Constructech

Today, infrastructure construction and operations account for approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions—in some cases more, depending on how you define infrastructure. The bottomline is we have now less than 10 years to transform our world and achieve the sustainable development goals we set to accomplish by 2030.

Resource Management for Sustainability Construction isn’t all building, it also includes demolition when a new structure replaces an old one. Between constructing and deconstructing, a lot of waste product is generated. In fact, the EPA estimated that 600 million tons of C&D (construction and demolition) debris were generated in the United States in 2018, the last year complete figures are available, which is more than twice the amount of generated municipal solid waste.

Adding Functions for Property Management The paper and pencil approach to everyday business function is going the way of…well, of paper and pencils. Software, on computers or in the cloud, is taking over those chores and with the near ubiquitous connectivity present today, keeping multiple levels of the organization aware of each and every transaction is common.

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Making progress, North America is rapidly gaining ground on Europe to become a region to watch in terms of corporate sustainability leadership. This insight and more are found in the fifth annual edition of the Business Sustainability Risk & Performance Index, by business sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis.

Expansion in the Clouds As more software companies move to SaaS (software-as-a-service) utilizing a cloud platform, construction companies are seeking ways to use those services to their best advantage. That’s not only true in the U.S., but across the globe and aggressive companies see opportunities in foreign markets. One such company is Texas-based ECI Software Solutions.

We hear a lot about removing CO2 from cement and concrete to mitigate the impact that those products have on the environment and climate change. But there is more sustainability potential in cement than has been recognized. In fact, smart building contractors who profess sustainable, “net-zero” energy consumption, have a new approach to champion. From devices to home appliances and even entire cities, everything around us is getting smarter and more connected.

Smart Thermostats and CO2 While the U.S. Congress debates the need for new approaches to solving the problems that confront us in mitigating the climate crisis, Europe has defined the issue in more detail. Its approach, the Green Deal, establishes goals and, to realize these goals and reduce CO2 emissions, approximately €600 billion has been reserved in the EU’s Green Deal funds.

City in the Sea In many countries, land use is becoming more restrictive as agricultural lands are being set aside to maintain food supplies and buildable land is being exhausted. Cities are growing up instead of out, but high-rise living isn’t for everybody. The height of buildings is tightly regulated in most areas due to the conditions of the ground or fear of natural elements such as earthquake and hurricane. Coastal cities are on the frontlines of climate-related risks.

AI and the Sun Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI can benefit many areas where data is dominant. A novel application is in solar arrays at the utility level. Heliogen’s technology, for example, is a modular, turnkey, AI-enabled concentrated solar energy system that has the potential to deliver clean energy with nearly 24/7 availability. Heliogen has been granted by Woodside Energy (USA) Inc.