MUSINGS

From Helen Duval 2022

Although the pandemic lockdowns have re-written the rules regarding work they have not destroyed the working world in general. While many commute today or at least have very flexible working hours now, cities continue to be important and the desire to reach higher and higher with stunning glass designed skyscrapers has not diminished. Penchant for these concrete marvels of engineering continues unabated. Pretty much every city you visit will house a skyline of cranes all working hard to create shiny new landmarks. Yet, the desire to build more housing has not been restricted to urban areas with some predicting that soon, floor space comparative to the size of New York City will be built across the world, every month until 2060.

As buildings currently generate 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions, with homes alone accounting for nearly 20%, it is clear we all need to do a lot more. We talk of carbon neutral when in fact the scientists have been focussing on carbon negative for some time. Property emissions include the day-to-day running of a building: eg: energy used to light up, heat or cool homes, office blocks as well as shopping malls. The carbon produced in this way accounts for 27% of all annual carbon emissions globally. Embodied carbon on the other hand, relates to emissions caused by the building and maintenance processes and this is responsible for around 10% of annual emissions.

Consumer prices are rising ridiculously quickly and we are now at the highest rate, year on year since the 1980s. Of course, it would be brilliant if The Bank of England could help convince us that reducing inflation is a serious objective. I fear that is really going to take some doing to help the situation, particularly as Huw Pill is now intimating as The Bank of England’s Chief Economist that inflation will return back to its 2% target - this, irrespective of the challenges brought about by the rising cost of living and a fall in GBP. So, more interest rate hikes are clearly on the way.

Electricity has become a serious commodity through all this, with many house builders in the SE experiencing delays in connection to the grid, with 2027 and 2030 being the dates offered for connection. Apparently, new battery storage and data centres have already chomped away at the capacity regarding this. Some say the solutions to our fiscal problems and carbon footprints lie firmly in our own hands, by changing diets, how we travel on a daily basis, but in general the world governments need to step up. Changes in weather will continue and this will continue to affect construction and ultimately every single job-site.

By keeping track of time, material and equipment, companies will be able to improve the application processes. Using technology and digital systems efficiently all contributes to reclaiming operations margins - all of which will help to improve sustainability in construction - what many must realise is that climate change is very easily observed but it is not quite as simple to evaluate.