The building industry stands ready to decarbonise, but needs support, clear guidance and ambitious regulation to meet its climate targets – that is the message of a significant new report, 'Building A Zero Carbon Ireland: Industry Insights & Actions', unveiled recently by the Irish Green Building Council as part of World Green Building Week at Iconic Offices.

"As this new report shows us, by embracing Whole Life Carbon (WLC), circularity and collaboration across the entire building and construction sector, Ireland can deliver on its climate targets and inspire Europe," said World Green Building Council CEO Cristina Gamboa.

"This is a vital roadmap for turning ambition into action, and aligns with World Green Building Council's global call to the world to #BeBoldOnBuildings – because together, we can show that buildings are one of the greatest opportunities of our time to construct a better future for people, communities, business, and the planet."

Removal of regulatory barriers

Irish Green Building Council CEO Pat Barry said: “The building industry is willing to take ambitious action on carbon emissions, but as our research shows, it also needs support and guidance, including the removal of regulatory barriers and the introduction of limits on lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, to drive change and innovation.”

Construction and the built environment are responsible for 37% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, the same as agriculture. This publication provides an update on the IGBC’s original Building A Zero Carbon Ireland roadmap (2022), and it was launched at a special event for construction industry leaders at the Masonry, Thomas Street, on September 10.

The report is available at www.BuildingAZeroCarbonIreland.ie and includes practical actions and case studies for those in the industry.

The report found that SMEs in particular need support and guidance to decarbonise, and that collaboration around carbon reduction is not happening effectively on many construction projects. Please see below for a text of the report summary. 

'Building A Zero Carbon Ireland: Industry Insights & Actions' – key findings and recommendations: construction and the built environment are responsible for 37% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions. Ireland cannot reach its climate targets without decarbonising the built environment across its full life cycle, from material extraction to each building’s end-of-life stage. In 2022, the Irish Green Building Council published Building a Zero Carbon Ireland, our roadmap to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment. Three years on, how is the industry performing against the roadmap’s targets, what barriers stand in the way, and what actions should be taken next?

Key findings

Overall

  • The industry is willing to act. A large majority of organisations are eager to decarbonise and play their part in tackling the climate crisis, and many already are. Some, especially larger organisations, have detailed plans for reducing emissions and know that decarbonisation makes good business sense too. 
  • Regulatory, cultural and financial barriers remain. Some of the common barriers to decarbonisation cited included: 1) Regulations that restrict the use of low carbon construction materials; 2) The investment required to decarbonise including the cost of low carbon materials; and 3) Lack of effective collaboration around carbon reduction on construction projects.
  • SMEs urgently need more direct support. Smaller organisations struggle to invest the time and money required to measure their carbon emissions, develop decarbonisation plans and take action. These organisations need direct support in terms of finance, resources and clear guidance. This is critical as SMEs comprise a large portion of Ireland’s construction sector.

Culture & Collaboration

  • Lack of early, effective collaboration around carbon reduction on construction projects is a barrier to decarbonisation;
  • A rapid culture change is needed within the industry to mainstream low carbon, biobased materials;
  • Creating a culture of sustainability within organisations requires time and effort and must be resourced properly at all levels.

Lifecycle carbon emissions

  • Under the EU’s Energy Performance of Building’s Directive (EPBD), to be transposed into Irish law in 2026, Ireland must measure and limit lifecycle carbon emissions 2030 at the latest.  Many organisations want an earlier timetable for these limits to be introduced. Uncertainty leads to inaction and creates the impression that reducing lifecycle emissions is not a priority;
  • The link between circularity and lifecycle carbon emissions is not clearly understood. More education is needed to disseminate the importance of this link and highlight the opportunities for addressing lifecycle emissions through the circular economy.

Policy

  • Many organisations support the introduction of clear limits on lifecycle carbon emissions for buildings before the EPBD deadline of 2030;
  • Green public procurement could be a powerful tool for stimulating decarbonisation and innovation, but its application remains weak and inconsistent. Many organisations would like to be rewarded more for their sustainability efforts in procurement processes;
  • Key regulations (eg, TGD B & D) must be reviewed to facilitate rapid uptake of low carbon materials.

Recommendations for policymakers

Regulation

  • Introduce a clear, ambitious timetable for the regulation of lifecycle carbon emissions;
  • Update key regulations to facilitate rapid uptake of low carbon materials.

Policy

  • Put sustainability at the heart of public procurement and thoroughly implement existing green public procurement policies;
  • Support the industry to embrace circularity– e.g, through physical and digital infrastructure (digital product passports and material exchanges);
  • Strengthen the electricity grid to enable lower carbon manufacturing of construction products and decarbonised building sites. Prioritise electricity uses that support decarbonisation.

Recommendations for industry bodies

Research & Education

  • Produce short, simple, targeted guidance on critical pieces of regulation, key sustainability concepts and examples of good practice;
  • Disseminate the concept of life cycle costing and its relationship to low carbon construction more widely;
  • Research the carbon performance of different forms of MMC (modern methods of construction) and disseminate the results to the industry;
  • Develop a clear, agreed definition of net zero carbon for the industry to work towards;
  • Develop guidance and tools to make post-occupancy evaluation (POE) the norm on projects.

Tools & processes

  • Scale a collaborative, design for performance approach to sustainability into all construction projects, building upon the work completed as part of projects such as Design for Performance (RIAI & IGBC);
  • Prioritise education around Environmental Product Declarations, to help the industry understand these documents and how to use them in specifications.