycle emissions.

9.     Material circularity
Focusing on material circularity through sustainable circular building materials, components, products, and appliances when constructing, dismantling, renovating or refurbishing buildings linked with data, procurement, policy tools and market instruments are needed.

10.  Design for circularity
This approach promotes long service life of new buildings and sets the tone for building circularity and reducing resource use across the whole life cycle. New buildings should become the material banks of the future backed by robust and transparent data sets to support decision making.

Putting these recommendations into practice presents a challenge, but also an opportunity. ISO Standards released in 2024 (ISO 59004:2024 on vocabulary, principles and guidelines for implementation; ISO 59010:2024 on guidance on the transition of business models and value networks and 59020:2024 measuring and assessing circularity performance) present a level playing field for the industry. It also supports the industry to engage in establishing high quality data using life cycle approaches through the value chain of the industry, whilst ensuring transparency to support decision making.

Financing mechanisms in emerging markets will provide the impetus to change the industry and the market to consider new ways across the whole life cycle associated with the planning, design, construction, operation and deconstruction of the built environment. Going forward, it is critical to assure the sustainability and circularity of new building stock where building life can always be extended, lean design is the norm, lightweight buildings are designed and built, building materials include recycled content, and bio-based materials such as timber are used. Retrofitting of existing building stock retains value of the space and materials, and it also needs to respond to energy efficiency requirements. Buildings need to be used more intensively, and we need to use urban mining as material banks for future design and construction. 

This pathway needs to be strategically planned as, presently, the building and construction industry is too fragmented. The fragmentation needs alignment; vertical integration at local, national, regional, and global levels supported by robust policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks across nations. In addition, new ways of thinking and operating the built environment is needed, so reskilling, retraining, and new educational programs need to be developed for all the disciplines associated with the built environment. The 10 WLC arising from the buildings BT presents an opportunity to not just place the importance of buildings and construction in a critical pathway towards decarbonisation but also to align with the long-term impact of decisions made today.

References

DEA (2022). Roadmap for an energy efficient, low-carbon buildings and construction sector in Indonesia. Danish Energy Agency. https://globalabc.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/Roadmap%20for%20an%20Energy%20Efficient%2C%20Low-Carbon%20Buildings%20and%20Construction%20Sector%20in%20Indonesia.pdf

EPBD. (2024). Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/energy-performance-buildings-directive_en

GlobalABC, Whole Llife Cycle Policy Coalition for the built environment [WLCP.Co], RMIT University, Ministry of Environment Finland, Life Cycle Initiative, One Planet Network. (2024). 10 whole life cycle recommendations for the buildings breakthrough. https://globalabc.org/news/10-whole-life-cycle-recommendations-buildings-breakthrough

Kockat, J., Zuhaib, S. & Rapf, O. (2020). A methodology for tracking decarbonisation action and impact of the buildings and construction sector globally. Buildings Performance Institute Europe. https://www.bpie.eu/publication/a-methodology-for-tracking-decarbonisation-action-and-impact-of-the-buildings-and-construction-sector-globally-developing-the-globalabc-building-climate-tracker/

Raina, Gurvinder Pal Singh (2023).Decarbonising the built environment in India: addressing operational and embodied carbon. RICS Policy paper. https://www.rics.org/content/dam/ricsglobal/documents/reports/rics-cop28-policy-paper-india.pdf

UNEP (2024a).: Bend the trend: pathways to a liveable planet as resource use spikes. United Nations Environment Programme, International Resources Panel. https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/44902

UNEP (2024b). Beyond foundations: mainstreaming sustainable solutions to cut emissions from the buildings sector. United Nations Environment Programme. https://doi.org/10.59117/20.500.11822/45095

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