By Graham Findlay

It was the moment the whole world looked to Scotland for the chance to change the world.

One year on from the landmark COP26 climate change events in Glasgow, the world might not have changed, yet. But the way we do business certainly has.

As government leaders haggled over net-zero targets, with dates and temperature debated and negotiated, the construction industry had, fittingly, been laying the foundations already. In the wake of the conference in Glasgow last November, businesses rushed to develop and announce their own net-zero targets.

A year on from COP26, the UK is in the middle of an energy and fuel cost crisis making the drive towards sustainability and energy saving strategies more urgent than ever. The construction industry is playing its part, but more can, and is being done.

Due to a combination of customer demand, business interests and inherent social responsibility, firms have been looking towards their own 2045 targeted reductions and carbon offsetting as a priority. That ranges from simply saving energy and reducing waste to revolutionary new digital analysis systems which can measure usage and carbon cost during a building’s entire life cycle. We are currently trialling a new automated software system which promises to change the way we look at building, on every level.

In regulatory terms, the Scottish Government expanded its net-zero drive earlier this year by unveiling the building a net-zero future strategy for new-build homes, aimed at cutting emissions from all such developments by nearly a third. This is just the latest stage of a progressive tightening of regulations which have included working to improve insulation, making properties more air-tight, while utilising low energy building services, renewable energy sources, and adaptable building controls.

These have been welcomed across the board by construction industry leaders. With further legislation and regulation expected, firms are getting ahead of the game. Working towards net-zero guidelines for the entire life cycle of a building makes companies more attractive to prospective clients who increasingly see sustainability as an essential part of deals and applications.

Energy efficiency is also vital in attracting the next generation of customers, and employees. In terms of the Gen Z demographic, 52% of 18-34 year olds prefer to work for a business that is environmentally sustainable. Green credentials must be proven to be more than merely green-washing if they are to inspire the future workforce – organisations who fail to prioritise net-zero practices simply won’t be able to compete.

As part of this drive, the construction industry will need to start considering the carbon cost of projects as much as the financial. Innovation is key. Carbon offset tools and schemes, working in sync with digital platforms, will be vital for this kind of accounting, measuring exactly what net-zero levels mean for each project in terms of design, equipment, and labour.

It’s not just COP26 issues that have driven change in the construction industry, however. In the last three years, the world of commercial property and office space has undergone a dramatic revolution which few have fully come to terms with.

Post-Covid, the culture of hybrid and home working has gone from being a government-mandated necessity to a lifestyle choice favoured by more and more members of staff. With two thirds of desks in offices reportedly now unused on a daily basis, now is the time for a rethink on approaching commercial construction, office layout and specifically, energy consumption.

The idea of huge swathes of office floors sitting empty, while heated and brightly lit is, literally, unsustainable.

Graham Findlay is a regional director of Thomas & Adamson