In recent years, several national and international initiatives have focused on strengthening the sustainable development of the construction industry in Denmark. The initiatives have made visible the industry’s significant potential for improvement, but they have also made clear the necessity for the initiatives to be developed in close cooperation between the industry’s various actors. Therefore, 17 of the construction industry’s top managers have now formulated 12 concrete recommendations for how the industry can work together to succeed in the green transition.
It is Molio, the construction knowledge centre, which in collaboration with ConTech Lab has taken the initiative to bring together business leaders across the industry in a think tank, which has been tasked with formulating the concrete solutions that the industry must work together on in order to accelerate sustainability in construction.
The 12 recommendations for actions to accelerate sustainable development across the industry:
1 The construction think tank for sustainability The think tank must consist of top managers who represent the circular value chain of construction and who can speak with one independent and strong voice about and for the acceleration of sustainable development of the construction industry. The think tank must have the mandate to put construction on the agenda in and outside the industry – also politically.
2 New industry narrative Construction companies should jointly write and disseminate a core narrative about construction’s decisive role in the sustainable development of Denmark. The story will be able to contribute to the history of Denmark as a leading country in sustainable construction, which will strengthen the opportunities for Danish business to export, for example, GreenTech solutions.
3 Construction’s forms of cooperation are strengthened The ongoing work to map and analyze construction’s forms of cooperation must be intensified with a view to identifying where there is a need for research, test projects, etc. A body must also be established for sparring and experience sharing, as well as the opportunity to match project criteria with concrete forms of cooperation and models.
4 Raising the industry’s level of competence It is necessary to raise the competence of the entire construction industry’s knowledge of and approach to sustainability if a high level of ambition is to be maintained across the industry. At the same time, a development plan must be put in place for the establishment and conceptualization of the training courses that are missing, including, for example, construction board training.
5 Construction risk fund Both relevant actors within construction, insurance and pensions must be involved in the preparation of a fund. In order to be able to create a fund that covers risks on insurance-like terms, a standardized method for calculating, classifying and comparing risks linked to the use of new materials and new technology should be developed.
6 Establishment of a circular value chain A transition from linear to circular thinking of the value chain ensures that a decision is taken on the entire construction life cycle, including material selection, long-term operation and design for disassembly.
7 The building’s data cloud for sustainability An open and transparent data cloud must be established for sharing data about sustainability-promoting initiatives and their effect. The data structure is based on the various parameters of the EU taxonomy and is determined in dialogue with knowledge institutions and the IT industry.
8 The bottom line must also be green Financial annual accounts and green annual accounts must be juxtaposed in a way that sustainability-promoting efforts have an impact on lending and property valuations. In interaction with the financial sector, relevant parties in construction will prepare models that, among other things, can ensure that CO2 emissions become a central element in tender processes and budgeting in construction.
9 Public funds as an accelerator There is a need for stricter sustainability-promoting requirements in all places where public funds are used. There is also a need for public developers to be subject to the EU taxonomy.
10 The building code must promote green conversion The construction code, including especially the building regulations, must promote the green conversion of the industry. Existing, inherent leg tension must be removed. The use of new, more sustainable materials and addressing both new construction, renovation and operation in an overall life cycle perspective must be supported.
11 Easy-to-understand sustainability labelling of construction A standardized and commonly accepted classification for sustainability must be developed, which simply and unambiguously communicates the construction’s degree of sustainability.
12 Promoting behavioral changes in the use of buildings through data and technology Efforts are needed to create increased understanding of ‘smart m2’ – both in the industry and among consumers. Both companies and consumers must be supported in using technology and data to rethink their use of buildings, for example using sensor technology to map user behaviour, data-based decision-making power in relation to ongoing operational optimization and adaptation or data nudging as a driver of behaviour- and norm changes.
