At the start of the year, along with over 500 architects around the country, we shared our commitment to going carbon neutral in 2020.
We acknowledge that a lot has happened since then, however it’s important to remain committed to getting our own houses in order.
in January, the first step was to switch to 100% accredited GreenPower. The next step is to start a carbon audit by June 30.
Switching to 100% accredited GreenPower is a great way to support new investment of renewable energy, however a carbon audit will go one step further and measure your carbon footprint so you can reduce your emissions. You can self-certify or engage an external auditor.
Now is the time to cut our carb(on emissions). Now is the time to be accountable for our carbon footprint.
Thank you to Jeremy and Tahlia at Breathe Architecture for driving this campaign and to the Architects Declare Australia team for pulling together the great Guide to Going Carbon Neutral.
Originally published 26 March 2020: https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/articles/nows-the-time-to-recalibrate-to-a-low-carbon-future/
Once we’ve recalibrated our lives, with a heightened awareness of health and our environment, the low carbon economy will be the practical option, writes Mark Thomson from Eco Effective Solutions.
The unforeseen onset of the Coronavirus provides a logical and timely opportunity to rethink our immediate and long term living and working futures. Shifting to a low carbon economy at a local and global scale will create immediate benefits for our community resilience and our planet’s health.
We know the transition to a low carbon economy (LCE) will avoid catastrophic climate change. In our current global health emergency, the benefits of an LCE are amplified. Benefits include trade re-establishment, increased employment opportunities, improved community health, possible greater energy security, business competitiveness in new markets, and ecosystem resilience.
Trade re-establishment may occur when geographically local business networks are strengthened. Many of our business networks have grown lineally, often overlooking local opportunities in pursuit of lucrative distant markets. The deregulation of various sectors, now under review by authorities, will create new local opportunities for those able to move quickly.
Increased employment will result from shifts in the volume, composition and quality of employment across sectors, with the level and distribution of incomes changing. Already, we are witnessing governments, employers and employee organisations recalibrating work sectors to swing displaced workers into different industries where increased demand is expected. Ideally, lower wages may coincide with lower living costs, with a refocus on quality of life as a priority.
Improved community health levels should result after the initial pandemic shock because better local health capabilities will be activated. Social justice and poverty eradication will be positioned at the forefront of government and community authorities.
Technological improvements will require more localised centres of excellence, facilitating services throughout urban and regional locations. Our communities can be stronger and more purposeful in an LCE.
Energy security will improve thanks to a smarter distribution of existing energy loads, with less demand in some sectors, and a greater control of peak demand levels.
A diversified work sector operating in a 24-hour economy (which has been underway for some time now) will have the added advantage of improved energy efficiency, therefore decreased greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable energy sources will prove long term to be more sustainable. The transition to renewable energy should speed up, as smaller renewable power solutions will make more sense in an LCE.
Business competitiveness will remain, albeit some sectors will undergo complete transformation. Those that have been practising quality systems will benefit from continuous improvement and innovation strategies, which they will find easier to implement than those sectors without strategic business planning experience.
Many mid-sized and large organisations will have major adjustments to make, and small business must understand customer service and quality delivery solutions to survive.
When we recalibrate our lives with an increased awareness of health and our environment, the low carbon economy will just make practical sense.
Innovation must be at the forefront of our emerging LCE. We’ve seen great innovation in the green building movement over the years, however, it’s time to diversify innovation into our social development and community health sectors.
The use of green rating tools has transformed the Australian commercial building industry and established human-centric thinking as a priority. Circular economy and cradle-to-cradle thinking provide great opportunities to create a resilient LCE, with benefits to the natural environment as well.
Last November, I visited the office of a US-based architect who’s practice is grounded in the cradle-to-cradle philosophy, William McDonough, and was reminded how progressing to an LCE offers the opportunity “to remake the way we make things”.
He made it clear that our planet’s health, and consequently human health, depends on production systems, and that these systems are spiralling unsustainably towards further planetary damage.
McDonough advocates that production systems, “which mimic nature’s model”, will reduce global damage and shape our healthy future. Understanding that biological and technical cycles underpin the circular economy concept, we require innovation to conceive separation of our biological and technical nutrients for improved recycling and product development.
In an LCE, flows and industry outputs can be reimagined for healthier workplaces and ecosystems. We can now design with low carbon materials, including Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), use low carbon concrete, and use bioplastics instead of fossil fuel-derived plastics.
These materials are creating time and cost efficiencies, and are healthier for our communities and our planet. All such materials are available locally and can be economically used, but it does mean we need to “remake the way we make things”.
Looking holistically at our Australian economy, over the last decade we’ve increasing dependency on global trade with unsustainable products. Many of these products will be directed into landfill, due to their inefficiency to reuse and recycle.
Understanding and designing with biological and technical nutrients is the most effective method to deliver sustainable circular economy solutions.
Over the next months, let’s become innovative and rethink our future to work through our health emergency, solve our climate emergency, and set the foundations for a positive and healthy future.
First Published on Linkedin on June 22, 2019: Circular economy funding needs oversight says Responsible Wood
With governments funding startups in the social enterprise and circular economy space there is a need to keep an eye on the outcomes being delivered, according to the directors of Responsible Wood.
Mark Thomson and Jason Ross have worked with the timber and paper industry to developed agreed frameworks for marking wood-based products as sustainable. As a result, they understand the need for agreement as well as the challenges. Great Notion’s Geoff Ebbs met with them in Brisbane today (Thursday, June 20) to discuss the lessons they have learned and how they might be applied in the circular economy and social enterprise space.
Mark Thomson is the director of Responsible Wood and is concerned that a lack of oversight might damage the reputation of the movement and lead to its dismissal by mainstream business.
“The implicit assumption that a startup is good just because it is a social enterprise or identifies with the circular economy, may need to be challenged,” he told Great Notion.
Marketing manager, Jason Ross pointed out that if the overarching aim is to spread the concepts of the circular economy as broadly as possible into the business community, then it is critical that the concepts are clearly understood and communicated.
“Business and government really need to address social and environmental viability as well as economic considerations,” added Mark. “Poor implementation could undermine that.”
“We saw in early sustainability standards that poor implementation of environmental standards discredited the idea of sustainability,” he said. His experience is primarily in timber and paper, but our discussion ranged across similar experience in technology standards, water and sewage recycling and the interactions between rich and poor nations through international programs designed to help that fall into disrepute.
Geoff Ebbs, Jason Ross and Mark Thomson discuss certification and standards
Mark observes that there is a natural tension between encouraging innovation and diversity on one hand, and managing processes to ensure a common purpose on the other.
“My experience indicates that certification and standards provide an enabling platform that encourages innovation in an orderly manner and avoids catastrophic failure that is damaging to reputation as well as slowing progress.”
He points out that in the timber industry separate standards developed by environmental groups and industry groups developed from divergent starting points but have evolved to accommodate each other and create a working, global set of standards.
Jason Ross adds that any working agreement between different groups involves compromise, but it is important to ensure that those compromises do not undermine the fundamental intent of the agreement by embedding poor practice as standard.
Great Notion is engaged in ongoing discussions with Responsible Wood about presenting the advantages of the Circular Economy and a Zero Growth Economy to business.
Further Reading:
https://www.ecoeffective.com.au/archives/resourcefulness/are-we-fast-enough-for-change-a-global-view-of-design-and-timber/
International House In Sydney… Certified Timber Winner At The World Architecture Festival
Originally published in https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/category/bulletins/
RESPONSIBLE WOOD went global with the Australian PEFC-endorsed forest certification scheme, a major feature in the highly prestigious World Architecture Festival and Awards.
Hosted in Amsterdam in December, the festival brought together the best of the best – the world’s largest, live, inclusive and interactive architectural awards program and festival.
Indeed, Australia was heavily represented in the panel of judges, the short list of project entrants and in the honour roll of winning entrants.
Returning from Amsterdam, Responsible Wood director Mark Thomson, chief judge of the PEFC-supported Best Use of Certified Timber category, was impressed with the calibre of the global entrants.
The demand for radical change by the United Nations in October this year to limit global warming to a 1.5 degree global temperature increase, requires fundamental change.
A three week visit of five countries which included judging at the 2018 World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam and presentations in Geneva to the PEFC General Assembly, have convinced me that fundamental change is well underway.
The issue now is the speed and uptake of such change. Two key issues stand out from observations and learnings from my recent travels.
The first is that it is no longer palatable or responsible, to use materials that are unlikely to be locally recycled, reused, or that don’t address life cycle issues, resulting in waste in landfill, anywhere in the world.
The second issue is that implemented “design and construction quality” offers fundamental change to our living and working environments. It provides realistic hope for our sustained future on this planet.
It is well documented that the design, development and construction sectors, play a significant role in global greenhouse emissions. Such emissions are now a scientifically proven contributor to changing climatic conditions. Timber, a building material used by humanity throughout our documented history, can play an increased role in the fundamental change necessary for a sustainable future.
Certified timber is now necessary to satisfy the design development and construction sectors, to ensure its sourcing, is not contributing to global temperature increases. The planet has two globally recognised certification systems: FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), known as Responsible Wood in Australia.
Strict adherence to the use of certified timber is the only certain way to ensure timber comes from legal and sustainably managed forests.
Australia has many challenges as an island nation. Our consumption of materials and products that are unable to be economically reused or recycled, has resulted in huge issues for our governing authorities and our community.
Our local timber industry has many challenges, some which include but are not limited to resource security, 80 year harvest cycles, tax rebates provided to other industries, the green movements’ perception of locking up forests, proportionally low timber credits in building rating tools, durability and suitability of common timber finishes, notwithstanding that interior designers often choose timber for colour alone, not for its multiple material advantages.
Engineered timber products such as cross laminated timber (CLT), Glue Laminated timber (GLT) and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) offer great hope for a (needed) transformation within the Australian environment.
The Australian Timber industries are addressing such challenges and providing new solutions for our future. New businesses are emerging to support this predicted timber uptake which will inevitably result in reduced costs and flow on effects in time and quality outcomes. International House at Barangaroo, Sydney by Tzannes Architects provides a great example of how recycled timber and CLT can deliver functional change to our industry.
Winner of the Certified Timber Prize at the 2018 World Architecture Festival, International House was never a certainty to incorporate certified timber and CLT. The architects were required to compare the resultant timber construction with conventional materials and building methods until a clear cost saving solution was documented and proven.
Their ongoing innovation and development of CLT in following projects, has resulted in increased structural spans and continuing efficiencies in adjacent new projects. Clearly design and construction quality has proven itself again.
The World Architecture Festival is a great opportunity to observe and understand “the state of the art” of global architecture. I was honoured and humbled to be the chairing judge for the Best Use of Certified Timber Prize, one of three prestigious prize awards at the 2018 WAF. In addition to judging on one day, I observed two days of other category presentations.
Some notable outputs in presented schemes I witnessed, included:
Australian architects were well represented at the World Festival. Conrad Gargett scooped the Culture –Completed Buildings, World Building of the Year prize for The Piano Mill, at Stanthorpe, Queensland and as previously reported.
Tzannes won the Best Use of Certified Timber Prize for International House at Bangaroo, Sydney.
PEFC showcased CLT in their Exhibition stand construction, being one of approximately 50 exhibitors of important global organisations and product suppliers at the 2018 W.A.F.
There are ongoing changes in place around the world which are addressing the big issues facing our planet. The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals are achievable with collective effort and a global response. Arguably for the first time on the planet, technology has enabled us to understand and measure our future challenges.
We have sustainable materials and quality designers able to respond to the radical changes needed for a sustainable planet. Will we struggle to halt global temperature rises unless we activate fundamental change and understand that business as usual will not suffice programs such the World Architecture Festival and timber certification schemes provide us with the drive and the means to deliver the required radical change. The question is “are we changing fast enough and are we responding to the important issues?
Mark Thomson is principal architect of Eco Effective Solutions, independent director Responsible Wood, judge and Queensland representative, Australian Banksia Awards and chair of Judging Panel: World Architectural Festival Best Certified Timber Prize.
Originally published 12 December 2018: https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/materials/are-we-fast-enough-for-change-a-global-view-of-design-and-timber/
Originally published 4 December 2018: https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/architecture/views-from-the-world-architecture-awards/
Brisbane based architect Mark Thomson has just come back from judging a segment in the World Architecture Festival in Europe. While he was there he also gave two presentations to the UN General Assembly in Geneva and had a big look around at what countries on the far side of sustainability are doing on the ground. He’s feeling humbled.
On the one hand, the Aussies did very well with the awards, particularly in timber and prefabricated construction.
On the other hand, the Europeans are leaving us in a trail of carbon dust, in part due to the take up in some countries of specific rating tools for materials related to building and many other uses and in transport.
The awards, he told The Fifth Estate this week, were “inspirational…amazing, and very humbling. The best of the best.”
As a judge in the category of best use of certified timber, he was able to examine closely the nine finalists and struggle along with the other judges on the tough job of elimination.
One project was outstanding – a timber building created for the Milan Expo and now submitted in its new iteration as a refugee school in Lebanon. A fabulous example of flexible design and many other sustainability features to its credit, but in the end eliminated because perhaps it was more suited to the recycled category.
The winner of the Use of Certified Timber Prize, supported by the Programme for Endorsement for Forest Certification (PEFC), was International House in Sydney by Tzannes.
“It was fantastic to see it in the international context. You might have thought timber is pretty commonplace in Europe and at a smaller scale it is but not in the scale we’ve achieved in Australia.
“The buildings that are happening at Barangaroo and the larger ones proposed around the country and including 25 King Street in Brisbane [already constructed; see our article here] appear to be breaking new ground on spans and in engineering such as fire ratings – that’s my personal opinion.
“There are some amazing timber buildings in Canada and in Scandinavia in particular, but as you come down to more tropical and sub tropical areas it would appear that CLT (cross laminated timber) is getting real traction because it’s prefab and that’s a cost saving and a time saving.”
As with many other technologies, you could argue that using timber is not a new technology at all but it’s the way of doing timber construction is new and with its costs are coming down much the same as they have for photo voltaic solar power.
Travelling around Europe, particularly on a train, Thomson noticed “massive wind farms and massive solar farms and the whole renewable energy push we’re only just starting to see in Australia.”
It was a big change from his last trip 15 years ago.
Among the everyday sights especially in Amsterdam, Berlin and Vienna were micro cars, “like I’ve never seen before, most electric and a huge number of electric cars.”
Hyundai has a fully electric car, so do Mercedes and Porsche.
“What surprised me most was the sustainability entrenched in architecture. I know architects say sustainability is embedded in everything they do,” he says, but in Europe you see a particular “depth of sustainability fully integrated in major projects and minor.” It’s a stark contrast.
As an architect, what does he suspect is the difference?
In these European cities, he says, but in regional cities as well, he could see that sustainability seemed to be embedded simply as a way of life. So that “going to the supermarket and to the local shops and using local transport, it’s all there.”
This included certified and sustainably branded products from building materials to textiles.
“Labelling in supermarkets is particularly strong with sustainable branding.”
This, “in the same way that in Australia we label ‘fresh’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ products: what I call a fair degree of greenwash.”
Thomson noted in particular high use of timber products in garments particularly cellulose, viscose and lignum.
This kind of thinking, he says, provides a great opportunity for a low carbon reality.
“If we have timber structures, timber cladding and now timber fabrics, we’re starting to close the gaps in terms of carbon awareness of the environment generally and also an understanding of how carbon products are directly related to our world.”
Bio plastics are also starting to make a strong showing, Thomson says.
Certainly the car industry is “the one to watch” he says. “Not only is it transforming from petrol to electric but many of the components inside the car are renewable.”
The size of the cars is enough of a symbol: half the size of regular cars. He noticed two main brands: the Micro and the Canta, and in Amsterdam they are small enough to be allowed to share the cycleway; which then makes the cycleways a bit more of a challenge.
Thomson’s paper to the UN on the challenges of timber was timely for Australia given the recent voluntary receivership of Strongbuild in NSW but with supporters of the timber and prefab industry saying the industry is growing in leaps and bounds.
“Timber is probably the most sustainable material on the planet,” Thomson says, “especially if you compare the lead time to grow timber compared to growing coal or concrete.”
And timber too has longevity, he says. For instance, Perry House in Elizabeth Street at the corner of Albert Street in Brisbane is an eight storey timber-framed building built in the 40s but clad with brickwork so not many people are aware it’s got a hardwood frame that’s close to steel in strength and longevity.
“The thing that’s occurred with CLT and the work that Lendlease and others have done is to the technical solution to give timber its fire rating.”
And that makes a big difference, he says.
Another building that won a commendation at the World Architecture Awards was a building in north-east Tasmania known as krakani lumi (place of rest) at Wukalina by Taylor and Hinds Architects for the Aboriginal Land Council.
As a director of Australian Forestry Standards, also known as Responsible Wood, Thomson was considered by his fellow judges as adding greater than usual insight into the task at hand.
On the broader challenges of timber, he feels Australia is not growing enough and right now we’re importing timber that is cheaper partly because it’s not certified. It’s also not as durable and suitable as the quality from home grown product, he says.
The importation, he says, “is an economic issue, nothing else.” Australia could well grow enough timber for its needs.
The development of the industry has been slow. In 2000 he built his own largely timber home in the confidence that the material would skyrocket as a market segment, but it’s only just now starting to take off.
