Pragmatically delivering sustainability in the age of 'greenhushing'

Major investors and occupiers were publicly committing to decarbonise their Scope 3 indirect emissions; planning authorities began to mandate maximum embodied and whole life carbon figures in consents; and, developers were competing to deliver the next generation of sustainable buildings to win tenants and maximise value.

Recently, there has been a noticeable thawing in enthusiasm for corporates shouting loudly about their sustainability efforts as they weigh these against more immediate commercial concerns or political pressures. The term ‘greenhushing’ has even been coined to refer to companies that do not publicise their environmental goals, even despite doing meaningful work behind the scenes to lower their impact.

Nevertheless, the imperative to do the right thing remains clear. Time is running out to limit global warming to below 2 degrees (if indeed it is even possible), but the real estate and construction industry still has a huge part to play in reducing embodied and future in use carbon.

For a developer like Simten, one challenge lies in how we keep teams and stakeholders focused on striving for best practice on boundary-pushing projects, even when the buzz has started to wear off somewhat. Our answer is that while the ‘why’ might have shifted somewhat, the ‘how’ remains the same. By prioritising efficient, low carbon design solutions and retention of existing elements where possible, we can deliver buildings that minimise their impact in construction and operation, not necessarily for the PR benefit but because it is the right thing to do both environmentally and commercially.

As a team, we have aimed to create a culture of treating carbon the same way we do cost, always striving to find efficiencies and using carbon to influence decision-making. Where possible, we looked to simplify the design or adopt recycled materials and innovative methods. If a more carbon-intensive detail was required to achieve performance or aesthetic outcomes, it would have to be offset by carbon savings elsewhere. We also engaged Elliott Wood in a carbon monitoring role to input and sense check along the way.

There is still a long way to go to fully align the manufacturers and suppliers from whom construction materials are sourced with the carbon targets common in top tier projects. Our experience was that some suppliers are incredibly advanced when it comes to producing and continuously improving their Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), while others are only just beginning their journey. It is essential that this continues to develop across all industry disciplines, particularly those trades with more limited competition and hence less incentive to improve their offerings.

In terms of operational energy, EDGE London Bridge set a target to facilitate Paris Proof occupancy, helping tenants to achieve net zero occupation well ahead of the 2050 Paris Accord deadline. In practice, what this means is that the building can be operated to an overall operational energy target of 55 kWh/m2 of GIA per year, shared between the landlord and tenants at 30 and 25 kWh/m2/year respectively. These figures reflect the amount by which energy demand in the office sector needs to reduce to meet the expected supply of zero carbon energy sources in 2050.

Again, achieving these targets has been hard fought by the project team, who have prioritised highly efficient MEP systems. Simten also spearheaded an innovative commercial arrangement with the neighbouring development where waste heat from EDGE London Bridge is shared to heat domestic water in the neighbouring building.

That said, buildings are typically designed well before their end occupiers come on board, and the rubber hits the road once tenants move in and start using electricity within our buildings. Whilst the building is designed to be incredibly efficient, it still provides BCO specification levels of heating, cooling and power. Tenants can make their own decisions about how best to fitout their floors, including the Cat-A MEP works, although this will have an impact on the operational energy figures.

This association is not yet common in the UK, but NABERS is still in its infancy. We are confident the demand for sustainable buildings will continue to be strong because they make both environmental and commercial sense. In the meantime, through pushing the envelope, Simten has built great experience that can be widely applied across all our projects. We’re proud of the work we have done collaboratively with project teams to achieve targets that top the field, and expand knowledge and experience in an increasingly competitive market.