Developing a net zero building

October 26, 2022

The net zero building is the current and long-term holy grail of the real estate industry. Planting trees to offset carbon was by and large a fallacy, so we have to concentrate on buildings. Urban Sequoia, a project of carbon negative building is an example of companies taking the lead and developing innovative buildings without the client. The “Triple Zero Standard” is the new paradigm in sustainable real estate. The construction industry is too reliant on concrete and steel. Companies need to be braver in trusting technology and innovation, and not wait for others to take the lead, concluded the experts at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Poland PLACES + SPACES conference.

Leading the way towards carbon-neutral developments

Eva Sterner, Stockholm based head of development at Logicenters, NREP, the largest real estate developer in the Nordics across several sectors, explained, that the company has committed itself to a carbon neutral portfolio by 2028, along the lines of the ‘Triple Zero Standard’, “a new paradigm in sustainable real estate”. The three elements that Logicenters aims to achieve zero in are operational carbon, embodied carbon cost. To this end, the investor/developer has started a pilot development, the first of three. The pilot will be a basic, typical warehouse of 20,000 sqm. Under the ‘triple zero’ approach, the company expects to reduce its carbon footprint by 60%. And if a carbon sink is added, they expect to reduce it down to a zero carbon footprint.

This, said Eva, could be enabled “by innovative materials and new technologies.” An example of this kind of thinking, she said, was to look at the costumes of astronauts, whose space suits have 13 layers. “Could these layers help with insulation in buildings?” she posited, adding that Logicenters is cooperating with a company that works with NASA.

In terms of the project, the biggest material used is concrete, and this has to be replaced by something that impacts the environment less. Can the steel structure be changed to wood, likewise the walls and the roof? Logicenters is looking across the globe for companies that are researching and developing products that are more CO2 efficient. “This is the key to future success: can we ally ourselves with companies that are developing new ways of doing things?” she said, referencing a company that is replacing the steel in dry walls with paper, and a US company that is producing bio-cement in Denmark along the principles of ocean corals. Another example is hemp, a material that seems ideal for insulation. “It can grow in 150 days and captures CO2, and it’s been tried in residential, so we’ll be using that,” she stated. The company that produces the hemp needs capital.We can invest in these companies. We really can make a change.”

The pilot scheme is twice as costly as a regular project, but the pricing will come down over the next five years.,” she claims, and in this regard, we’re in it together. “Accelerating scale to expedite change is done together.”

Kent Jackson, Partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill, pointed out that it is both an exciting and an intimidating time for the industry. His company’s ‘Urban Sequoia’, was a project that they didn’t have a client for, but they decided to challenge themselves. “We’re at a moment in time where you can no longer wait for an ambitious client to come forward.” The aim, he said, was not only to create a carbon zero building, but a carbon negative one.

Urban Sequoia: building a carbon negative future

Planting trees to offset carbon, he said, was by and large a fallacy, so we have to concentrate on buildings. Every building emits carbon, so where do we start? 3% of the planet is covered by cities and 50% of the world’s population lives in cities. Cities emit 75% of global carbon emissions. But could it be that in the future cities even offset carbon? The world’s built area will double by 2060 which, at today’s rate, would mean that cities would emit double the amount of carbon. The growth rate is as if a new city the size of London were to be built every 2 months for the next 40 years.

But could we make it that cities would act like forests? Could a building act like a tree, removing carbon from the atmosphere? That, said Kent, was what the company wanted to achieve with the ‘Urban Sequoia’ project. “There’s no silver bullet for climate change – there’s no vaccination. It’s going to be hard and will take lots of small incremental steps.”

“We either continue to build the way we always have been building, or we could save over 1.3 billion tones of carbon each year for our planet. This would be the equivalent of planting 60 billion trees each year. We cannot squander the opportunity – I suggest we sequester it!”- wrapped up Kent.

For example, material waste could be reduced if building components could be prefabricated and modular, reducing carbon by about 15%. And if buildings could be treated like a living organism, where they act like a tree, “we could optimise both natural and technological systems to be more self-sufficient, saving us another 30% of carbon emissions. The construction industry is too reliant on concrete and steel, he said. “We can no longer simply do what is easy – we need to use more nature-based materials that can absorb and sequester carbon. By embracing these advances, we could reduce carbon emissions by a further 50%”, he claimed – turning buildings into sources of energy that also capture carbon in the air, “much like a tree.”

“Through these collective steps and applications, we could leverage all these new and existing technologies, we could save 210% of our carbon emissions, making all our buildings of the future carbon negative.” In addition, he said, “we could breathe life into our buildings and make them far healthier.”

Panel discussion moderated by Jerzy Wójcik, CEO & Founder, JW+A, Kraków, and featured – as well as Eva and Kent by **Aneta Rusiniak**, Director ESG Europe at Invesco Real Estate, Warsaw and **Piotr Sawicki**, Vice Chair of the Board, SAWAWA, Warsaw

What should we start doing, keep doing, stop doing?

The discussion was wide ranging, with many opinions expressed, but the common theme was that the real estate industry isn’t moving fast enough and with enough urgency. The technology is out there, the panelists agreed, they just need to be embraced. Here are some points that came up:

Creating a bespoke device to measure embodied carbon as there are currently a lot of variations in measurement.
A huge question that needs to be tackled is: “What to do with existing buildings?” That’s the challenge for owners.. Local teams don’t always know how to act on or implement the findings of reports. The solution is taking the ‘step ladder’ approach – starting with the quick wins, then taking incremental steps upwards, such as implementing renewable energy solutions.
All parties need to be involved right at the very beginning of the development process, as it’s harder to make effective changes once the building is built.
One floor of the underground parking emits the same carbon emissions as 7 overground floors – sometimes the underground component needs to be replaced.
A wood structure is not much more expensive than using a steel structure, – it’s only a couple of percentage points more expensive.
Battery storage is extremely expensive, we’re early in the process. The cost will come down as demand for it increases.
Governments need to step in to help mitigate risks.

We don’t have much time. There are still people who don’t believe in climate change, like the former deputy mayor of a major city I ran into recently. More education is needed.

We need to stop being lazy and ignorant. Electricity consumption in Sweden has gone down 17% because of high energy prices – it can be done. We need to trust technology and innovation – if we do, we will find ways.

The session finished with three rapid fire questions posed by Jerzy Wójcik for each panelist: What should we start doing, what should we stop doing, and what should we keep doing?

We need to find solutions that are not being asked of us. We need to be entrepreneurial, and we have to be ahead of the curve or we’ll be left behind. We have to be aggressive in looking for solutions. And we need to keep close relations with academia – they have the grants, but they aren’t in a position to implement them.

We need to look for opportunities everywhere. We have to optimise, talk to tenants and educate them. And we need to stop planning for a future too far away. Don’t plan your budgets for 30 years ahead!

There is no simple cure for climate change and we need to take a lot of small steps. Taking into account how big the impact the cities have on carbon neutrality, it is clear that the real estate business needs to take the lead in finding and initiating sustainable solutions. Some progress has been made but we are far from there yet. Companies need to be braver in trusting technology and innovation, and not wait for others to take the lead. – summarized Soren Rodian Olsen, Chair of ULI Poland.

The discussions continued at the networking mixer at the Bio Bazar Bistro in Norblin Factory.

Thank you to ULI Poland Partners to make it happen!

ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS - What does it take to make a net zero building?

ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?
ULI Poland Places + Spaces: FUTURE OF BUILDINGS – What does it take to make a net zero building?