Investor Presentaiton
Can we decarbonate construction
as rapidly as is necessary?
CONVERSATION WITH
Roland Hunziker
Director, Built Environment & Member
of the Extended Leadership Group WBCSD
(World Business Council for Sustainable
Development)
What are the main conditions to contribute to
the carbon neutrality of construction in 2050?
What are the main obstacles?
We already have an entire range of solutions
ready, which make it possible, beyond any
doubt, to reach half of our objectives by 2030.
We therefore have no technological excuses
at this time. The real topic to be addressed is
collaboration among stakeholders across the
entire value chain. This means, firstly, improving
the coordination of efforts; we can highlight the
need to generalize the calculation of emissions
over the entire building cycle and to involve
architects, designers, developers and funders.
This also concerns fine-tuning long-term value
sharing among the various players, notably by
facilitating higher investments during design and
construction and by spreading these additional
costs over the entire life cycle. It is also necessary
to take into account the existing building
stock from a holistic perspective, in order to
be able to control the variability of the cost of
decarbonization from one building to another.
In order to contribute to carbon neutrality by
2050, we will need even more technological
innovation and greater investments, notably in
materials (steel and cement, for example) and in
the energies used. It is also necessary to make
rapid progress on the circularity front, in order
to arrive at an intelligent model that makes
it possible to systematically choose the best
solution. In the case of the transformation of a
building, this applies, for example, to the choice
between the reuse of existing structures or their
dismantling and recycling. There is still a lot
of innovation to be made in terms of business
models and the distribution of value created.
Regulation also plays a role that is already very
significant, but which remains partial. In addition
to coercion (prohibitions, limitations, punitive
taxation), other levers must therefore be used.
The development of reporting for developers and
financiers is one of them. Beyond that, all players
in the value chain must be held accountable.
What is the impact of rising energy costs?
Paradoxically, there is a positive effect
of this trend, which strengthens awareness
of the climate issues at stake and which
encourages a reduction in consumption, but also
investment in renovation in order to achieve
greater long-term profitability. In return, this
requires efforts to help the categories of the
population made the most vulnerable by this
change.
What are the main levers to act at the scale
of a city in order to achieve a specific objective
of decarbonization?
We have a real issue concerning the variability
of regulatory requirements from one region to
another; some boroughs of London, for example,
require assessments to be carried out over
the entire life cycle of a building. Increasingly
stringent requirements are likely to come, notably
in terms of binding performance targets.
To think about decarbonization at the scale of
a city, it is also necessary to take a step back
and reflect on urban planning, also taking into
account transport and food in the evolution
of existing models. It is a question of being
pragmatic and taking into account the systemic
dimension of a regional community.
Also read the article available
on the WBCSD website:
https://www.wbcsd.org/Overview/News-Insights/WBCSD-
insights/If-we-act-today-we-can-halve-the-emissions-of-the-
built-environment-by-2030
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