Built Environment
The built environment system is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions, 40% of global resource use and 40% of global waste streams. It is also one of the four value chains - along with food, energy, and fashion - responsible for approximately 90% of nature and biodiversity loss worldwide.
The system is set to double in size as the global population is expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, putting high pressure on nature through increased use of water, release of pollutants and production of waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the growth in urban areas, already estimated to impact nearly one-third of threatened and near-threatened species, has significant negative impacts on nature and biodiversity through land conversion, habitat fragmentation, disturbance, and pollution during construction.
The sector actions serve as a guide to transform business practices and value chains and ensure the built environment system plays its part in halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 - the mission at the heart of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The overview and report were led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) with Arcadis as technical lead and input from 8 additional WBCSD members.
Scroll down to access additional resources, including the sector overview in French, Japanese and Spanish.
Impacts on nature
Companies in the built environment system should direct their efforts towards addressing the most significant impacts on nature in their operations and value chains, namely:
Land and sea use change
Freshwater use
Pollution
Greenhouse gas emissions
Dependencies on nature
The built environment system depends on environmental assets and ecosystem services to function and grow. Companies rely heavily on:
Natural habitats (extraction stage), production processes and regulating services
Natural habitats (construction stage), regulating services
Freshwater
Flood and storm protection, erosion control
Climate regulation
