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Safal Steel: What the built environment can do for sustainability
What the built environment can do for sustainability
If 2020 was defined by Covid-19, then 2021 was defined by climate change and the need for urgent action – immediately!
Despite a brief moment when it seemed like pandemic lockdowns reduced greenhouse gas emissions, 2020 saw record emissions and tied for the hottest year ever. Emissions at the end of December 2020 were 2% higher than the same month in 2019, according to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021
The upside is we’re seeing action – and the appetite and financing for more
“As of December 2020, over two thirds of the world’s GDP was being generated in places with actual or intended ‘net zero by 2050’ targets, covering over half the world’s population and emissions,” says the UN’s progress report.
We’re also seeing business rally around environmental, social, governance (ESG) reporting standards, and investing in reaching net zero within their own companies.
Sustainable Development Goals to save the planet
All 17 SDGs touch in some way on environmental health and the impacts of climate change. However, when it comes to saving the planet, six Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focus on the environment and climate change. But if we don’t reach these, it will hurt our ability to meet all 17 goals.
Poor air quality and polluted water create health risks, with a disproportionate impact on people of colour and poor countries. Droughts and rising sea levels harm our food supply, increasing food insecurity and hunger. Biodiversity loss not only harms economies and livelihoods, but also puts us at greater risk of another pandemic.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, including ensuring access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation, improving water quality and water-use efficiency and protecting and restoring water ecosystems. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, including ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy and increasing the use of renewable energy.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, which covers access to adequate, safe, affordable and sustainable housing, transportation and public green spaces; inclusive and sustainable urbanization; protecting the world’s cultural and natural heritage; reducing deaths and economic losses due to natural disasters; and reducing the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities.
SDG 13: Climate Action, a call to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen resilience to climate change and natural disasters and support the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
SDG 14: Life Below Water, which targets marine pollution, ocean acidification and overfishing, calls for more sustainable management, protection and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems.
SDG 15: Life on Land, including protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managing forests and halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss.
How much progress has been made?
When it comes to the environment-focused goals, the UN's latest report on the SDGs reveals that we have made some progress – but an alarming amount of work still needs to be done.
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and “need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels, and reach net-zero emissions by 2050”, says the report.
In the ocean, while marine protected areas have “increased significantly”, increases have “plateaued”, while ocean “dead zones – areas of water that lack sufficient oxygen to support marine life – increased from around 400 in 2008 to approximately 700 in 2019”.
On land, deforestation, land degradation, development and wildlife trafficking (among other issues) threaten 28% of species with extinction and, as in the ocean, efforts to protect biodiversity areas have stalled. Between 2000 to 2020, we’ve lost almost 100 million hectares of forestland.
So where are we with SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities?
• Half of humanity (3.5 billion people) lives in cities today and 5 billion people are projected to live in cities by 2030. • By 2050, 70 % of the world population is predicted to live in urban settlements. • 95% of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in the developing world. • 90% of urban growth is forecasted to happen in Asia and
Africa in the next 30 years. • The world’s cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s land, but account for 60-80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions. • Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health. • Cities account for between 60 and 80 % of energy consumption and generate as much as 70 % of humaninduced greenhouse gas emissions
According to the UN, cities are where the struggle for global sustainability “will either be won or lost.”
Local and national authorities are making uneven progress towards achieving goal 11, but this is also where private sector players can make a massive contribution, notably the players in our Industry.
The building and construction industry is a key partner in the global effort towards realising sustainable development by 2030 through the delivery of sustainable projects. It is worthwhile exploring the critical role of the construction industry in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The built environment is a hub of economic activities, individuals and families, and society’s cultural heritage. It
protects life and health, its inhabitants’ psychological and social welfare, and sustains aesthetic and cultural values.
The built environment has the potential to lead the fight against climate change and enhance the move towards low-carbon and sustainable living.
The construction industry negatively impacts the environment through its activities such as waste from project sites, loss of biodiversity and impact of the building materials used which are neither recyclable nor environmentally friendly.
Waste from construction and demolition sites is a critical issue for the construction industry since the industry generates a large quantity of such waste, even though most of it could be recycled. We argue that construction and demolition waste reduction strategies should start from the early project design stage, through construction and the building operation stage.
In particular, the construction industry has a vital role in preserving biodiversity but this is usually not a priority area for the industry. The construction industry can lead the agenda towards the integration of biodiversity at the heart of sustainable development.
Biodiversity should be incorporated into the built environment by providing green urban spaces that can contribute to urban biodiversity conservation. New development construction projects should integrate biodiversity schemes such as creating habitats for wildlife by providing nesting boxes, living roofs and landscapes. The use of materials with high-embedded carbon values and no recyclability, or materials that are not renewable, is highly prejudicial to the measure of the overall building impact in the long term. Additionally, materials that enable the integration of energy-efficient technologies can contribute meaningfully to reducing the energy demand and eventually reducing climate change.
Safal Steel
T +27 (0)31 782 5500 E sales.safalsteel@safalgroup.com W www.safalsteel.com
The ability of construction organisations to cope with the journey towards sustainable change requires us to embrace sustainable innovation from project concept to final tear down. We can do this – and we must.
Safal Steel is deeply committed to sustainability
Our production processes are amongst the greenest in Africa: • our production facilities have effluent treatment facilities; • all the water we use in our processes is purified and reused on site; • our production activities produce less than 10 000 tons of CO equivalents per annum; Our products also more than meet the grade: • our products emit no greenhouse gases; • our materials are designed to be naturally cleaned by rain on external surfaces; • the thermal properties of our paint system make for cooler buildings in summer, reducing the need for power generated cooling; and • our product is 100% recyclable.
Safal Steel is a proud founder member of the Green Building Council of South Africa.
