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Achieving a Sustainable Built Environment

24 Jan 2025

Demand for sustainable homes and commercial buildings has reached a tipping point in the construction industry. Achieving a sustainable built environment is no longer optional.

Sustainability in the built environment is vital for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. It also helps create healthier, more resilient assets.

The UK has set a net zero target for 2050. The problem is that 80% of the buildings that will be standing by then already exist today. On top of that, buildings are the UK’s second largest source of climate emissions after surface transport.

This means that if we don’t do something to transform existing buildings into sustainable assets, the 2050 target is going to be difficult, if not impossible to meet.

Here we’ll dive into:

  1. What is a sustainable building?
  2. Consequences of not achieving sustainability
  3. BREEAM, LEED, WELL and FITWEL
  4. Smart building technology’s place in getting certified

 

What is a sustainable building?

The World Green Building Council says that a sustainable building is one that reduces or eliminates negative impacts, whilst creating positive impacts on the natural environment and climate.

The organisation says that sustainable buildings:

  • Make efficient use of energy, water and other resources
  • Use renewable energy
  • Have pollution and waste reduction measures in place
  • Support good indoor air quality
  • Use non-toxic, ethical and sustainable materials
  • Consider the environment in design, construction and operation
  • Consider the quality of life of occupants
  • Adapt to changing environments

Sustainable buildings can also be classed as healthy buildings. And healthy buildings are very much in demand.

The Global Wellness Institute estimates that the number of buildings worldwide which have earned wellness building certifications grew over 1,000% between 2022 and 2023. That’s a 200% yearly growth for that period.

This squares with 92% of real estate investors expecting demand for healthy buildings to grow over the next three years.

What will happen if the built environment doesn’t prioritise sustainability?

The negative consequences of failing to prioritise sustainability in the built environment are onerous:

  • Increased carbon emissions – buildings globally are responsible for 37% of energy use. Without sustainable practices, carbon emissions will continue to rise, climate change will continue unabated, and net zero targets will become increasingly unattainable.
  • Resource depletion – buildings that don’t prioritise sustainability deplete natural resources. This can lead to ecosystem loss and environmental degradation.
  • Health risks – unsustainable buildings are usually unhealthy buildings. Poor indoor air quality, exposure to toxins, inadequate ventilation and lack of natural light can impose negative impacts on occupant health, as well as the environment.
  • Higher costs – unsustainable buildings often carry higher operating costs. Inefficient energy use, and reactive rather than proactive maintenance, put pressure on budgets.
  • Vulnerability to climate change – a building that isn’t sustainable can be more susceptible to climate change effects, such as storms, floods and heatwaves.
  • Loss of financial opportunities – sustainably certified buildings are known to command higher investment and sale values, and a greater return on rental investment.
  • Future risk – the UK Green Building Council says that if action is not taken now to retrofit existing buildings, increasing numbers will become “unlettable and obsolete”.

Regulation is also driving the need for building sustainability

Various sustainability-related acts, regulations, standards, strategies, policies and targets are in play across the residential and non-residential built environment.

The government and industry are also consulting on the Future Homes and Buildings Standard. This will introduce sustainability-related changes to the Building Regulations.

Some organisations are also subject to mandatory sustainability reporting. Larger companies must disclose their climate-change related risks, and document their energy use and carbon emissions via their Companies House annual reports.

It’s no secret that the regulatory landscape can appear hazy for building owners. It can also be difficult to keep track of what actually constitutes a sustainable building, and how to achieve this status.

But clarity is appearing on the horizon in the shape of a new standard.

Once introduced, the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard will bring many of the UK’s sustainability-related rules and recommendations together into a clear set of science-based requirements and evaluation metrics for all major building types.

This will make it easier for built asset investors, designers, developers and owners to assess and prove their net zero carbon status.

It is time for building owners to consider their responsibilities carefully. Of course, that means in environmental terms. But they also need to look closely at future-proofing their assets for their own security. And, importantly, provide a supportive environment in which their tenants can be reassured of regulatory compliance, and sound reputational standing.

Smart Spaces

 

How to prove the sustainability and wellness rating of a building?

There are various international guidelines used to assess and certify a range of sustainability criteria in the built environment:

BREEAM

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) provides sustainability assessment and verification across all asset types. It covers net zero carbon, whole life performance, health and social impact, circularity and resilience, biodiversity, and disclosures and reporting.

BREEAM certified buildings:

  • Are compliant with relevant environmental regulation and legislation
  • Enjoy reduced operating and energy costs
  • Offer a healthy and comfortable environment for occupants
  • Enhance reputation, competitive edge and industry standing
  • Can attract greater returns on investment
  • Offer a considerable advantage in the fight against climate change

LEED

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system, recognised globally as a symbol of sustainability achievement.

LEED certification provides a framework for healthy, efficient, cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits. It covers all building types and phases.

LEED buildings:

  • Reduce contribution to global climate change
  • Enhance human health on an individual level
  • Protect and restore water resources
  • Protect and enhance biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Promote sustainable and regenerative material cycles
  • Enhance quality of life within communities

Employers in LEED-certified spaces report higher recruitment and retention rates and increased employee productivity.

U.S. Green Building Council (2021)

 

WELL

WELL is a certified building wellness standard based on research amongst scientists, doctors and architects.

Many buildings worldwide have implemented the WELL standard. Those that have are able to demonstrate enhanced occupant conditions, as well as provide a benchmark for future construction.

Research shows 7.7% higher rents per square foot in certified healthy buildings.

MIT Center for Real Estate Research

 

FITWEL

Fitwel Certification is used to signal to stakeholders that wellness has been prioritised within the design, development and operational planning of buildings.

It was developed by experts in public health, facilities management and design, and is supported by more than 7,000 research studies.

49% of building owners are willing to pay more for buildings demonstrated to have a positive impact on health.

Fitwel

So, we can see a clear argument for building sustainability and eco build construction. Regulation is, hopefully, set to become clearer. And recognised certifications are available for building owners to prove their sustainability and building health status.

The question is, how to transform an existing building into a sustainable building? The answer lies in smart building technology.

How will smart technology support the route to building sustainability and certification?

Smart technology is the key to delivering sustainability in the built environment.

By providing valuable, data-driven insights, and energy and resource optimisation opportunities, Smart building technology can directly support building owners in improving their sustainability rating, and achieving compliance and certification.

Energy efficiency

Smart buildings collect and analyse real time data from a range of systems such as HVAC, lighting and machinery. By identifying energy waste or poor equipment function, building managers can take action to improve energy efficiency.

And artificial intelligence-driven smart BMS takes things a step further by automating those actions. Switching off lights, heating or air conditioning in unoccupied spaces. And auto-summoning maintenance when machinery signals an issue.

Occupant wellness

Internet of Things (IoT) sensors monitor workplace indoor air quality. They identify health hazards, issuing real time alerts when levels drop below safe and compliant limits. AI automates the ventilation management process, creating healthier indoor environments.

Individuals get to control their own personal workspace conditions via a smart app. Climate and lighting settings are recalled via AI machine learning, directly improving workplace comfort and wellness.

Real time performance monitoring

Smart building analytics monitor operational performance in real time. This allows building owners to track key sustainability metrics.

It’s a level of knowledge that enables proactive decision-making, timely action and continuous performance optimisation. All of which are essential for sustainable and healthy building certification.

Data reporting and compliance

Smart building analytics carry sophisticated reporting abilities. This brings efficiency to the process of collating the necessary data required for sustainability and wellness certification.

Reports can be generated on energy use, resource management, indoor air quality and other metrics. The entire certification process is streamlined, whilst regulatory compliance and reporting requirements are met without a struggle.

Sustainability in the built environment – where next for existing building owners?

The Buildings Breakthrough, announced at COP28 in December 2023, aims to establish low-emission, climate-resilient buildings as the ‘new norm’ and the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in all regions by 2030.

Part of the Breakthrough Agenda, the initiative aims to strengthen international collaboration to decarbonise the built environment.

27 countries have pledged their commitment, including the UK, to provide an ‘enabling environment to accelerate the building sector’s sustainable transformation’.

We’re hoping this means that our government will begin to think about supporting the route to net zero 2050, rather than just dictating the need for it.

We hope that awareness campaigns around the merits of retrofitting existing assets as smart, sustainable buildings will be part and parcel of this support. And importantly, that funding will be too.

We’ll be watching closely as the Buildings Breakthrough takes shape, and the government begins to demonstrate how it will be providing that ‘enabling environment’.

In the meantime, our smart technology development and integration specialists will be working closely with the building owners who have taken the decision to get on board with the smart building transformation revolution.

Our mission will be to support them in meeting their goals for a future-proof, standards compliant and certifiable asset. One that will serve them and their tenants well on the journey to net zero 2050.

Welcome to a smarter future

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