MVRDV’s Post

Please see below an important article from Practitioners on decarbonising pathways for commercial assets. The Net Zero team at Mace have put together this comprehensive paper that explores different decarbonisation pathways as well as the various environmental and financial benefits available. #RealEstate #Retrofit #Decarbonisation #builtenvironment #renewables #collaboration #esg #strandedassets #climate #property #sustainability

It’s hoped a new nationally consistent approach will provide “the right foundations to reaching net-zero carbon in the construction of new commercial buildings”. https://bit.ly/4eG0FkO

Knowledge sharing is how we better the building sector so here’s the latest #LCA and #CO2 news to you from today’s expert hearing at the Danish Parliament (see recording: https://lnkd.in/e59W6wBE) Feel free to share 📤 -The current CO2 limit value in the Danish building code is 12 kg CO2 eq./m2/years for new buildings above 1000m2. - BUILD - Department of the Built Environment now has data from almost 300 Danish buildings of which 163 will lay the foundation for the CO2 limit value in 2025. The buildings range from 6-14kg CO2 eq./m2/year (housing has the lowest emission and educational buildings the highest). On averages 90% of the emission comes from materials and 10% from energy consumption in these cases which is a development from the 75%/25% share found in the 60 cases used for the current 12 kg CO2 eq./m2/year limit value. - Including the life cycles phases A4-5 and B1-B2 will approximately add 1,8 and 1 kg CO2/m2/year to the building total carbon emission respectively. - 3 reports on this are on the way from BUILD. - There are a growing number of examples of e.g. housing and offices with a carbon emission as low as 2,8 and 5,2 kg CO2 eq./m2/year respectively. - Signatures are being collected by stakeholders for a limit value of 5,8 kg CO2/m2/year to meet the Paris agreement. - A contractor demonstrated that going from 8,9 to 6,22 kg CO2 eq. /m2/year on the same type of building only costed an additional 1000kr/m2. Thanks to the speakers for sharing: Harpa Birgisdóttir, Thilde Fruergaard Astrup, Steffen Maagaard, nel jan schipull, Micki Aaen, Hans-Bo Hyldig and Annemarie Munk Riis As always a pleasure to meet my fellow fire souls at these events: Luzie Rück , Buket Tozan , Agnes Garnow , Christoffer Ole Olsen, Signe Sand and many more. #Sustainability COWI

Thanks to the Structural Timber Association Ltd for the invitation to share more about UK NZC Buildings Standard and the RIBA's 2030 Climate Challenge as part of their event on #NetZero. After sharing some thoughts on how the profession needs to mobilise their creative and technical talents to address the #climateemergency, and to bring about a radical shift to delivering measured #sustainableoutcomes, I left the delegates with some homework. We need this 'homework' to be mainstreamed and become business as usual. Are you up for the challenge? 👉 Familiarise yourself and start using the NZC outcome metrics: ✍ Operational Energy in kWh/m2/yr ✍ Upfront Embodied Carbon in kgCO2e/m2 ✍ Lifecycle Embodied Carbon in kgCo2e/m2 ✍ Fossil Fuel Free ✍ Demand Management ✍ Onsite Renewables in kgCO2e/kWp ✍ Refrigerant Leakage (with GWP limit) #sustainabledesign #builtenvironment #construction #architecture

"Sustainability is a global challenge requiring a global solution, however, its successful implementation often depends on local actions. It is at the city level where policies meet people, where global goals encounter local realities, and where the vision of a sustainable future is brought to life. Hence, city-level #sustainabilitypolicies are not just important - they are essential." Principal Engineer, Callum Smith's latest article on #urbansustainability has been published in the Construction Week Middle East's September issue. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dJ9VeXNF #urbansustainability #globalcollaboration #urbanpolicies #climatechange

Worldwide, the construction industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions account for around 40% of global GHG emissions. To change this, we need to take action – now. ⏳ ⚠️ But in a world where urgency is our daily reminder, it’s crucial to acknowledge the strides that have been taken. The UK construction industry has united to shrink its environmental footprint. 🤝 ✅ This year alone, we’ve seen: • Widespread adoption of eco-friendly concrete formulas. • Architects and builders join forces to champion Passive House standards. • Construction sites repurpose materials like shipping containers into sustainable structures. Plus many, many more. So, as we trim our trees and wrap our gifts, let’s celebrate the hope that industry collaboration brings. Join us on the journey toward a future we can all be proud of. 👉 https://viridisbsl.co.uk/ 👈 #sustainability #netzero #ecofriendly #passivehouse

Sustainable construction extends beyond creating energy-efficient buildings. It also encompasses the environmental impact of materials required for construction. Here lies an intriguing paradox: while we strive for energy-efficient buildings using advanced materials and technologies, those very materials can contribute to embodied carbon. For instance, building services and insulating buildings with synthetic insulation materials can result in significant CO2 emissions during production. To achieve Paris-proof buildings within the CO2 budget, we must adopt a comprehensive approach. This means not only focusing on energy efficiency but also minimising embodied carbon. Striking the right balance between these two aspects is crucial. Curious to learn more about this paradox and the strategies for sustainable construction within the CO2 budget? Check out our latest blog on Paris Proof construction within the CO2 budget: https://lnkd.in/eD8cKuDm Sven van Aspert, Martine Verhoeven, Gerard Jansen #ParisProof #Energytransition #futureproofandadaptivebuildings

How can we reduce whole-life carbon emissions of EU buildings?     The European Commission launched a public consultation to inform the development of a roadmap to reduce WLC.     With the status of current EU policies, Bellona believes that developing complementary policy is needed. There is still a gap between what the current EU policies can achieve in terms of environmental impact of buildings and construction products, and the decarbonisation goals of the EU. Even considering the advancements that the revision of relevant policies could bring, as things stand now, no guarantees that whole life carbon will be tackled to a sufficient extent and at the pace needed.    Read more:     #wholelifecarbon #buildings #embodiedcarbon 

Denmark was the first country in the world to toughen up its building regulations to introduce carbon limits.  The goal of the Danish government is to reduce the amount of embodied carbon, as well as energy use in operation – in stages, so that by 2030 the compulsory target will be 7,5kg CO2 per m2 per year and the voluntary target will be 5kg CO2 per m2 per year. But what does this mean for structural embodied carbon limits when we consider that in a typical building 50% of embodied carbon comes from the structure? Our expert structural engineers Sabine Müller, Associate Director from our Berlin office and Paul Roberts, Director at our Copenhagen office have summarised the key strategies and recommendations to reduce the CO2 impact of building structures and meet future targets based on evidence from Buro Happold reference projects. You can also read this article by Buro Happold’s Peter Konnerup for more information on the new Danish regulations: https://buro.im/3YgP9UH  #burohappold #engineering #structuralengineering #carbon #embodiedcarbon #carbonlimits #denmark 

WBCSD and ARUP released a new report - 'Net-zero operational carbon buildings State of the art'. Some highlights: - No globally consistent and robust definition of a net-zero building;  - Not one national policy requiring buildings to have net-zero emissions now or in the future;  - Substantial variation in standards set by industry certifications;  - A negligible number of truly net-zero buildings globally.  The report also identifies shortcomings and gaps in the current global approach to net-zero emissions in building operations. Lots of ground to be covered in the buildings sector as it is not on track. Infact CO2 emissions from buildings operation have reached an all time high of around 10GtCO2, around a 5% increase from 2020 and 2% higher than the previous peak in 2019.