Future-Proof Building: Exploring Sustainable Materials in Real Estate Development
Future-Proof Building: Exploring Sustainable Materials in Real Estate Development
Unlock the Potential of Green Steel, Mass Timber, and Low Carbon Concrete for Eco-Friendly Investments
We all know by now that the Real Estate Sector contributes to a massive 40% of global carbon emissions. To accelerate decarbonisation all available innovation is needed and the use of innovative material technology is one of them.
In today’s Newsletter, I will focus on construction materials that have a big impact on the ESG metrics of every new Real Estate Development project. I will provide a general overview of what the industry is doing to change the perception of traditional structural materials that have always been used in construction: Timber, Steel and Concrete.
What is the latest green-tech innovation affecting these traditional materials and what might this mean for Real Estate development?
Now, let's dive in.
Mass Timber
Mass Timber is a sustainable construction choice that doubles as a carbon sink. Large solid wood elements, used in wall, floor, and roof construction, capture and store CO2, helping to reduce the overall carbon footprint of a building project.
In the last couple of years, the use of this material has become a symbol of how a Zero Carbon building should look like. This material provides clear benefits to the well-being of occupants and construction workers of buildings. Here are a few:
Biophilic properties of wood = > reduce stress and blood pressure.
Hypoallergenic properties = > help improve indoor air quality.
Better sound absorption = > enhances concentration.
Unique Aesthetic qualities = > enhance the feeling of being in contact with nature.
Safer construction = > less wet trades, increased silence on site, less noise for neighbours.
Spending my summers in Sweden I have always been very fond of timber. My summer house is a 120-year-old timber log cottage and I used to play building wood toys as a kid.
To me, this is a testament that not only is this a sustainable choice, but it can be a timeless and durable material.
Pros:
Enhanced wellbeing.
Improved construction safety.
Cons:
Higher construction costs.
Not suitable for certain Asset Classes (Life Science Wet Labs).
Green Steel
Steel is the world’s most important engineering and construction material. It’s used in many aspects of our lives, from the buildings we live into the cars we drive. However, it is also one of the dirtiest industries responsible for more than 7% of global (25% in Europe) CO2 emissions.
I came across Green Steel recently when I read the news about recent funding received by a company called H2 Green Steel.
There is a lot of interest in decarbonising this industry.
The production of Green Steel can reduce CO2 emissions through the use of electricity from fossil-free sources and green hydrogen instead of coal. The process is fully integrated using end-to-end digitalisation.
One of the main issues with Green Steel is that it’s currently 20-30% more expensive to produce than conventional steel. The silver lining though is that there are a rising number of companies racing towards this type of production, meaning costs will become more competitive with time.
Pros:
Significant reduction in embodied carbon for tall building structures.
Cons:
High material costs.
Low-Carbon Concrete
Concrete is the second most widely used material on earth, one of the oldest and also very detrimental to the environment.
Low Carbon Concrete is a type of concrete designed to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. This is achieved by replacing some of the cement used in traditional concrete with materials like fly ash or slag, or by incorporating carbon capture and storage technologies during the production process.
I came across the term “Low Carbon Concrete” for the first time when I was studying multiple development feasibility scenarios on some of the building plots at MIND - Milano Innovation Districts.
This technology is starting to be applied in construction. A good example is provided by CarbonCure, which uses captured carbon dioxide in its mix. This material has been used for Amazon’s HQ2 project in Arlington, Virginia.
Pros:
Significant reduction in embodied carbon of concrete structures.
Cheaper than other low-carbon structural materials like Mass Timber.
Cons:
Less carbon efficient than Mass Timber.
Conclusion
In the last few years, there have been a lot of arguments for substituting the use of Steel and Concrete with Mass Timber. Whilst this is a valid point, I believe that to win the race towards a carbon-zero real Estate sector we can’t rely solely on a single solution.
It Is exciting to see the level of investment going into the decarbonisation of some of these old dirty industries and it’s a reason for looking at the future of the Carbon Zero Real Estate sector with optimism.
I’m a firm believer that the more tools we have in our arsenal the better equipped we will be to win the Carbon Zero race.
That’s all for today.
See you next week.