The housing sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse emissions. According to research by the National Housing Federation (NHF), houses in England produce higher carbon emissions than all the country’s cars combined each year. Globally, the built environment generates a whopping 40 percent of all CO2 emissions. 13 percent of this total figure is attributed to existing building infrastructure, materials, and construction.

In the UK, housing emissions are estimated to be 8.1 tonnes of CO2, per household, per year. The UK has set an ambitious target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, reiterating the monumental need to ensure sustainability in the housing industry and reduce the sector’s overall environmental footprint.

Historically, the construction and housing industries have been on the back burner of technological innovation. The push for a more sustainable built environment, combined with a shifting economic and political landscape, is transforming the industry, with technology having an increasingly positive impact.

Benefits of sustainable construction:

With the world increasingly facing environmental crises, construction and housing – one of the most significant contributors to global emissions – must be transformed to create greener and more sustainable solutions.

The construction and housing industries are increasingly taking advantage of sustainable building practices, which promote positive environmental, economic, health-related and social benefits. From improved air quality to long-term cost savings down the line with lower energy bills and fewer repair costs – there are numerous benefits that come with adopting green initiatives in this sector.

The main benefit of using hi-tech solutions in the construction and housing sector is efficiency. Sustainable building technologies like automation and robotics reduce the impact construction has on natural resources, meaning less time and money is wasted on unsustainable practices.

Role of technology in sustainable construction and housing:

Industry players, including housebuilders, housing associations, principal contractors and subcontractors can implement technology in the following ways to reduce environmental impact:

Reducing waste on-site: Sustainable construction technology can reduce on-site waste. Connected, cloud-based construction management software can pinpoint ways to decrease waste and use resources more effectively by tracking exactly how materials are used on-site. Project managers can also follow the progress and impact of sustainability initiatives over time by monitoring data such as fuel, energy consumption and materials expenses.

Automating operations: Sustainable construction technology increases efficiency and productivity by moving formerly manual processes to automated systems. For example, the typical paper-heavy and lengthy timecard and payroll processes can be automated by adopting a cloud-based application to collect digital time cards from the field, keep track of employees’ hours, accurately calculate paycheck and tax figures, distribute paychecks, and file payroll documents in convenient digital workflows.

Installing smart systems: Installing systems that use smart technology to monitor energy consumption, allowing residents to make decisions about heating and cooling and the impact on their energy costs.

A word from our CEO and co-founder, James Farrell

“The push towards a sustainable construction and housing sector has increased the need for technological adoption. As a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, clixifix® offers robust services to businesses within the housing industry by delivering efficient defect management and repair services. By effectively identifying and resolving defects, clixifix’s solution reduces the need for further repairs which inturn saves on the overall cost and resources. This offsets the carbon emissions and has a knock-on effect on the carbon production of housing associations, housebuilders and subcontractors. Our software also allows for more effective remote online communication, which inevitably reduces carbon footprint and amount of paper used.”

Conclusion

Technology plays an integral role in efforts to make the housing and construction sectors more sustainable. Technology helps the construction and housing industry achieve its sustainability goals by efficiently allocating resources and reducing waste, which in turn reduces energy consumption and costs.

Effectively harnessing technology to streamline activities, reduce waste and automate processes can help secure a more sustainable future for the housing and construction industries.