We must also pay more attention to the emissions created by
a building before its first tenants have moved in. These account for 11% of global
energy-related carbon emissions – through the making and moving of construction
materials, as well as building site activity.
We want to award solutions that will make a net carbon
reduction before 2030, which means their annual carbon saving must be at least
10% of the carbon expended during their implementation. If there’s an enormous
carbon cost to creating an efficient building (or making an old one efficient),
the annual carbon savings could be a false economy. Solutions might include
minimising use of high-carbon concrete and steel in favour of natural materials
– or drawing on local materials as much as possible.
The present: sustainable living, warmer buildings
This year’s awards will ask how buildings can help people
live more sustainably. For example, we’d love to see great examples of
buildings and areas that help people adopt or make more use of low-carbon
travel. This could be through improved walking and cycling routes, space for
cycle storage, public transport access and electric vehicle charging.
Of course, better insulation and efficient systems inside buildings
are still crucial. Heating in particular is a huge challenge. Heating
and hot water for UK buildings make up 40% of the country’s energy
consumption and 20% of its greenhouse gas emissions.
Again, thinking about the bigger picture – how buildings
interact with the wider world – leads us to promising innovation. This might
include heat networks running off excess heat from industrial processes, or
biogas from waste digestion. Heat pumps sourcing heat from the ground, air or
water also have huge potential to decarbonise heating.
The future: a growing need for resilience
In the UK and around the world, climate change is already
driving more extreme weather. Recent events such as South Asia’s deadly
heatwaves and damaging floods in large parts of England will become even more
common as temperatures rise in the years ahead. Our built environment must be
ready to cope with the problems this brings.