The building and construction sector: cornerstone of sustainability

摘要

In efforts by the global community to achieve real sustainability, probably no industrial sector has as great a potential role as building and construction. This sector accounts for around one-tenth of the world's GDP, at least 7 percent of its jobs, half of all resource use, and up to 40 percent of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, what we call the "built environment" continues to expand, and the rate of resource depletion this involves is not sustainable. As UNEP's Global Environment Outlook 3 notes, the growth of cities, roads and other infrastructure will entail the disturbance or outright destruction of habitats and wildlife on over 70 percent of the planet's land surface by 2032 if swift action is not taken now.