The following section offers a brief summary of the impact of humans and their buildings on the natural and built environments. These impacts are cross-referenced to the triple bottom line themes, sub-themes and indicators used for the design guidelines.
The pursuit of sustainable development brings the construction industry, and specifically the building industry component thereof, into sharp relief. The built environment is a major component of contemporary life. Almost half the world’s population (47,2%)[20] is now urbanised and by 2050 that proportion will have reached two-thirds. The urban population of the United Kingdom is already at 89,5 percent.[21]
Construction constitutes more than half of total national capital investment in most countries, and construction can amount to as much as 10 percent of GDP. It is estimated that the industry employs about 111 million people globally, and accounting for almost 28 percent of all industrial employment, is the biggest industrial employer worldwide. Construction accounts for 7 percent of total employment with 75 percent of all construction workers found in developing countries. Typically over 90 percent of workers are employed in micro firms with less than 10 persons[22]. In fact, internationally, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute 97 percent of all construction firms globally, with 95 percent of firms being micro firms having ten or less employees. This is equally true of the developed countries: even in France and Germany there are fewer than ten large national contracting firms having thousands of employees.
The industry has a significant multiplier effect on the economy as a whole and it is considered that one job in construction gives rise to two further jobs[23] elsewhere in the construction sector and other sectors of the economy. As much as 20 percent of all employment can be ascribed to construction activities in some way on this basis.
Buildings and structures form and alter the nature, function and appearance of the natural and built environment: it impacts on rural areas, villages, towns and cities. Buildings are known to have a long life: many of the buildings still in use around the world are many hundreds of years old. Their construction, operation, repair and maintenance and demolition consume energy and resources and generate waste in excess of any other industrial sector. Construction activity is a consumer of materials and scarce resources (water and energy), is a significant contributor to global warming emissions (including CO² from the burning of fossil fuels), contributes to air pollution (smoke and dust pollution), generates vast quantities of waste, contaminates the soil, and destroys existing vegetation.
Yet buildings are a crucial part of governments’ strategy to improve the quality of life: buildings constitute the infrastructure through which health care, education and housing are provided. The economic, social and environmental benefits that may result from a more efficient and sustainability-led industry are not difficult to imagine. The following graph shows the environmental impact of buildings in the USA as a percentage of US nationwide annual impact. Achieving a 10-20 percent reduction in consumption and waste patterns will have a significant and ongoing societal benefit.
Building activity varies significantly between developed and developing countries: whereas more of the building work in developed countries is orientated around renovation and maintenance (33 percent and rising in Europe), activity in developing countries has more to do with new construction. Both activities must recognise that buildings are a resource that must be adapted rather than demolished.
Figure 1: Buildings as a percentage of U.S. nationwide annual impact
Go to 12.1 Economics
12.2 Consumption and production patterns
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