Canada’s Earth Tower, being designed by Perkins and Will for Delta Land Development, aims to be the world’s tallest hybrid wood tower. It is part of the Zero Carbon Building Pilot Program, a Canada Green Building Council initiative. Image courtesy Perkins and Will
TEXT Susan Gushe, Principal and Managing Director, and Kathy Wardle, Associate Principal and Director of Sustainability, Perkins and Will
As we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not forget about the even deeper global crisis facing our planet?the climate crisis. There will be no vaccine for global warming; however, the buildings sector has the ability to make a substantial contribution to mitigating its effects. Those of us in the industry will have to fully engage all of our tools, technology, and know-how to rapidly transition into a zero-carbon sector, with greatly reduced carbon emissions from building operations and construction.  The building industry contributes 39 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It?s a key player in a climate emergency that impacts the health and viability of cities and communities around the world. If there is any benefit arising from COVID-19, it might be seen in the International Energy Agency?s prediction that global CO2 emissions for 2020 will be almost 8 percent lower than in 2019?the lowest level since 2010.
But as we recover from the pandemic, and restarting economies becomes a global imperative, how can we ensure the design and construction indust...