Construction as a driving force of the green economy

The construction sector is not oblivious to the implementation of a green economy and can and must also make its contribution in order to stop climate change. Sustainable buildings are no longer anecdotes within the real estate scene, and the energy efficiency in the field of construction can be a key leverage for the economic reactivation and employment creation. 

If we look at Europe, in the United Kingdom they have announced an ambitious plan of post-coronavirus economic reactivation which provides 3,000 million pounds for an ecological reform of the real estate to foster employment and protect the environment. 

The aim of the British Cabinet is to create thousands of jobs in sectors such as the construction so that the country is greener and help to fulfill their carbon neutrality goals for 2050.

 There are a lot of variables that help to imbue the concepts of efficiency and sustainability in the process of construction of urbanization or a building of apartments. From the treatment and management of the waste that is generated in the construction sites to the materials used to raise the buildings passing through the harmonization and integration with the landscape and natural environment.

In the field of energy efficiency, we must not lose the perspective that buildings represent almost 40% of the global emissions related to energy, therefore, construction has a lot to contribute to the solutions for the climate crisis.  

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has laid on the table an investment plan to avoid the rebound effect of the emissions in the reactivation post-pandemics. The measures in buildings are a key strength not only to stop climate change but also to create employment, with an estimation that between 9 and 30 jobs could be created per every million dollars invested in energy efficiency measures in buildings. 

Urbincasa has been one of the first companies in the real estate sector in starting up campaigns and actions within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our commitment to the environment is materialized, also, in very specific decisions such as the development in each building site of a System of Environmental Quality which leads us to the use of biodegradable and recyclable materials. Besides, in all our sites there is an Environment Committee. 

With the aim of facilitating the balanced coexistence with the environment, we have even renounced to a percentage of the floor area ratio with the aim of integrating the building in the landscape. We have done this in our Residencial Los Flamencos in the Costa Cálida where we have dispensed with 20% of our right to build, occupying only 15% of the plot when the law allows us up to 40%. 

Besides, the building is protected thermal and acoustically with an exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS), which allows a considerable saving of the energy consumption in the whole residential. Data supported by reliable studies such as the Technical School of the Building Polytechnic University of Madrid have calculated a 57% reduction in the loss of energy of this system. 

Ours is not a heroic attitude, it is simply the contribution that we can and must make from our company for the caring and protection of the environment. A task, a responsibility that must implicate all of us.