Adopting Green Building Technologies for Sustainable Development: Insights from Harare, Zimbabwe

Green building is a fast growing concept that acts as a cardinal instrument of sustainable development, being proven as crucial in the achievement of sustainable development goals. The construction industry is seen as a critical player in the achievement of sustainable development because it makes huge contribution to the environmental degradation. However, in Zimbabwe, the adoption of green building technologies has been very slow, which means that the contribution of the built environment to sustainable development is apparently very minimal. The present study attempts to situate the Zimbabwean construction industry in the sustainable development framework. Technology is the cutting edge of development in the contemporary cities and the adoption of technologies in the construction industry will go a long way in attaining sustainable development. The study also examined the barriers to sustainable construction in the country using Harare as the case study. The study used qualitative methods to collect data. In-depth interviews and observations were employed. The research observed that there is very minimal adoption of green building technologies in Harare with only three buildings that have incorporated these technologies the rest are conventional buildings. Technology in the construction industry is therefore minimally used in the city of Harare and this has severe consequences on sustainability. The major reason for poor adoption of green technologies include lack of government policy, general lack of information and understanding on the need for green buildings, and the hostile economic environment in the country. The study therefore recommends that government should intervene with policies and regulations that promote green technologies

Adopting Green Building Technologies for Sustainable Development: Insights from Harare, Zimbabwe

Green building is a fast growing concept that acts as a cardinal instrument of sustainable development, being proven as crucial in the achievement of sustainable development goals. The construction industry is seen as a critical player in the achievement of sustainable development because it makes huge contribution to the environmental degradation. However, in Zimbabwe, the adoption of green building technologies has been very slow, which means that the contribution of the built environment to sustainable development is apparently very minimal. The present study attempts to situate the Zimbabwean construction industry in the sustainable development framework. Technology is the cutting edge of development in the contemporary cities and the adoption of technologies in the construction industry will go a long way in attaining sustainable development. The study also examined the barriers to sustainable construction in the country using Harare as the case study. The study used qualitative methods to collect data. In-depth interviews and observations were employed. The research observed that there is very minimal adoption of green building technologies in Harare with only three buildings that have incorporated these technologies the rest are conventional buildings. Technology in the construction industry is therefore minimally used in the city of Harare and this has severe consequences on sustainability. The major reason for poor adoption of green technologies include lack of government policy, general lack of information and understanding on the need for green buildings, and the hostile economic environment in the country. The study therefore recommends that government should intervene with policies and regulations that promote green technologies

The outlook of building information modeling for sustainable development

As human needs evolve, information technologies and natural environments require a wider perspective of sustainable development, especially when examining the built environment that impacts the central of social-ecological systems. The objectives of the paper are (a) to review the status and development of building information modeling (BIM) in regards to the sustainable development in the built environment, and (b) to develop a future outlook framework that promotes BIM in sustainable development. Seven areas of sustainability were classified to analyze forty-four BIM guidelines and standards. This review examines the use of BIM in sustainable development, focusing primarily on certain areas of sustainability, such as project development, design, and construction. The developed framework describes the need for collaboration with the multiple disciplines for the future adoption and use of BIM for the sustainable development. It also considers the integration between “BIM and green assessment criteria”; and “BIM and renewable energy” to address the shortcomings of the standards and guidelines

Green + grey: eco-oriented redevelopment of urban contexts

Urban regeneration aims to pursue an upgraded level of sustainability each time with a new experience creating a positive competition between nations, trying to differentiate their works with innovative technologies. The purpose is to develop areas to create sustainable, multi-functional, totally accessible public spaces characterized by two components: the green component (vegetation) and the grey one (built environment), which will become the main elements to achieve a new eco-oriented reticular redevelopment. The case study of Hudson Yards set an example of how sustainable technologies can be used to create a mixed-use real estate with office, residential and retail space, integrated with a central green public square. The new structure of urban context is itself becoming a new platform for sharing: the collection of data through IT tools such as GIS (Geographic Information System) allows to keep every aspect under control and to make it understandable to everyone.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Green + grey: eco-oriented redevelopment of urban contexts

Urban regeneration aims to pursue an upgraded level of sustainability each time with a new experience creating a positive competition between nations, trying to differentiate their works with innovative technologies. The purpose is to develop areas to create sustainable, multi-functional, totally accessible public spaces characterized by two components: the green component (vegetation) and the grey one (built environment), which will become the main elements to achieve a new eco-oriented reticular redevelopment. The case study of Hudson Yards set an example of how sustainable technologies can be used to create a mixed-use real estate with office, residential and retail space, integrated with a central green public square. The new structure of urban context is itself becoming a new platform for sharing: the collection of data through IT tools such as GIS (Geographic Information System) allows to keep every aspect under control and to make it understandable to everyone.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Establishing A Timber-Focused Competency Framework To Up- And Re-Skill Built Environment Professionals To Meet Sustainability Goals

Engineers equipped with skills for a sustainable built environment have never been more critical, as government and industry sustainability goals such as the 2050 net zero target have significant implications for the construction sector. Concurrently, the UK’s Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has estimated that over 250,000 new workers will be needed by 2027 to meet demand. Besides this need for green skills, the sector is also looking towards more sustainable building materials, methods, and technologies, such as homegrown biogenic offsite manufactured (bioOSM) timber: an innovative technology requiring additional engineering and manufacturing expertise. To address this critical skills gap, the Timber Technology, Engineering, and Design (TED) Competency Framework was established by a coalition of academic and industry partners. This framework then informed the development of a hybrid training course that can prepare the next generation of timber engineers with the knowledge, transferable skills, and industry experience that can drive change towards sustainability in the built environment and inform a transformational approach in engineering education. This practice paper describes the development of the Timber TED framework and the launch of the corresponding training programme in September 2022. It also reflects on the initial implementation across two cohorts, delivered at the Centre for Advanced Timber Technology at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering in Hereford, England, in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University and Timber Development UK. This educational initiative showcases an innovative and replicable approach to upskilling and reskilling for green skills in engineering education

The Potential Contribution of Wood in Green Building Certifications: Prospects in sustainable residential buildings

The building sector has a significant impact on the environment, accounting for 36% of CO2 emissions and about half of material consumption in Europe. Residential buildings dominate the European building stock. In Finland, residential buildings account for up to 80% of the existing buildings and the rate of construction is higher compared to other building types. Therefore, residential buildings play an important role in the transition to a sustainable built environment. A number of studies show that increasing the use of wood can lower the life cycle environmental impacts of buildings. In Scandinavia, the use of wood in small houses is well established, used in 90% of cases. Furthermore, the increasing number of high-rise wooden buildings suggests a growing interest in the potential of wood in large-scale buildings. Green building certification provides criteria to assess the sustainability level of buildings and is expected to influence the building sector in the near future, by promoting the use of sustainable technologies. The aim of this study was to investigate how green building certification schemes assess wood materials and how wood materials can help fulfil sustainability criteria for green buildings. We analyse the sustainability criteria adopted by the most common certification schemes in Finland, BREEAM, LEED and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, as well as the upcoming Level(s) certification promoted by the European Commission. The analysis shows that the contribution of wood materials to the overall score of green building certifications accounts for between 10 and 36%. Wood is advantageous as a renewable and low-carbon material. Furthermore, wood can offer indirect benefits due to its recycling potential and to water saving in the construction stage. However, wood materials have to comply with some requirements, such as sustainable forest management and low volatile organic compound content. The new European certification suggests a comprehensive assessment including circular material life cycles

The Take Up and Use of Green Technologies in Low Carbon Communities: A Case Study of North West Cambridge

Against the backdrop of climate change, governments around the world are introducing requirements for new developments to be built to much higher sustainability standards. As urban areas face population growth, we are seeing new-build urban extensions planned to provide mixed-use, low carbon communities. Embedded within these sites we often see a range of different green technologies and features designed to reduce the energy and carbon footprints of the area. There is, however, uncertainty around the impact of green technologies in housing, with housebuilders being urged, incentivised and required to provide sustainable features in new developments. Yet the impact of such technologies requires take up and use in the building sector and appropriate behaviours of occupants so that technologies are used effectively and energy and carbon reduction is achieved. This research aims to establish how occupant behaviour can be influenced by design and programmatic features of the community and the resultant effect on the energy and carbon outcomes of a site. The University of Cambridge’s North West Cambridge development is the main case study, with a focus on the postgraduate student and postdoctoral researcher communities which will be the main occupants in the first phase of development. Through application and extension of the principles of nudge and social practice theories, comparison case studies play a part in identifying the role of human interaction with urban visual signals in encouraging low carbon behaviours and delivering on the potential of low energy, low carbon technologies. The project evaluates which policy, programme, and built environment design instruments linked with green technologies will have the greatest impact in delivering environmentally-sustainable behaviour and associated carbon savings. There are two core questions which the study addresses: 1. Which features of a community (design, technology, policies, programmes etc.) cause people to adopt low energy and carbon behaviours? 2. If they adopt these behaviours, how does that change the energy and carbon 'footprint' of the community? Using interdisciplinary methods, the study uses primary data analysis to create behavioural groupings which are then matched to energy profiles. By linking specific policies, programmes and urban design features to each group, we can project technology take up and use across a site population, in building a series of scenarios which are then used to calculate resultant energy and carbon reductions across the site.The Department of Land Econom

Beyond sustainable buildings: eco-efficiency to eco-effectiveness through cradle-to-cradle design

Sustainable building development focuses on achieving buildings that meet performance and functionality requirements with minimum adverse impact on the environment. Such eco-efficiency strategies are however not feasible for achieving long-term economic and environmental objectives as they only result in damage reduction without addressing design flaws of contemporary industry. The cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design philosophy which has been described as a paradigm changing innovative platform for achieving ecologically intelligent and environmentally restorative buildings appears to offer an alternative vision which, if embraced, could lead to eco-effectiveness and the achievement of long-term environmental objectives. Adoption of C2C principles in the built environment has however been hindered by several factors especially in a sector where change has always been a very slow process. From a review of extant literature, it is argued that the promotion of current sustainable and/or gree n building strategies - which in themselves are not coherent enough due to their pluralistic meanings and sometimes differing solutions - are a major barrier to the promotion of C2C principles in the built environment. To overcome this barrier to C2C implementation, it is recommended that research should focus on developing clearly defined and measurable C2C targets that can be incorporated into project briefs from the inception of development projects. These targets could enable control, monitoring and comparison of C2C design outcomes with eco-efficient measures as well as serve as a guide for project stakeholders to achieve eco-effective “nutrient” management from the project conceptualization phase to the end of life of the building

Meeting the challenge of zero carbon homes : a multi-disciplinary review of the literature and assessment of key barriers and enablers

Within the built environment sector, there is an increasing pressure on professionals to consider the impact of development upon the environment. These pressures are rooted in sustainability, and particularly climate change. But what is meant by sustainability? It is a term whose meaning is often discussed, the most common definition taken from the Bruntland report as “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In the built environment, the sustainability issues within the environment, social and economic spheres are often expressed through design considerations of energy, water and waste. Given the Stern Report’s economic and political case for action with respect to climate change (Stern, 2006) and the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report’s confirmation of the urgency of the climate change issue and it’s root causes (IPCC, 2007), the need for action to mitigate the effects of climate change is currently high on the political agenda. Excess in carbon dioxide concentrations over the natural level have been attributed to anthropogenic sources, most particularly the burning of carbon-based fossil fuels. Over 40% of Europe’s energy and 40% of Europe’s carbon dioxide emissions arise from use of energy in buildings. Energy use in buildings is primarily for space heating, water heating, lighting and appliance use. Professionals in the built environment can therefore play a significant role in meeting targets for mitigating the effects of climate change. The UK Government recently published the Code for Sustainable Homes (DCLG, 2006). Within this is the objective of development of zero carbon domestic new build dwellings by 2016. It is the domestic zero carbon homes agenda which is the focus of this report. The report is the culmination of a research project, funded by Northumbria University, and conducted from February 2008 to July 2008, involving researchers from the Sustainable Cities Research Institute (within the School of the Built Environment) and academics, also from within the School. The aim of the project was to examine, in a systematic and holistic way, the critical issues, drivers and barriers to building and adapting houses to meet zero carbon targets. The project involved a wide range of subject specialisms within the built environment and took a multi-disciplinary approach. Practitioner contribution was enabled through a workshop. The focus of this work was to review the academic literature on the built environment sector and its capabilities to meet zero carbon housing targets. It was not possible to undertake a detailed review of energy efficiency or micro-generation technologies, the focus of the research was instead in four focussed areas: policy, behaviour, supply chain and technology.What follows is the key findings of the review work undertaken. Chapter One presents the findings of the policy and regulation review. In Chapter Two the review of behavioural aspects of energy use in buildings is presented. Chapter Three presents the findings of the review of supply chain issues. Chapter Four presents the findings of the technology review, which focuses on phase change materials. A summary of the key barriers and enablers, and areas for future research work, concludes this report in Chapter Five. Research is always a work in progress, and therefore comments on this document are most welcome, as are offers of collaboration towards solutions. The School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University strives to embed its research in practical applications and solutions to the need for a low carbon economy