Green Building: Breaking Down the 7 Elements of Sustainable Construction
SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION — CURRENT STATE
Until recently, the use of sustainable materials and methods consisted mainly of small, niche, or experimental projects. The reasons were varied, ranging from limited production and higher cost to a lack of contractor experience and industry suppression.
But since the release of the Climate Change Act (2013) — the UK Government’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment by 2025 — sustainable building practices have seen increasingly meaningful progress towards widespread application.
“Green Building is not about buildings — it is about people” — Sandy Wiggins
The Seven Principles of Sustainable Construction is a method for contributing towards a greener built environment and reducing the overall carbon footprint of the construction industry.
What are the Seven principles of sustainable construction?
The 7 Elements of Sustainable Construction
Sustainable Design & Planning
Early planning and design incorporating sustainable practices are vital to reducing energy use and pollution. Early consideration of sustainable construction methods during the planning and design phase allows for a wider choice of sustainable options.
Sustainable solutions can save money, energy and time in the long run, too — but with so many ways to achieve sustainable building goals, where to begin can be overwhelming.
Established routes include the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
BREEAM, the longest-running assessment for the rating and certification of a project’s sustainability, assesses factors including:
- Materials
- Logistics (Transport, shipping)
- Utility (Water, energy) consumption
- Waste production and disposal
LEED is the world’s most widely used energy efficiency rating system. LEED certification provides a framework for green construction and the associated environmental, social and governance benefits. For example better occupant health, improved energy efficiency and reduced operational costs.
Used in combination with various digital tools, the long-term benefits of consciously applying environmentally friendly planning and design also have a number of positive secondary effects during the construction phase including improved working conditions and material accountability.
Durability & Waste Reduction
An industry-wide philosophy of demolishing and rebuilding rather than refurbishing existing buildings created a culture actively dismissive of circular construction practices. Increasingly unsuitable material applications (e.g. RAAC, asbestos, cladding) and planned obsolescence accounted for almost 32% of construction materials sent to landfill in 2022.
A generational change of attitude has encouraged increased accountability, however, with solutions to mitigate pollution and environmental damage now mainstream knowledge. They include closed-loop material cycle (CLMC), Modular Construction (MMC), material reclamation and various anti-carbon measures.
Practical solutions revolve around good practice. By following the waste management hierarchy (Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Dispose) and implementing a protocol like the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP), site and logistics managers can perform audits and collect data to devise effective waste management measures.
Energy Efficiency
Decades of minimal investment in the infrastructure necessary to deliver environmentally friendly energy means that construction now accounts for 45% of all UK carbon emissions.
The UK Government continues to apply increasingly strict laws and regulations to curb CO2 levels, but guidance is not keeping pace with innovations improving energy efficiency. As a result, both the UK and German governments have been sued and publicly held to account for failing to achieve the enshrined targets they set.
“What’s the difference between a 2 degree or 4 degree world? Human civilisation.” — Professor John Schellnhuber
The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is the UK government standard for assessing energy efficiency. A SAP assessment measures CO2 emissions, energy costs and thermal performance of internal elements by considering the efficacy of insulation, air quality and temperature (heating and cooling) measures.
Any construction energy-saving potential will always be subject to location and seasonal changes, with the range of solutions available reflecting this. For example, a contractor could plant windbreaks of evergreen trees to mitigate winter winds and reduce heating, optimise attic ventilation to reduce heat transfer (up to 1.2°Celsius) to the rooms below or replace/modify air conditioning systems with fan-assisted cooling strategies. Manipulating thermal energy from heat exhausts or solar chimneys can reduce temperature by up to 1°C and reduce electrical consumption by up to 90% when compared against mechanical air-conditioning systems.
Indoor Air Quality
Traditional construction relied heavily on natural ventilation, but rapid urbanisation and falling air quality led to the development of effective but highly inefficient solutions like climate control. Consequently, building design placed little importance on natural airflow and without proper maintenance, systems proved to be both highly wasteful and the primary cause of office-related diseases.
The feasibility of natural ventilation and fresh air intake as alternatives to reduce heating and cooling loads will also always be location-specific. Design features include narrow buildings (up to 14 metres/45 feet maximum), sited with the ridge perpendicular to the summer winds and with windows offset for maximum mixing / minimal obstructions to airflow.
Further inclusion of design features like solar chimneys, wind towers, ridge vents, high louvres, transoms & clerestories will all aid buoyancy, airflow and wind-induced ventilation.
Water Conservation
Construction uses a lot of energy, but it uses even more water.
Water is an increasingly precious resource as pollution and climate change impact access and delivery of freshwater. The construction industry has acknowledged the need to manage this problem, with most larger contractors taking measures to include sustainable water design throughout the building development process.
Although a definitive timescale limiting water consumption during production processes is still complicated, limiting excessive water usage and helping with water conservation is not. Water is a means to store and transfer energy and therefore falls into the same loose category where possibilities range from putting a rock in your toilet cistern (free and easy) to dedicated solutions constantly monitoring and analysing the supply in real-time (expensive and complicated).
The most effective methods of conserving water are preventative ones, including:
- Implementing pressure-reducing valves to reduce flow in toilets, showers and kitchens.
- Performing regular system maintenance and leak detection tests.
- Using more durable service pipes.
- Monitor consumption using a sub-meter to record water usage in different areas.
Sustainable Building Materials
Sustainable materials are materials that do not have a negative impact on the environment and use only renewable resources. Global concerns and pledges concerning carbon emissions have driven the construction industry to research & develop materials limiting CO2 emissions.
Sustainable building material construction can be particularly beneficial if it remains effective throughout the project lifecycle, like naturally fire-retardant mycellium insulation or hypo-allergenic bricks.
Alternatives including Lime Hemp Concrete (LHC) — hemp combined with zero emission materials (lime, fly ash, furnace slag) — continues to capture carbon from seed to demolition.
The main issue with many sustainable materials is the limited use cases each is suitable for compared to the limited materials currently used by most contractors. Concrete is probably the best example of the construction industry’s obsession with ‘quick & easy’, but it has come at a price.
“Sustainable development is [defined as] development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
— UN World Commission, Environment & Development
Despite the fact that not every alternative will always be suitable for every application, every application will always have a suitable alternative materials. Examples of sustainable building material types already being successfully applied include:
- Approved timber.
- Concrete reinforced with natural fibres (i.e. crops).
- Geo-textiles using natural fibres.
- Carbon-sequestering materials.
- Carbon-negative bioplastic cladding.
- Responsibly sourced materials, aggregates and substrates.
Summary or TL/DR:
Sustainable construction is about encouraging philosophical change and improving awareness.
The path to cleaner construction means accepting advanced alternatives and transitioning away from established materials and methods.
Achieving targets will require conscious planning and deployment of clean energy technologies working in unison, including alternative or renewable materials, EVs, alternative fuels and energy-efficient building retrofits.
Technology can help — computer-based tools like Energy Modelling can model the energy performance of entire buildings; developments in solar shading technology for windows and doors can generate photovoltaic (PV) electricity.
AI and Machine Learning technologies could help more, but collection and analysis of data sets are still hindered by the silo-ing rather than sharing of data (as well as its quality and consistency).
But it isn’t just about the construction cycle — simple but effective measures like installing meters and sensors to monitor real-time consumption limit waste and increase usage accountability or incorporating sustainable operations and maintenance practices and switching to green cleaning products and methods.
Lastly, the construction industry needs ways to devolve power and encourage debate and collaboration.
Non-commercial hubs would encourage knowledgeable and proactive construction industry professionals to share ideas and results.
Forums like the TATA UK “Build for Tomorrow — Act Now” project can help nurture and support sustainable and responsible design and procurement practices.
For materials and plant there are a few options. For everyone you need to train and operate them? Only TradeGraft.
