The Bio Revolution is Building

The bio revolution is building

In this series we have shown that a drive for net zero carbon and healthy environments has bolstered the choice of bio-based materials. Moreover, forthcoming regulation and innovative natural products are reinforcing this trend.

We have also suggested that performance expectations of buildings are changing rapidly. This has made a bio-based model an attractive one to consider as part of futureproofing and anticipating the “issue evolution” of ESG.

But lingering questions remain: will the concept of bio-based, which has attained significant appeal in other industries, gain mainstream status in construction and real estate? How exactly will we move away from conventional materials and practices? What forces are likely to help or hinder a more nature-based approach to buildings?

In this article, we look at the wider changes in ESG that are propelling bio-based materials and principles. Changes in materials are important, but so too is the milieu in which they emerge. All signs point to buildings following the trajectory of other products – those that understand and act on this will be advantaged going forward.

Towards principle-based ESG

Items like “embodied carbon,” “net zero,” “health & wellbeing” and “biodiversity net gain” are not just important new, individual ideas. Viewed collectively, they represent a clear and identifiable trend towards new ingredients, transparency and performance, health labelling, more natural products and cleaner environments, both indoors and outdoors.

Indeed, one of the main challenges for clients is to see the overall pattern and direction in a period of rapid change – and to know how to respond. Presently there is a tendency to treat each challenge like net zero or wellness individually, without recognising that these items are being redefined and expanded almost continuously – and that they are symbiotic.

The cautionary tale going forward is that a piecemeal approach to ESG is likely to be insufficient. A reliable model based on sound principles may serve as an effective “covering law” for emerging ESG. This is the promise of a strategy based on the principles of nature.

What to expect going forward

Drawing on the trajectory of recent changes in ESG, we present the following three factors, all of which point to a mainstreaming of bio-based places:

1. There will be an increased focus on building materials and their impacts
   Bio-based materials, which are typically lower in embodied carbon and simultaneously promote healthy interiors, have benefitted considerably from screening of a building’s ingredients. It is important to note that we are just at the beginning of the process (embodied carbon analysis for buildings is less than a decade old) and more categories are on the way (pay particular attention to the RICS focus plastics and toxic materials).
2. A performance-based approach to ESG will expand
   It is not simply what buildings are made of that is important – it is what they do (or don’t do) for occupants and the environment that is increasingly critical. Buildings that capture and store renewable energy and water are an advantage, as are those that can purify environments and be recycled and/or provide no waste at end of life. In other words, the model for future buildings is nature, and bio-based processes are reliable models in an ever-changing ESG landscape.
3. Bio is the “next big thing”
   In the UK, the most recent requirement to be placed on developers is a “biodiversity net gain” (BNG) which effectively requires projects to improve environmental conditions on site compared to pre-construction activities. We expect BNG to move from outdoors to indoors, in part because biodiversity indoors also satisfies a number of other ESG requirements.

How to prepare

The rollout and adoption of bio-based materials is likely to be gradual. For companies, this represents good news, as there is the opportunity to strategically evaluate adoption. As the bio-based agenda advances, there are three main questions that will help clients prepare:

1. What can I learn from other industries and products? Other industries have already begun the bio-based journey. Many of the arguments (and solutions) are the same. Not only do other industries influence consumer expectations about buildings, but they also indicate upcoming hurdles and opportunities. A good example of this is plastic, which has dominated other industries for many years and now looks poised to become a bigger issue for the built environment. Predicting the future is never easy, but a good place for clients to begin is to simply look at what is happening elsewhere and ask: What if that came here?
2. What does issue expansion look like? A sure-fire way to anticipate change is to ask: What would this issue look like if it expanded? This is what happened to carbon. But what about the concept of “net zero” as applied to other areas like water, waste, toxicity, animal-cruelty, etc? All these issue areas are being discussed in other industries. To some degree they will be asked of buildings. This does not mean that action is required immediately but rather that clients should anticipate that ESG concepts like these will expand within and across issue areas.
3. What nature-based materials and processes can I begin to implement? There are currently many bio-based materials that can be substituted for conventional products with the same (or better) performance at the same costs. These are perhaps an early place to start, as they can immediately contribute to higher ESG credentials. But there is also an element of looking forward to the kinds of ways plant-based principles can influence more systemic requirements of buildings such as energy and water storage, air purification, nourishment, regeneration and biodegradability.

If ESG concerns continue to dominate – and the evidence suggests that they will – then thinking about buildings as “grown” and “living systems” can be a helpful way to anticipate expectations about future buildings. Like all innovation, the process will take time and permeate at different rates, but bio-based products can do three critical things: replace conventional materials, inform operational strategies and communicate sustainability in a way that resonates with a market primed to reward change.