Construction: NZ’s climate superhero?

Let’s get real. We’ve got a mountain to climb and an increasingly short amount of time to do it.

The global Climate Action Tracker say we’re not doing our bit to hold global warming to below 2°C. By 2030 we need to have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 45% to align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

We’ve got nine years to turn things around. Given I couldn’t tell you where 2020 has gone, I think it’s safe to say the next decade is going to fly by.

As we head towards 2030 the construction sector is at an advantage. The solutions are available today.

Nine years is not long to transform our sector and wider economy. During that time, we’ll build thousands of homes, hundreds of commercial buildings, and a huge number of roads and horizontal infrastructure. If done poorly we risk creating an inordinate amount of pollution, waste to clog our landfills, plus we’ll be embedding poorly performing systems and materials in our spaces for the next 50+ years. A typical new home emits five times too much carbon dioxide for the world to stay inside 2°C warming, so things have to change.

Everything built today, tomorrow, next year, is going to have an impact. So, we need to rapidly embrace sustainable building practices, better materials and systems.

The exciting thing is, you and I are actually in a position to do it now. We’ve already got a growing number of builders, contractors, developers, tenants, and designers creating awesome, energy efficient buildings in a more sustainable way. What’s even more promising is that there’s a growing acknowledgement globally that carbon zero buildings and zero energy buildings are a real, achievable thing.

Recently a paper by group of multinational academics concluded “it is possible to reliably and affordably achieve net or nearly-zero energy building outcomes all over the world in most building types and climates with systems, technologies and skills that already exist, and at costs that are in the range of conventional buildings.” Chris Barton, editor of Architecture Now recently penned an editorial making the case for energypositive design post-COVID. This is good ecologically, it is also healthier with lower energy bills. “Our building industry should double down on double duty. Go one better – beyond low or zero-carbon to energy-positive or carbon-negative buildings. That’s what the architects, engineers and environmentalists of the Powerhouse alliance in Norway are doing – creating energy-positive buildings in a country with some of the coldest and darkest winters on earth”.

As we head towards 2030 the construction sector is at an advantage. The solutions are available today. Tourism, agriculture, transport. These sectors all must dramatically and rapidly reduce their emissions. But let’s be honest, come 2030 there will be those still struggling to adapt, belching out emissions and falling short.

As a sector with momentum, with solutions and the opportunity to drive change, we’d argue our sector has the opportunity to be a leader. To be the green superhero our country needs to meet its ambitions. It’s inevitable many will continue to deny the necessity to do more and stymy change, leaving the rest of us to work harder and carry the load.

So what can you do? A good start is to build up some knowledge about what sustainable building actually looks like. It’s not all solar panels and green roofs. There’s a lot to be said about creating a proper building envelop, good insulation, and the choice of materials. There is stacks of new training from the NZGBC, Passive House Institute and others. That’ll help with the next part – push for it.

Make the case with your clients – the benefits of building better and more sustainably are huge, from lower running costs, greater comfort, to better air quality. Plus, there are other benefits from that likes of New Zealand’s largest bank ANZ which provides 1% off the floating or flexible interest rate for Homestar rated homes.

You also have the power to influence the broader industry and supply chain. Support the building for climate change programme MBIE is proposing.

As well as influencing others, there are growing opportunities through procurement. The largest developer in the country, Kāinga Ora, is requiring Homestar on all state homes and homes they build for their urban development programmes. Other big developers like Panuku Development Auckland, Bupa, Oceania and others are the same.

Success won’t be a solo feat. We’ve got to work together if we’re going to make it. Fortunately, we’ve got the tech, we’ve got the knowledge, let’s crack on and do this.

Andrew Eagles, CEO New Zealand Green Building Council. The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) is a not-for-profit industry organisation that promotes better buildings, because better buildings mean healthier, happier people. It has the backing of approximately 500 members across the construction and property sectors. For more info visit nzgbc.org.nz