Low-carbon outcomes in the built environment

Will Hawkins, Angus Peters and Tim Mander argue for designers to challenge overspecification and grasp the opportunity that reduced floor loads offer for low-carbon structural design.

Buro Happold and WSP UK have committed to reducing the carbon emissions of their designs by 50% by 2030. In this article, Sarah Prichard and David Leversha set out the rationale for this target, explain how they plan to achieve this, and encourage other firms to join them in setting an ambitious agenda for governments to follow as we approach the COP26 climate summit.

In his winning entry to the Institution’s Kenneth Severn Award 2020 – an annual essay competition for young engineers – Will Rogers-Tizard argues that structural engineers can help tackle the climate emergency by making better use of materials, understanding carbon values and questioning industry norms.