What attracted you to the One Planet Living framework?
I really admired how the One Planet Living framework communicates the various credentials of a project, and also demonstrates how they're interlinked; from sustainability to social value, health and wellbeing. And it has very robust scientific principles behind it. Sometimes the science can get lost in translation and people switch off, but One Planet Living is very user-friendly.
For developers in particular, what do you see as the main opportunities and challenges of getting to One Planet Living and achieving net-zero carbon?
I think there’s sometimes a misunderstanding around net-zero carbon. When most people talk about it, they tend to focus on the operational carbon footprint of a building or a project. This is hugely important - but that is already coming down as a result of better insulation and the decarbonisation of the grid with the increase of renewable energy sources. So for me, one of the biggest opportunities is with embodied (upfront) carbon – in other words, reducing the amount of carbon emissions generated as a result of the construction process - and reducing the amount of concrete in particular, as it’s one of the worst carbon emitters in the industry.
As I mentioned earlier, the opportunity I'm really excited about is the use of timber as a replacement for concrete. It’s a huge challenge at the moment, even with commercial buildings – particularly from an insurance and financing perspective. But what is increasingly looking attractive and deliverable are hybrid structures, where you have a combination of a steel superstructure with CLT slabs. And if the steel is fabricated in an electric arc furnace, then it actually has a reasonably low carbon footprint, which can be completely offset by the CLT slabs.
What do you think is the biggest barrier to creating a built environment that has low embodied carbon and low operational carbon emissions?
I think the biggest challenges to rolling out mass timber buildings is the current building regulations and the insurance market. There's a perception that timber is a highly combustible product. But if you’re looking at timber for structural beams and columns, it actually stands up very well in a fire, and better than steel in a lot of cases. So there’s a job to dispel common misconceptions on that.
Water damage is also a key issue, and it's down to developers like us to work closely with insurers at an early stage to get them comfortable with the risks. Water damage is every bit as much of a risk than fire – whether it is leaks from water pipes, encapsulated moisture during construction or water leaking in from outside. If that’s not detected, then, of course, it can lead to rotting timber and deterioration, which is potentially very expensive to fix. It’s up to us to come up with solutions to deal with those risks to get insurers comfortable.
What would you say is the business case for sustainability for First Base?
The measurement of risk, which started some 70 years ago, completely transformed the way people invested and gave rise to new asset classes and Modern Portfolio Theory. That same revolution is now being brought about by environmental value and social value, which in many ways are actually a lot easier to measure and quantify than risk.
As companies, quite rightly, are increasingly obligated to report on their impact on the planet and society, investors will be embarrassed by investing in companies that don’t mitigate against their negative impacts. Increasingly, there will be a focus on companies that not only want to do well but also do good at the same time, and I think those will be the investors and the companies that will prosper.
How optimistic do you feel about that happening quickly enough?
I’m confident it's coming - everything's moving in that direction, but it can never happen quickly enough. Every company should be obligated to report on their impact on the environment and society.
We can see some excellent examples of measuring, reporting and delivering a positive impact for people and planet, whilst also delivering profit – from BrewDog to Toms. There’s a real movement and interestingly it’s become the focus of a book published this year by social impact pioneer, Sir Ronald Cohen.
We're starting to see change, but there are many companies that are resisting, and turning a blind eye to their negative impacts as long as they are continuing to reap the financial rewards. However, I don’t believe this can be sustained.