6 Climate-Conscious Buildings that are Shaping the Future of Construction

Ever since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by how things are built. Much to my parents’ chagrin, I would often take our household items apart and reassemble them. It was no surprise when I started my career in the construction industry—first at a cabinetry shop and building contractor, then as a real estate developer, and later as a construction technologist.

Today, I’m just as fascinated by how things are built as I was back then, but over the years as I’ve built a career and a family, I’ve become interested in another part of the construction process: how we can build better for generations to come. The construction industry is one of the largest industries in the world and accounts for nearly 40% of all carbon emissions. The good news is that today’s technology enables teams to build more efficiently and sustainably than ever before—helping reduce rework, landfill waste, and the industry’s overall carbon footprint.

Many of Procore’s customers are leading the charge with innovative projects that are not only shaping the future of the construction industry, but also the world. Here are some of the most groundbreaking projects that are paving the way toward a more climate-conscious future.

1. The City of Santa Monica Services Building sets the gold standard for living buildings. 

As the winner of Procore’s 2022 Excellence in Sustainability Groundbreaker award, Hathaway Dinwiddie is a true leader when it comes to climate-conscious innovation. The California-based general contractor fulfilled the Living Building Challenge, the most rigorous sustainable building certification, on the City of Santa Monica City Services Building. The structure doesn’t import or export any water, energy, or waste, making it the first Living Building Challenge structure in Southern California—and Hathaway Dinwiddie finished the project on schedule and under budget.

The building features edible landscaping, on-site treated rainwater for drinking (the first in California), power generation that avoids energy bills altogether, radiant slabs for heating and cooling, chemical-free building materials, and even the first composting foam-flush toilets in Southern California. It’s now considered to be the greenest municipal building in the world.  

2. The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design makes history in the Southeastern US.

Skanska, a global project development and construction group, constructed the first Living Building Challenge fully-certified project in the Southeastern US—the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It includes on-site rainwater collection for drinking, red list chemical-free materials, composting toilets, urban agriculture, and more.

An especially unique feature is that it incorporates a salvaged item for every 500 square meters of building. Material from Atlanta’s Lifecycle Building Center, which sources the lumber from discarded film sets, as well as wood from felled trees on campus were used to build countertops, furniture, and other elements of the structure. By eliminating 99% of construction waste and using reclaimed local materials, the project diverted more waste from the landfill than it sent to it. Plus, while the Living Building Challenge requirement is to generate at least 105% of the energy it uses, the building has generated 220% or more of the energy it uses since it opened in 2019.

3. Avolta Energy is driving renewable energy in Costa Rica.  

I’m fascinated by solar energy, and in fact, I have several personal solar projects that I’m building myself. One company that caught my attention was Avolta Energy, a Costa Rica-based solar energy company that’s committed to delivering renewable energy in the region. One of their most impressive feats was building the innovative ICU Medical solar plant which they conceptualized, designed, built, and financed. 

The 1.6 megawatts of electricity generated by the solar panels are equivalent to the power consumed by about 770 homes in Costa Rica. The ICU Medical solar plant is the largest rooftop solar panel project in the country and was inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Costa Rica.

4. Ascent redefines the meaning of “going green.”

Having started my career as a carpenter and cabinet maker, I love the aesthetic of wood, its flexibility, and its warmth as a building material. I was impressed then when I heard about Ascent, a 25-story residential tower and the world’s tallest hybrid mass timber building. 

C.D. Smith Construction, a general contractor based out of Wisconsin, is one of the innovators behind the project. What makes the project so unique is its use of massive timber beams. Unlike other materials, such as steel and cement which contribute to global carbon emissions, timber has the opposite effect and absorbs carbon. In fact, Ascent has a negative carbon footprint equivalent to taking 2,350 cars off the road for a year. 

The team also used Procore on the project which eliminated over 90% of the estimated rework, significantly reducing project waste. Not only that, they were able to prefabricate over 90% of materials off-site, which reduced trips back and forth to the job site and further reduced carbon emissions. 

5. Climate Pledge Arena becomes the most sustainable arena in the world.

Mortenson is a US-based builder, developer, and engineering services provider serving the commercial, institutional, and energy sectors. They have built an impressive $20.4 billion in green/sustainable projects since 2006 and were named #20 on ENR’s list of Top Green U.S. Contractors. With more than 275 green projects under their belt, Mortenson has established themselves as a leader in sustainable building. 

One of their projects that stood out to me was the $1.15 billion rebuild of Seattle’s Key Arena, now called Climate Pledge Arena. Not only is the 18,100-seat arena the first net-zero carbon arena in the world, but it’s also on track to be the first International Living Future Institute (ILFI) certified sports stadium. ILFI-certified buildings must be all-electric, energy efficient, powered entirely by renewable energy, and show a reduction in the carbon of building materials. 

The building features a rooftop solar array to power the facility, as well as large cisterns underground to collect rainwater which is turned into ice for the NHL hockey rink. The design allows the building to rely solely on renewable energy and maintain zero-waste initiatives. Despite the incredible complexity of the project, Mortenson delivered the project on budget and two weeks ahead of schedule.

6. Multiplex raises the bar for climate-conscious buildings in Canada. 

Multiplex Canada, a Toronto-based general contractor, is at the forefront of sustainable construction. Along with their parent company, Multiplex Global, they were the first contractor in the world to sign the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. They have also committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 63% before 2035 as part of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an initiative that aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Not only did Multiplex Canada set one of SBTi’s most ambitious targets, but it also became the first construction company in Canada—and the tenth from any sector—to commit to the SBTi.

Multiplex assesses the embodied carbon emissions across its projects and bid pursuits. The Bay Adelaide Centre North Tower, a Toronto project targeting LEED Platinum certification, was Multiplex’s pilot project for embodied carbon assessments. Using BIM technology and embodied carbon data from the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool, Multiplex quantified the embodied carbon emissions associated with the main elements of the tower. This helped highlight the potential reduction in embodied carbon that can be achieved.

The building is also part of the existing Deep Lake Water Cooling system, a world-renowned district energy system that draws renewable cold water from Lake Ontario to cool buildings—essentially a sustainable alternative to air conditioning—that can reduce electricity use by 80%. What’s more, the building incorporates an innovative heating system that captures and reuses residual heat.

The incredible work these companies are doing, along with many others, is truly transforming the future of construction—and the world. I’m humbled and grateful to be working alongside many of the leaders who are challenging the status quo and working toward a more climate-conscious future. I hope these projects can serve as a source of inspiration and hope for all of you, as they do for me. 

If you know of any innovative, climate-conscious companies, I encourage you to nominate them for a 2023 Groundbreaker Award.  Winners will be announced in September at our annual Groundbreak conference.