Mr. Pat Barry:

I thank the committee for the invitation to present at the committee today. I am here with my colleague, Ms Marion Jammet.

The Irish Green Building Council is currently working in close collaboration with the industry and key stakeholders to develop a roadmap to decarbonise Ireland's built environment. The draft version of this roadmap will be published this week and open to consultation. It includes a comprehensive set of recommendations to halve emissions by 2030 from the construction sector and to get to zero by 2050. In order to baseline the current impact of the built environment, we commissioned UCD to model emissions associated with construction and the built environment for the 2018 baseline year. These add up to 37% of our national CO2 emissions. This is made up by 23% operational emissions associated with the energy we use to heat, cool and light our buildings. A further 14% of the emissions are embodied carbon emissions from the production of construction materials, transport of materials, construction process, maintenance, repair and disposal of buildings and infrastructure. The researchers also modelled the projected emissions from the built environment and construction to 2030 based on the national development plan. This showed there would be a very significant increase in construction-related embodied carbon emissions if no action is taken.

To halve our emissions by 2030, we have to combine a number of strategies. We will need to focus on energy renovation, maximise reuse of existing buildings, minimise demolition, maximise efficiency of the built area from our construction programmes and perhaps even cut back on some projects. It will require us to eliminate the concept of waste and we will need a transformative shift in industry practices.

Twenty years ago we did not measure energy in a scientific way but the introduction of the building energy rating, BER, and the compliance software gave us a pathway to measure and revise regulations and we cut energy consumption in new homes by 70% in ten years. We can now take the next step and eliminate all operational carbon emissions from new buildings, implementing a net zero carbon standard, and some businesses have already started on this path.

For existing building it means scaling up deep energy renovation. Tools such as building renovation passports could support phased retrofits and project aggregation. Developing new digital technologies can help accelerate deep energy renovation, for example, prefabrication such as the Dutch Energiesprong programme.

Unlike operational carbon emissions, embodied carbon is not regulated in Ireland. With 400,000 homes to be built by 2030, addressing this blind spot is urgent to reach our climate targets. To tackle these emissions we can use the same approach as with operational carbon, namely, measure and reduce. Tools to measure embodied carbon already exist. The European Commission’s framework for sustainable buildings known as Level(s) gives us a detailed methodology. We are developing good quality national data on construction products through EPD Ireland. Easy-to-use calculation tools are available. Already, hundreds of Irish building professionals have been trained in measuring embodied carbon.

Government should provide a timeline on the introduction of regulations on embodied carbon, starting with immediate mandatory measurement of every publicly procured building, with all other new buildings to measure and disclose before 2025. Carbon limits should be introduced from 2027 onward. Through measurement, building professionals will realise potential for materials efficiency and carbon savings, leading to a reduction in the cost of construction. By stimulating action for carbon reduction, it will spark a whole wave of innovation in products, supply chains and services.

To reduce embodied carbon emissions we must use less materials and ensure the materials we use are low impact. This means using more reused and recycled materials or bio-based materials which usually have a lower embodied carbon. Public procurement is a strategic instrument which can be used to support innovation and drive the market for more sustainable solutions, allowing for scale-up in the industry and development of the entire supply chain. This is needed to transition to low carbon methods of construction and circular use of materials.

Consistent and clear guidance on the safe use of timber structures must be provided. Timber frame accounts for 75% of newly constructed homes in Scotland but only 24% in Ireland, despite our world-class timber frame manufacturers. New local forestry and agriculture related industries to supply the construction sector must also be supported. Other barriers to entry for new innovative materials to the market must be addressed without compromising safety. A Government programme of capital and design support for projects that use innovative low carbon construction techniques could encourage private developers to quickly create exemplar projects and build towards commercial viability. We need to reform Ireland’s application of the waste framework directive to make it easier to reuse perfectly good materials coming off sites. We need co-operation between Government and industry on risk sharing, particularly where there is market failure around insurance of non-traditional construction.

We have very limited time to significantly reduce our emissions. Open collaboration between Departments and industry is critical for rapid development of new regulations and standards, and to share risk to scale new low carbon technologies. However, an urgent first step is to measure and disclose embodied carbon. Several European countries have already regulated embodied carbon. The European Commission is moving us in that direction. Given the growth in construction in Ireland, we cannot wait another five years to address this issue.