The challenge Substantial increase in GHG emissions through use of HVAC systems in buildings. Use of air-conditioners (ACs) in buildings adds substantially to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. In India, the total installed cooling capacity is 125 million-TR of which residential air-conditioners is 39 million-TR and commercial air-conditioners is 18 million-TR. India’s total installed cooling capacity […]
The challenge Conventional project finance valuation methodologies ignore a range of material externalities. The main barrier to deploying sustainable and natural infrastructure is the difficulty of structuring financially viable projects. Traditional valuation methodologies often provide a less convincing business case for sustainable assets than for grey infrastructure, due to their elements such as higher upfront […]
The challenge More frequent and intense precipitation exposes real estate to increased flood risk. Since the 1970s, insured losses from weather-related catastrophes, such as floods, droughts and thunderstorms have increased 14 times, in affected areas worldwide[1], growing from an average annual loss in the 1970s of $3 billion per year to $44 billion per year […]
The challenge Large capital construction projects in all sectors are challenged to improve the capital efficiency of the project – this considers both first costs as well as life-cycle costs. This insight article focuses on achieving improved capital efficiency in large capital asset projects through the adoption of an expanded basis of design that considers […]
Accurate energy accounting to assess and reduce whole building carbon footprint The challenge Buildings emit substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. The CO2 emissions from buildings in North America are substantial. In 2005, 39% of total North American CO2 emissions were attributed to buildings – more than from industry or transportation. However, this only reflects operational […]
Evolving the Systemic Health of Concrete: Replacing Cement with Regionally Diverted Post-Consumer Ground Glass Pozzolan The challenge Current means for making concrete at scale do not provide satisfactory feedstock solutions for optimal systemic/life cycle health of this major building material. Portland cement, a primary binding element in concrete, constitutes 10-15% of a typical concrete mix. […]
The challenge The distributed power delivery model is outdated, wasteful and unreliable. Providing sustainable energy is vital for the on-going health and viability of cities in the future. Dependence on the distributed power delivery model in major cities such as New York City is irresponsible and untenable. One critical flaw of distributed power systems is […]