To mark World Green Building Week (WGBW) this week, Future Planet's Director of Sales, Colum Kenny, highlights two common concerns raised by our clients in the construction industry regarding sustainability. He also explores how shifting attitudes are accelerating the adoption of sustainable practices across the sector.
In the construction sector, two common concerns we hear from our customers when discussing how to embed sustainability-related practices into their business are:
1. Potential customers pay lip service to sustainability but are reluctant to pay a premium for more sustainable materials and/or practices.
2. Subcontractors, smaller suppliers etc - in essence the value chain - won’t get on board with new business practices.
While there are many examples currently that validate these observations, we expect attitudes and behaviours around these concerns to change over time. This post sets out why we think that will be the case.
While there are many examples currently that validate these observations, we expect attitudes and behaviours around these concerns to change over time. This post sets out why we think that will be the case.
Even before the onset of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), construction organisations were becoming more aware of their impact on the planet’s finite resources and were starting to take steps, where practicable, to address sustainability-related issue within their own operations and their value chain. However, businesses exist to create value, which includes generating profits for its shareholders, and to continue operating long into the future. Finding the right balance between shareholder and other stakeholder interests is a constant challenge for organisations.
When given a simple choice between two similar products but at different price points (e.g. virgin steel vs recycled steel), and assuming the absence of any other factors, the logical choice for a buyer is to choose the cheaper product. However, emissions reductions targets are gradually becoming a more prominent factor in buying decisions.
In Ireland, the Climate Action Plan 2024 [1] sets ambitious targets for reducing embodied carbon in construction materials produced and used in Ireland by at least 10% by 2025 and by at least 30% by 2030. A multitude of measures in public sector projects will be required to make progress towards this target, including using low and net zero carbon products as substitutes to commonly used construction materials, increasing the uptake of recycled construction and demolition waste, reducing the carbon content of existing materials (e.g. cement), and promoting the re-use and conservation of existing buildings. Many of these measures will require public bodies to increase their project budgets to meet these ambitious targets.
Similarly, many large private sector organisations are committing to ambitious science-based Scope 3 emissions reductions targets. For the building sector, SBTi released a new framework [2] in August 2024 in an effort to accelerate the sector’s alignment with net-zero targets.
As of the end of July 2024, SBTi had approved long term emissions reductions targets for over 1,000 organisations. Meeting these targets will require these organisations to consider similar higher cost measures to public bodies when purchasing goods and services.
Embedding new sustainability practices within the construction sector community won’t be linear, but it will happen. Just look at how construction health and safety has evolved.
For those that have been working in the construction industry since the 20th century, think about how health and safety in construction has changed between then and now. Nowadays, it is quite common for Irish construction firms to have exemplary health and safety records, and they are relentless in maintaining this to avoid any potential reputational damage, penalties and/or convictions. However, this was not always the case. Through legislative changes and strong enforcement, construction health and safety in Ireland has undergone a significant culture change since 1989, the year in which the Health & Safety Authority was established. This has included the introduction of the new legislation (such as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013), improvements in safety practices (PPE, safety documentation, training), technological advancements (e.g. drones for site inspections) and cultural shifts amongst the workforce leading to a more collaborative approach to risk management.
Statistics for this period show that the number of fatalities in the construction sector in Ireland has, in general, been declining since the 1990s, from a high of just over 14 fatalities per 100,000 workers employed in 1998 [3] to approximately 6.6 per 100,000 in 2023 [4] [5]. However, it's important to note that progress in this area has not always been linear, with notable increases in the aforementioned metric during the economic recession in the early 2010s [3].
But what about other somewhat neglected areas of sustainability that have, up to recent times, not always been the top priority of business leaders in the construction industry, e.g. circular economy, sustainable procurement, diversity, quality & inclusion. We’re fortunate to be in a position to be working with large firms that are taking significant steps to take leadership roles in these areas. As these larger companies mature in other sustainability-related aspects, and start developing transition plans and promoting training for their employees, subcontractors and suppliers, expect another cultural shift in the industry. Don’t forget, it’s a journey, not a destination!
Interested in hearing more about how we are helping organisations in the construction sector? Download our Inspiring Sustainable Impact in the Construction Industry eBook, or if your company needs more guidance, email eva@futureplanet.com.
References:
[1] Climate Action Plan 2024, Irish Government, December 2023
[2] Buildings Sector Science-Based Target-Setting Criteria, SBTi, August 2024
[3] A Review of Construction-Related Fatal Accidents in Ireland (1989-2016), Health & Safety Authority, 2019
[4] Health and Safety Authority reports 43 work-related fatalities in 2023, Health & Safety Authority, January 2024
[5] CSO Table QLF07, average of quarterly employee figures for 2023