COP26 – Change leaders to improve the product and impact the production process
COP26 – Change leaders to improve the product and impact the production process
The challenge of the ecological transition cannot be met unless the challenge of the digital transition is met. A cultural shift is needed to overcome resistance to change, with a unanimous involvement of all players in the construction supply chain.
“Everyone must play their part”. From this warning comes my reflection on the issue of climate change, also addressed at the recent G20 in Rome and with the COP26 in Glasgow. If we want to achieve the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda and echoed loudly in all the latest collective events worldwide, taking individual responsibility is an essential prerequisite. We can no longer delegate action to someone else, taking the magnitude of the matter as an excuse for a sense of distance and powerlessness. It is time to get our hands dirty and take responsibility for the planet and future generations. Everyone does what they can, in the sector they work in, on the assumption that a fairer world and more equitable distribution of wealth are key to achieving the goal.
Containing climate change and warming within 1.8° compared to 1850, how do we achieve this? The way forward is through the reduction of climate-altering gases, as a result of changes affecting the main production sectors, from industry to agriculture, through to the building sector. And what can we exactly do as operators of the construction industry which in Italy accounts for more than 45% of the special waste produced in a year? (Ispra Report 2021, 70 million tonnes). As I pointed out at the BRIXIA Futura discussions (Brescia, 5 November 2021), the industry has to work in two parallel directions, on the one hand to improve the product, and on the other to influence the production process. It is necessary to construct buildings that consume less, with better performing enclosures and made according to sustainability criteria concerning materials and the possibility that these can one day be recycled or reused. At the same time, waste, emissions and refuse during construction must be reduced. On this point, it will be crucial to quickly increase the level of digital maturity of the supply chain, from designers to companies.
The challenge of the ecological transition cannot be met unless the challenge of the digital transition is met. A cultural shift is needed to overcome resistance to change, with unanimous involvement of all players in the supply chain, just as a grand alliance between industry and business is needed to increasingly include off-site components made and designed for disassembly. The growth of the digital culture will also lead to the creation, using digital twins, of gigantic databases for managing the life cycle of the building and determining the material passport. To know where they came from, how they were made, where they were assembled and how they can be reused. As DVArea we are striving to promote this culture of innovation within the supply chain. We adopted a profound digital project culture right from the start, with the use of BIM to coordinate all work development phases. We often encounter resistance and a strong push to return to a traditional process. But there is no going back: digitisation means transparency, awareness and sustainability.
Tag:
#COP26 #Glasgow #climatechange #agenda2030 #materials #building #offsite #digitisation
Armando Casella:
Architect. Co-founder e CEO DVA. CEO Bim Factory. Innovation Manager MISE.
