INGENIEUR
in the new report “Shaping the Future of
Construction: Inspiring innovators redefine the
industry” developed with the World Economic
Forum. It showcases and analyses 10 Lighthouse
innovation cases — prominent flagship projects
as well as start-ups and pilot projects — that
demonstrate the potential of innovation in
construction and give a glimpse of the industry’s
future.
In the context of the Forum’s Future of
Construction initiative, over the past year
six Working Groups comprised of industry
leaders, academics and experts met regularly
to develop and analyse innovative ideas, their
impact, the barriers to implementing solutions
and the way forward to overcoming obstacles
and implementing modern approaches in the
construction and engineering industry.
A White Paper presents the outcome of this
work in the form of insight articles proposing
innovative solutions on how to address the
construction sector’s key challenges in the
following fundamental challenge areas:-
1. Project Delivery – Creating certainty
of timely delivery and to budget, and
generally improving the productivity of the
construction sector
2. Life cycle Performance – Reducing the life
cycle costs of assets and designing for re-use
3. Sustainability – Achieving carbon-neutral
assets and reducing waste in the course of
construction
4. Affordability – Creating high-quality,
affordable infrastructure and housing
5. Disaster Resilience – Making infrastructure
and buildings resilient to climate change
and natural disasters
6. Flexibility, Liveability and Well-being –
Creating infrastructure and buildings that
improve the well-being of end-users
Can the Circular Economy transform the
World’s Number One Consumer of Raw
Materials? (Source: World Economic
Forum)
The construction industry’s appetite for raw
materials is vast; it is the world’s largest consumer
of them and accounts for 25-40% of global carbon
emissions.
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Yet very little gets reused or recycled. The
World Economic Forum’s report “Shaping the
Future of Construction” found that only a fraction
of construction waste gets recycled. Instead,
billions of tonnes of materials that could be used
elsewhere are being dumped.
Missed opportunity
The World Economic Forum report found that less
than a third of all construction and demolition
waste is recovered and reused. That’s despite the
fact that these materials could be put to a number
of uses. From road-building to flooring, so much
of what is currently being discarded could be re-
purposed and recycled.
Circular economy
The traditional linear economy uses a "take, make,
dispose" economic model which relies on large
quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials
and energy. It is not a sustainable model and
many believe it is a now reaching its limits.
A circular economy aims to be a viable
alternative that reuses where possible and
designs products that can be "made to be made
again" while powering the system with renewable
energy.
Applying this principle to the construction
industry could bring extremely cost-effective
benefits. The World Economic Forum’s report
points out that by harnessing the capacity of the
building sector, many countries could cut emission
rates cost effectively and achieve energy savings
of more than 30%, according to the United Nations
Environment Programme.
The target set by the UK’s construction industry
for 2025 is a full 50% reduction of today’s level
of greenhouse gas emissions in the overall built
environment.
The World Economic Forum report shows
that by adopting circular economy principles and
sharing knowledge within the industry, companies
can bring about transformative change. With
the help of Government – both as regulator and
infrastructure customer – this change can be
supported and encouraged.
Small changes in such a vast industry have
extraordinary potential and many of these changes
are already within reach. All that is missing is the
will to bring about the necessary transformation.