How we reduce CO2 emissions in the built environment is changing – with focus moving from energy efficiency to reducing embodied carbon, according to UNSW’s Philip Oldfield.
How we reduce CO2 emissions in the built environment is changing – with focus moving from energy efficiency to reducing embodied carbon, according to UNSW’s Philip Oldfield.
In October this year the new Sustainable Buildings State Environmental Planning Policy will require architects and developers in NSW to start measuring the embodied carbon in their designs as Australia seeks to transition to a low-carbon built environment.
Associate Professor Philip Oldfield, head of UNSW’s School of Built Environment in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, explains the dilemma faced by professionals working in the built environment.
“Every square metre we build has a carbon footprint, and that can be quite high, because the materials we rely on to construct buildings are very carbon intensive. But we can’t simply stop building. We have a social obligation to provide healthy, comfortable, safe and sustainable places for people to live, to work and to play, around the world," says A/Prof. Oldfield.
Read more at University of New South Wales
Image: By upcycling and expanding the AMP Tower to create Quay Quarter Tower, rather than doing a knock-down rebuild, architecture firm 3XN saved 7500 tons of CO2. (Photo: Adam Monk via University of New South Wales)
