- Nearly 100 construction industry leaders from Europe, North America and Asia have helped set out an industry roadmap to decarbonise the construction value chain in a new report by Shell and Deloitte, “Decarbonising Construction: BUILDING A LOW-CARBON FUTURE”.
According to the company’s website news release on March 22, 2023, the report provides a value-chain assessment of the construction sector’s emissions and investigates the magnitude of emissions from ‘embodied carbon’. Embodied carbon emissions are associated with materials, logistics and construction activities, the most challenging aspects of construction to decarbonise, which together accounted for more than 16% of global CO2 emissions in 2020 – equivalent to five times a major sector like aviation.1
Additionally, the report provides a detailed analysis of the economic, regulatory, and organisational barriers affecting the sector’s ability to decarbonise.
To encourage progress, the report presents a roadmap to decarbonisation which contains 15 solutions that the industry needs to adopt to reach net zero. These solutions have been developed jointly with industry leaders and highlight the importance of scaling existing solutions in addition to the importance of collaboration from stakeholders across the value chain to develop new solutions. These range from measures to encourage increased investment in low carbon technologies, to upskilling workforces and knowledge sharing, and the introduction of policies and regulations to incentivise both the supply and demand of sustainable construction practices and solutions.
Raman Ojha, Vice President Shell Construction and Road, said: “The sector needs to start by accelerating the use of solutions that are available today while creating the conditions required to incentivise action and kickstart the adoption of new technologies. Everyone across the value chain has an important role to play – Shell is ready to work together with its partners across the sector to develop low-carbon construction solutions and encourage more decarbonisation initiatives.”
‘Decarbonising Construction: Building a Low-Carbon Future’ also emphasises the need for clear roles across the construction value chain, with all parties taking responsibility for aspects that they can directly influence. For example, construction companies can create demand signals for low carbon materials, and regulators, financiers, and asset owners can help create the incentives required for investment. Many of the solutions require participation from multiple stakeholders - with greater collaboration cited as key to decarbonising construction.
Quotes from Deloitte and study participants
- Tarek Helmi, Partner, Deloitte Netherlands: “Decarbonising the construction sector can have a profound impact on global emissions and can accelerate action in a number of other sectors across the value chain. Synchronizing regulation, and investment roadmaps between customer demand and material supply is necessary. Engaging with nearly 100 executives and experts, we define 15 solutions for change, and explore best practices from around the world to inspire action.”
- Robert Spencer, Global Lead – ESG Advisory | AECOM: “This report lays bare the importance of each part of the construction industry understanding how it can leverage skills and knowledge for big picture impact on carbon. For infrastructure consultancies this means embedding decarbonisation of the design process across the construction lifecycle, as AECOM has done with its ScopeX initiative, alongside a sector-wide drive to increase the levels of carbon literacy among both the supply chain and clients.“
- Dr. Heinrich Steins - General Manager bei BENNINGHOVEN GmbH & Co. KG: “It seems that the construction industry is at a hinge point. Sustainable construction will be a major contribution to a significant improvement of emission reduction globally.”
- Jee Lian Ong, Group Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer, Executive Director Gamuda: “We aim to conduct our business in a sustainable manner by embracing decarbonisation journey via our Gamuda Green Plan 2025. We are intensifying investments in the renewable energy (RE) space, as well as low-carbon technology in building and construction to meet our target of GHG emission intensity reduction by 30% in 2025, and by 45% in 2030. Hence looking into our Scope 3 is imperative. Therefore, we are putting focus on our supply chain by providing ESG training for over 3,000 suppliers and business partners of ours - comprising builders, vendors, and consultants. As the market demand shifts, we are also taking steps to raise the confidence of our customers and investors by furthering our commitment with the adoption of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi); incorporating relevant climate adaptation measures into our project planning and design; and participating in shared knowledge platforms like the case studies and dialogues with Shell/Deloitte.”
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