Building Industry
Warming up to net zero carbon solutions The building industry has to adapt to the impact of global warming by incorporating technologies, materials and design with zero-carbon footprint, says Angelica Buan in this article, adding that the rising popularity of the green building concept is projected to drive the demand for plastics in construction.
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AUGUST 2019
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he global construction plastics market, valued at approximately US$70.4 billion in 2017, is anticipated to grow with a rate of more than 7% over the forecast period 2018-2025. The advent of lightweight, low cost material consumption along with growing popularity of green buildings are considered as major growth trends for the global construction plastics market. Expanded polystyrene plastics and PVC adoption in construction industry is also growing owing to the initiation of the green building concept, according to a report by Orbis Research. Keeping a tight lid on emissions The struggle against climate change is real, as record level heatwaves are currently scorching North America and Europe. Heatwaves, which can pose health risks to humans, are predicted to recur frequently and will be more intensified as global warming persists. Human activities that entail the use of non-renewable materials, and emit greenhouse gas (GHG), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluoride, significantly contribute to global warming. The building and construction industry is one such activity that accounted for about 40% of carbon emissions. As well, building construction and operations accounted for 36% of global energy use. Emerging green building initiatives have supported the development of technologies that would ensure healthy, safe and environmentally sustainable spaces. The World Green Building Council (GBC) initiative, for example, has engendered the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, which steamrolls companies, cities, states and regions to reach Net Zero or zero/negative operating emissions annually in their portfolios by 2030; and to advocate for Net Zero buildings in operation by 2050. A net zero building, as defined by the World GBC, is a highly energy efficient building that is fully powered from on-site and/or off-site renewable energy sources and offsets. The initiative is in line with the target of limiting global warming to below the 2°C threshold. The UN Environment and the International Energy Agency (IEA) Global Status Report offered promising insights into the future of buildings in the construction sector, provided that they have advanced towards sustainability. It said that the energy intensity/sq m of the global buildings sector needs to improve on average by 30% by 2030, compared to 2015, to be on track to meet global climate targets cited in the Paris Agreement. It is not an unattainable feat since the sector’s emissions levels have significantly improved in the recent years with the aid of energy efficient and low carbon solutions.