(1) Barometer 2025: 69% of stakeholders and 60% of the public consider more sustainable construction to be a priority. (2) World Green Building Council Often, in order to reduce carbon emissions throughout a building’s life cycle, the materials used and the methods adopted have to differ radically from traditional practice, blurring the lines between project profitability and economics. But when sustainable practices are properly implemented, they don’t necessarily increase the cost. It even seems that decarbonization and budget control can go hand in hand. WHAT IF SUSTAINABILITY AND COST WEREN’T INHERENTLY LINKED? The Green Building Council of Denmark sought to determine whether a building’s sustainability level directly impacts construction costs. To find out, a study examined 37 buildings certified under the DGNB standard (a German certification assessing the sustainability of buildings). The graph opposite shows the projects according to their construction cost per square meter and their total impact on the climate based on The sustainable construction mantra – “doing more with less” – goes hand in hand with a more economically frugal approach Cost of sustainable construction: challenging preconceptions While stakeholders in the sector and the public consider the introduction of more sustainable construction to be a priority(1), the perception of a higher initial cost remains a persistent obstacle. And yet, when the building’s life cycle is taken into account and by taking a long-term view, the operating expenses a sustainable construction project can be 14% lower than those of a traditional building(2). So, is sustainable construction really more expensive? The answer lies in two graphs. SPOTLIGHT 60
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