Climate change affects every aspect of people’s lives, from the food they eat to where they live. The increase in frequency in natural disasters has only grown concern around the climate crisis in recent years. Extreme weather events caused over $165 billion dollars’ worth of costs in 2022 showing the extent of how this affects our economy.
One industry that’s adapting to these increasingly tough times is the construction industry. Businesses are now reviewing how they approach different aspects of their company, such as construction, materials, and planning, all of which play a part in climate change.
Let’s take a look at what companies are doing to reduce the impact on the environment and to ensure they are being more sustainable:
What way is the construction industry adapting to climate change?
Construction companies are constantly trying to adapt their businesses to reduce climate change, one example could be using sustainable and environmentally friendly building materials on new projects.
By employing sustainability advisors, they are holding themselves accountable. A sustainability advisor is a dedicated resource companies will use to ensure they’re using the most environmentally friendly methods and materials possible. This helps them to meet their sustainability targets set out by the government.
The Federal Government has introduced numerous policies in recent years focused on reducing greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. Some of these policies include incentives for using products with lower emissions. Utilizing these incentives is not only a benefit for the planet and reducing climate change, but also a financial benefit to construction companies who meet the criteria.
The use of sustainable materials
There are a variety of different materials construction companies are now using that are more eco-friendly than traditional building materials. Steel is now considered one of the most reusable and eco-friendly materials.
One example of how it is being used is by constructing steel huts. By making buildings out of steel rather than traditional materials such as brick and wood, you alleviate the need for any other additional materials, you produce no waste products, it’s easy to expand and if you ever decide to deconstruct the property, it’s 100% fully recyclable. This ensures any contribution to climate change is kept to a minimum.
Reusing old shipping containers
Another building type is reused shipping containers. These tend to now be used for smaller businesses such as coffee shops or small food vendors.
These shipping containers offer business premises at a much more reasonable cost compared to traditional buildings. Shipping containers would use comparatively less energy than more traditional building types. Therefore, contributing less to climate change.
Property features
Another way companies are trying to reduce the contribution towards global warming is by installing solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems. Whilst solar panels are not a recent invention, they’re still a great way to collect renewable energy and are eco-friendly. They are also easy for construction companies to install and save users money on their energy bill in the long term.
Rainwater harvesting systems collect rainwater and store it for use both inside and outside the property. This can range from plumbing systems to garden use and can be used both commercially and within residential properties.
Features such as these although small, when used consistently across construction projects can make a huge impact to reducing climate change.
When construction companies are planning a project, it’s not only the materials that come into conversation. Taking into consideration such things as time of year can help reduce and mitigate impact to the climate by completing construction at the right time. As this can reduce the need for generators being run to keep things warm or cool or being able to complete the project quicker as daylight may be longer.
Its clear construction companies are doing more and more to reduce their impact on the environment as concern for the planet continues to be an increasing worry for researchers and the Government.