In this new #BuildingLife Ambassador Spotlight Series, Passive House Plus is profiling leaders who have endorsed the Irish Green Building Council’s call to address the environmental impacts of buildings across their lifecycle.
In this interview, Cian O’Callaghan TD for Dublin Bay North and Social Democrats’ spokesperson on housing tells us more about the campaign and why he is supporting it.
Why did you choose to get involved in the #BuildingLife campaign as an ambassador?
Climate Change is having a devastating impact on people, and we must do everything we can to mitigate its effects and tackle the causes. I am supporting the campaign as sustainable building practices are a key factor in reducing our carbon emissions.
It’s also really sad to see old buildings that often have huge significance in our communities being demolished. This destruction flies in the face of sustainability. In most cases, older buildings could and should be renovated and brought back into use. The sooner we measure building work in terms of carbon impact over the entire life cycle of the project, the better.
Can you explain how you and the Social Democrats are working towards a sustainable built environment?
The Social Democrats strongly support the need for a sustainable built environment. For example, we are calling for a strong and effective tax on vacant buildings to bring them back into use. The most sustainable building is an existing building.
We also advocate for the introduction of carbon budgets for construction to measure the carbon impact of a building through its entire life cycle and measures to curb the demolition of existing buildings. Any proposal to demolish buildings must be justified by its overall carbon impact. Renovating existing buildings should be encouraged wherever feasible.
Additionally, we endorse the use of sustainable modular and timber frame construction systems. The State, through its social and affordable housing building programme, can give the sector the certainty that it needs.
Finally, we support ongoing investment in research and development to promote sustainable building practices and innovation.
High-quality decisions are key to building confidence in more sustainable building systems.
We need communities with attractive public spaces, amenities, and community facilities. People want to live in thriving neighbourhoods with good public transport and connectivity.
Put simply, if we want to get this right it is about more than constructing net zero buildings – it is about building communities where people want to live, that will flourish over the decades to come.
As #BuildingLife ambassador, what do you hope to achieve with this campaign?
First and foremost, I’d like to see a legislative change to ensure that the carbon impact of a building is considered over its whole lifecycle. This means taking into account the environmental impact of construction materials, site works, as well as the use of the building after construction. Ireland has fallen far behind other countries, and we need to begin regulating the carbon impact of construction.
Alongside legislative change, I’d like to see a change in culture. We can already see considerable interest among people working in the sector for more sustainable building practices, however, we need to see this on a much bigger scale.
Finding a home and a place to put down roots in the local community and form friendships and relationships is key to people’s well-being. Far too many people do not have access to decent housing that they can afford. 100 years ago, there was a radical change in house building in Ireland when affordable purchase homes were built in Marino. The design was based on the Garden City model and included access to lots of green spaces. Marino is a community that is thriving today with great connection and interaction between older and younger generations.
In my view, we need a similar shift today. We need to prioritise building high-quality, sustainable, and affordable communities that will thrive over the next hundred years.
#BuildingLife is a project led in Ireland by the Irish Green Building Council. The initiative aims to achieve the mix of private-sector action and public policy necessary to tackle the whole-life impact of buildings. Learn more here.
