Developers in the City must implement sustainable construction practices

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Property developers in the City must implement sustainable construction practices
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In recent years, climate change has been the topic on everyone’s lips, with experts warning that if we don’t make drastic changes to our lives, the damage to Earth will be irreversible.

We know that the transport, food and drink sectors all have a big impact on the environment, but what about the property and construction industries?

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Over the past few years numerous studies have been undertaken to look at the environmental impact of the construction and property industries – and the outlook isn’t good.

A new report has found that 50 percent of climate change, 40 percent of energy usage and drinking water pollution and up to 50 percent landfill waste result from construction (prohort.co.uk).

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Building materials like concrete and steel have been directly linked to large emissions of carbon dioxide.

With the City looking to increase its number of residential developments following the ongoing housing shortage, it is vital that sustainability practices and targets are implemented into any ongoing and prospective projects.

This is not only important for the environment, but for the future of construction companies, according to Steve Malkin, CEO of net zero certification and advisory firm, Planet Mark.

He said: “Companies constructing the buildings of tomorrow in the City that fail to adapt to green regulations, innovate or source sustainable materials will rightly take a reputational hit and as a result, will win less work or at worst, die out completely.

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“But the opportunity is there for developers and contractors in the Square Mile to become leaders in a rapidly changing industry. Those that do will not only be future-proofing their business, but also gaining a competitive advantage while attracting and retaining the right talent.”

Malkin says it is imperative that the City adopts modern techniques to slash its footprint.

“It is crucial that everyone involved in the whole building ecosystem starts to move away from merely improving the traditional methods incrementally and do more, including encouraging the widespread use of robotics, drones, automation, 3D printing and customisation using offsite manufacture and modern methods of construction.

“The next phase of this will see the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence, which is already being used to produce quick, detailed designs, allowing innovative and sustainable ideas to be plugged into projects at an early stage to improve their sustainability performance and overall efficiency.”

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