The scale of climate change
I first became aware of the scale of climate change when I read a book called ‘Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air’ by David MacKay, during my teenage years. The book explains in simple terms the magnitude of our addiction to fossil fuels and how difficult it will be to transition away from them. I originally wanted to be an artist or an architect, but it was at this point I recognised mechanical engineering would give me the skills to make a difference in the fight against climate change. That’s what pushed me towards engineering; it’s always been about wanting to find solutions to the climate crisis. This crisis is also accelerating rapidly, and with the built environment contributing to up to 40% of UK emissions, the construction sector isn’t doing enough to keep up.
Setting a benchmark for WSP
As Net Zero Research Lead for Buildings Services, I have created a suite of digital tools to measure carbon in building services designs. This is to help honour our commitment to halve the carbon footprint of our designs and advice by 2030. Using these tools, we can gather data on the complete carbon footprint of a building, including both operational and embodied carbon and improve upon the most carbon intensive aspects of their design. It’s only when we treat the building holistically during the whole life carbon assessment that we can get the best performance out of it. These are the principles of DAISY, our truly holistic artificial intelligence powered concept carbon design tool. When we understand the trade-offs from the very beginning, we can make better informed decisions for the future.
An industry-wide roadmap to net zero
In 2021, I volunteered my time with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), a multi-disciplinary network of committed organisations who have worked to create an industry-wide roadmap to net zero. In order for the UK to reach net zero, we need to reduce our energy consumption, cut fossil fuels out of the equation, and install low-carbon energy systems into all of our buildings. All gas infrastructure in our existing buildings need to be replaced with heat pumps or equivalent low carbon tech and we are going to need to replace these boilers at a pace of one every 20 seconds if we are to reach this goal. This report really drove home that not enough is being done at the pace we need it to, and I want to do my bit to change this.
The barriers to net zero
Thanks to the UKGBC and LETI we now have a well-defined definition of a net zero building, including ambitious energy and embodied carbon targets. The real challenge now is adopting these sustainable design practices and delivering them on the ground across all projects. We have seen successful implementation of sustainable practices in Belgium, where it’s mandatory to design buildings to a Passivhaus standard. This means delivering net-zero-ready buildings that consume less energy, are cheaper to run and are better for occupant health and wellbeing. These are also being delivered at the same cost as a regular housing project. In the UK, there is still a race to the bottom attitude where developers can get away with building low-quality constructions that don’t perform as they should. It’s not glamorous but in the end, improved regulation is the key to instigating change in the construction industry.
Disrupting business as usual
It’s imperative we disrupt business as usual practices and implement what we know will make tangible change in the industry. We need government to regulate embodied carbon, make sustainable processes mandatory, set energy use intensity targets and enforce publication of energy consumption data for all buildings.
I would personally like to introduce a sustainability passport for every project we deliver, outlining the carbon and broader sustainability criteria each building has met (or indeed failed to meet). The focus needs to be designing better-performing buildings to a higher standard to benefit the people and the planet, and the time to do this is now.
