“A Little More Recycling” Not Enough To Make Ireland’s Plastic Economy Circular

Over the last three decades, the sustainability movement within the built environment sector has been on a journey.  The industry has never been more advanced than it is today. This was demonstrated through the flagship Cities, Regions and Built Environment day at COP26, and the inclusion of built environment parameters within the Glasgow pact – covering both buildings and infrastructure. The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and crucial to the achievement of its long-term goals, embodying efforts by each country that support an integrated approach to sustainability.  Traditionally, the green building movement focused on operational energy use, efficiency and primarily environmental concerns. However, the scope and breadth of this sustainability ambition has dramatically expanded. It now encompasses the diversity of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, to be considered across all stages of the building and construction lifecycle, plus the communities and infrastructure that serve our buildings, and the built assets themselves.

On a cloudy day in June 2020, dozens of herders dressed in brightly coloured robes gathered under the widely spaced trees that are typical of savannah landscapes in northern Tanzania.  Event for distribution of legal documents at Enganguangare village, OLENGAPA. Photo: © UNDP Tanzania CO, SGP Tanzania.  It was the beginning of the dry season in Kiteto district, which is home to a variety of Indigenous Peoples, including the semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists that had congregated in anticipation.