✨ Yes, we can! But, we need a new way of working – underpinned with new mindsets — to be able to see + create new possibilities.
Our CEO, Mike Townsend, shared his thought-provoking keynote at the National Construction Summit in Dublin, last week — exploring, “What will it really take to deliver net-zero emissions + commercial advantage in construction?”
Mike was able to cut-through the noise on ‘culture wars’, and lean into the fact that smarter companies are accelerating on their circular economy ambitions, due to the combined effects of geopolitical events on the security, availability and pricing for energy + resources.
💰 Cost of climate inaction is enormous: -25% GDP by 2050 + rising!
🧨 Rising costs for energy + resources is killing business models: 25% reduction in margins.
💡 Business-as-usual no longer viable – necessity as mother of invention!
🎯 Ideal pathway: Accelerate on low-carbon innovation in support of net-zero(future-proof).
💸 Strong business case: Climate adaptation + resilience delivers $19 for every $1 invested.
🔎 Mind the net-zero credibility + innovation gap! Most programmes will hit the net-zero crunch point!
⏩ We need to reimagine construction + bring forward innovation gap!
🌐 Circular economy offers single biggest opportunity for business + industry transformation (carbon reduction + competitive advantage).
🏗️ Major implications for project design, how businesses, value chains + supply markets work, how we make money, & for jobs + skills.
⛓️ Net-zero + circularity can’t be achieved in isolation; involves whole value chain, working in concert to orchestrate circular + systemic change. Multi-level change plan!
😊 It’s a people thing: Construction is all about people, we need to up-skill at all levels.
BIG PRIZE!
🙏 Reduce exposure to energy + resource price shocks.
🫶 Future-proof business models, deliver long-term value + impact.
💪 Economic Regeneration for 21C: circular economy + sustainability as catalysts for new economy jobs, livelihoods + shared prosperity.
Bottom line: This is the time to drive business model innovation + transformation in construction – break the umbilical cord to oil – for commercial, as well as climate reasons. Anything else is headed towards stranded assets. Financial capital knows this; money trumps ideology, every time.
Some great questions, too! 🤔
1. Can we define net-zero to help businesses understand it?
Net-zero is all about cutting greenhouse gases emissions – from our energy, our processes, the materials, plant and machinery we use – as close to zero emissions as we can possibly get, with any remaining (5-10%) emissions offset.
2. Who’s doing this in construction?
Nobody in construction has the full picture, yet; we can learn from others (automotive, Renault Emblème), we need courageous leaders step-up (progressive clients, contractors and designers to collaborate with whole value chain. Emulate what Mace did in the 90s, when they brought CM into the market-place; one brave client, with one brave team, on one amazing project – they just made it happen.
3. How do we move forward?
We need courageous leaders to step-up, with education and awareness on new possibilities, and to work on the holistic business case (show what’s truly possible), build confidence – go try stuff; fail small, take learning forward on to bigger projects/programmes of work. Make a great impact!
And, there is a massive opportunity here, for procurement leaders to orchestrate circular value chains and commercial innovation.
NEXT STEPS:
We’re on a mission at Earthshine Group: We want to work with construction partners to build + deliver net-zero, circular value chains that deliver transformative impacts + commercial advantage + shared prosperity. If you’re up for this, we’d love to hear from you! >> Please DM Mike.
You might also like to join us in Copenhagen for our Sustainability Transformation Accelerator in collaboration with Copenhagen Business School (Dec 8-10); where we bring together key actors from the whole construction value chain for a 3-day, immersive + collaborative experience – to develop new insights and collaborative solutions.
BIG THANKS to Jesse Melia, Sophie Pereira, Brian Cleere, Ankush Shirsath, Hamish Manks, Donagh Ó Buachalla & all the folks at our session, yesterday – a real pleasure to engage with you all!
* This summary article has been developed and written without the use of AI — never outsource a core competence — use it or lose it! *
#Construction #NetZero #CircularEconomy #Innovation #Transformation
