COP 26 x London Build Expo

As the building sector’s contribution to gas emissions has been neglected for too long, on the 11th of November 2021, an entire COP day was dedicated to the topic of carbon emissions caused by the buildings and cities. International organisations such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development organised this day to promote the topic of net-zero buildings. This day was essential to demonstrate the ambition within the building sector.

The Build Better Now virtual pavilion was also created by Make during COP26 – the Fountain of Circular Recovery. Here, the 17 exemplary sustainable projects were presented by the UK Green Building Council. This 360-degree installation aimed to explain both the impact of construction on climate change and how future buildings can be less carbon intensive.

RIBA and Architects Declare presented the ‘Built for the Environment’ report to the policymakers, calling on governments to re-examine and restore build codes in order to better regulate buildings’ energy performance. Lastly, Architects Declare has launched their Practice Guide, a manual of advice for all architectural practices on how to implement and realise the Architects Declare declaration points.

Following COP26 and its first ever day dedicated to the built environment, EDGE also assisted to the London Build Expo‘s Sustainability panel talks. Within the topic of a circular economy in the construction sector, there were a few points that were highlighted. The end of life of buildings have often been neglected, there is a need for more modular design to reuse and repurpose the building materials. The idea of material passport has also been advanced, to reuse materials instead of extracting new ones or even recycling. There is a need for a market that repurposes and re-distributes second-hand materials for building. Lastly, collaboration within the sector between professionals is the only way to reduce the carbon emissions of the built environment.