What if buildings could act like trees – capturing carbon and purifying the air? Urban Sequoia, a project of carbon-negative building, is an example of rethinking how cities are designed.  The construction industry is too reliant on concrete and steel. Companies need to be braver in trusting technology and innovation, the experts at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Poland underscored.

Kent Jackson, Partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) explained that the material waste could be reduced if building components are prefabricated and modular. His company’s ‘Urban Sequoia’ project focuses on developing a building that removes carbon from the atmosphere. “If buildings could be treated like living organisms, where they act like a tree, we could optimize both natural and technological systems to be more self-sufficient, saving us 30% of carbon emissions,” Kent emphasized. 

“We either continue to build the way we always have been building, or we could save over 1.3 billion tones of carbon each year for our planet. This would be the equivalent of planting 60 billion trees each year,” he added.

Taking into account how big the impact the cities have on carbon neutrality, the real estate business needs to initiate sustainable solutions, Soren Rodian Olsen, Chair of ULI Poland, said. "Some progress has been made but we are far from there yet. Companies need to be braver in trusting technology and innovation, and not wait for others to take the lead," he summarized.

The “Triple Zero Standard” is the new paradigm in sustainable real estate. Under it, the building generates more energy than it actually requires, causes no emissions of any kind, and all materials can be recycled without any residues. Eva Sterner, Stockholm based Head of Development at Logicenters, NREP, a real estate investor in the Nordics across several sectors, explained, that the company has committed itself to a carbon-neutral portfolio by 2028.

The pilot will be a basic warehouse of 20,000 sqm. Under the ‘triple zero’ approach, the company expects to reduce its carbon footprint by 60%. And if a carbon sink is added, they expect to reduce it to a zero-carbon footprint.

(WBJ)