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What’s on our Sustainability and ESG team’s radar?

With sustainability and ESG the buzz word on everyone’s lips at the moment, we asked some of the newer members of our team what’s important to them, what’s happening in the sector now, and what we should be paying attention to in the future.

Hanging Gardens of Hockley

I recently came across an article which describes the ‘Hanging Gardens of Hockley’ – this is part of a vision for the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham to ‘go green’ and revitalise public space. The proposals include an elevated urban garden, a new food hub and community green space which will encourage pedestrian-friendly streets, community self-sufficiency and support climate resilience. 

Hockley is an area I spend a lot of time in, and to know that there are plans to transform it in this way is really inspiring. This is related to why I love working in sustainability – it is integral to all of our day-to-day lives and is something that people are genuinely interested in discussing. 

This kind of development is becoming more prominent, particularly in light of the adoption of the Birmingham ‘Green Living Spaces Plan’^[1] which aims to secure, enhance and ensure the effective long-term maintenance of the city’s natural green and water spaces. At Turley, we have supported the agenda being driven by Birmingham City Council through preparation of Sustainable Design and Construction Statements for developments such as Moseley Street, Rea Valley. This development involved transforming the River Rea to offer a unique waterside development in the heart of the city centre, connecting to a network of green routes and spaces to create a resilient environment, rich in biodiversity and promoting the health and wellbeing of residents and visitors alike.

Fast fashion

Fast fashion is a term that I have become rather conscious of in the last year or so and something I am trying to address a bit more on a personal level. According to the UN Environment Programme, the fashion industry is responsible for 2-8% of global carbon emissions and is the second biggest consumer of water. Awareness of fast fashion is increasing thanks to marketplaces like Vinted and eBay, and popular TV shows such as Love Island are now being sponsored by eBay rather than fast fashion brands. 

At Turley, we can offer embodied carbon assessments on any product and have experience in doing so on a broad range of projects including new buildings, processes and even things like food products.

Understanding the upstream carbon impact is key to reducing global GHG emissions. It would be great to expand this into the fashion industry as well and see how the embodied carbon of clothing compares to that of other products we have previously assessed.

Embodied carbon

The built environment accounts for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, and up until recently the main focus has been on reducing operational emissions, generally overlooking embodied carbon which represent 11% of global greenhouse gases. Operational emissions include the energy use within buildings from lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation etc. As these begin to reduce with increased investment into energy efficient technology, renewables, improved insulation and grid decarbonisation, it’s time to focus on embodied carbon.

Increasing legislation, as well as customer demand and investor interest is driving innovation for reducing embodied carbon. For example, steel is one of the most important construction materials but also one of the biggest greenhouse gas producers, as most production relies on coal. Due to rising demand for low carbon steel, the industry is exploring alternative production methods such as use of biomass as a coal alternative, reducing coal by trialling additional materials such as plastics, hydrogen and natural gas, and using carbon capture technology to use the carbon emissions within the chemical industry.

LETI embodied carbon case studies find most promising reductions through swapping out steel for timber wherever possible such as timber frame and floor slabs; replacing cement within concrete to recycled binders such as fly ash (a waste product from coal-fired boilers); and re-using existing structures where possible.

It is an interesting area to be involved in and I'm looking forward to continuing to work on embodied carbon assessments, as the number of opportunities, as well as innovative solutions, will undoubtedly grow as emerging policy increases the demand.

Active Travel

I am a big supporter of Active Travel, which essentially means getting from A to B using active means such as walking, wheeling, cycling, or even scootering! A recent study from ActiveScore shows that replacing just 1% of trips with active travel within the world’s largest cities could save c.200 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Active Travel is not only good for reducing carbon emissions, but also for improving air quality, benefitting physical and mental health, promoting social interaction, and is also often the cheapest option. 

I love living in a city where I can walk, cycle, or use public transport to meet most of my needs. It is really important that systems are in place to enable active travel as an easy option for everyone. A great example of this is the new community e-cargo bikes schemes I have seen popping up across London. The bikes are designed to allow people to carry bulky goods or even extra passengers and are often available for free over short periods, with the aim of encouraging the use of Active Travel for an even greater variety of journeys. 

Projects like these need to be supported by the provision of high-quality Active Travel routes, facilities such as showers and lockers within key destinations, and informational campaigns, to create systems in which active travel is the natural first choice. At Turley, the provision of support for Active Travel is a key consideration at both the individual development level and when establishing sustainability strategies for entire organisations.  

Sustainable living

‘Sustainable living’ is something that has become very important to me over recent years. The Climate Change Act 2008, which was revised in 2019, has set a 100% carbon reduction target (net zero) by 2050. By making conscious choices about the products I use and the energy I consume, I feel like I am doing my part to reduce my carbon footprint and minimize my impact on the planet. Being able to quantify the impact of our daily activities on the environment means that we can start addressing our carbon ‘hot-spots’ with the view to becoming Net Zero in the future. 

We have helped numerous companies to calculate their carbon footprint and ‘offset’ their emissions to become effectively carbon neutral. And this is just the beginning of their sustainability journey. Having quantified the emissions we are able to advise on further steps towards carbon reductions and ensure that they are well on the trajectory towards Net Zero.

CRREM

It is encouraging to see everyone  pushing toward sustainability every day, better solutions to reduce GHG emissions and tackle climate change are being found all the time. 

For example, the Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM), which is a global initiative which provides 1.5°C aligned energy use intensity and decarbonisation pathways per country and building type for the real estate industry, was recently updated. Following the update, I carried out a CRREM analysis for student accommodation to help clients predict the energy performance of the proposed development, to see if it will align with the 1.5°C climate change target, and provided suggestions to improve its energy performance.

Decarbonised energy supply

Between 1990 and 2019, the UK managed to reduce its emissions by 44% while experiencing a GDP growth of 76.4%, making it the fastest decarbonizing country among the G20 nation.

The UK Government has announced plans to make sure that homes and businesses in Britain have access to affordable, clean, and secure electricity. This commitment is a significant step towards achieving the country's goal of becoming net zero in terms of carbon emissions before 2050. The Government aims to create a reliable and domestically sourced energy sector that reduces dependence on fossil fuels and protects against fluctuations in global energy prices.

To make this vision a reality, the Government will focus on deploying a new generation of domestic technologies, including offshore wind, hydrogen, solar power, nuclear energy, onshore wind, and Carbon Capture and Storage. By harnessing the abundant natural resources available in the country, these green technologies will provide cleaner and more affordable electricity while also creating numerous skilled jobs in emerging industries across the UK.

These efforts will play a major role in supporting companies to achieve their own Net Zero targets. We have been working alongside many companies to support these targets. However, analysis has demonstrated that without major investment, or favourable circumstances, many developments will be incapable of generating enough local electricity to meet 100% of their demands. Without a decarbonised energy supply, it leaves many companies requiring offsetting to hit ‘Net Zero’. 

For more information on the work of our Sustainability and ESG team please click here or get in touch. You can also listen to our ESG bites podcast here. 

3 July 2023

[1] Green Living Spaces Plan | Birmingham City Council