The third edition of the Sustainable Construction Barometer, a global study conducted with Occurrence–Ifop, notes that the construction sector must accelerate its transformation towards a more sustainable model.
The study is structured around 24 questions, and asked to 4,000 stakeholders representative of the sector, along with an additional 27,000 citizens who responded to four specific questions. The responses helped identify key levers to accelerate sustainable construction in Canada
“The conclusion is simple: we must act now. For sustainable construction to become the norm, it must be better understood and fully integrated into the expectations of both citizens and professionals,” said Benoit Bazin, chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain. “Beyond its environmental impact, its tangible benefits in terms of comfort, health, and well-being are still too often unknown or underestimated. To scale up, a global approach adapted to local realities is essential, taking into account uses, territories, and on-the-ground realities.”
Launched in 2023 on a scope of 10 countries, the Sustainable Construction Barometer now covers 27 countries, with a broad spectrum of stakeholders including professionals, students, elected local officials and local government representatives and members of associations. New this year, the survey also surveyed 27,000 regular citizens.
The study revealed that 67 per cent of stakeholders claim to have a good grasp of the concept of sustainable construction; a figure that has risen by six points over the past year.
The perceived urgency to act on the subject remains high with 69 per cent of stakeholders considering the implementation of more sustainable construction a priority. This result is backed up by a perception shared by citizens, who are on board with the issue. A total of 60 per cent consider it a priority, and 95 per cent consider it important. The challenge now lies in converting this high level of stakeholder and public awareness into actions, while taking local specificities into consideration.
In Canada, the proportion of stakeholders claiming to have a good understanding of sustainable construction rose by 20 points year over year to stand at 71 per cent. However, the country faces a challenge when it comes to its general citizen population where only 22 per cent of Canadians say they have heard about sustainable construction and know exactly what it is.
The study also revealed that Canadians are less likely than in the rest of the world to believe implementing more sustainable construction solutions is a priority.
A total of 87 per cent of stakeholders believe that there is a need to “go further” in sustainable construction. Those involved in the design phase, positioned upstream in the value chain, appear as essential drivers with 56 per cent of stakeholders considering architects and engineering firms to be the “most legitimate players to advance this transition,” followed by private companies in the sector at 44 per cent.
Priorities vary widely from region to region and the diversity of regional challenges underlines the importance of tailoring sustainable construction strategies to local specificities, while preserving a strong global dynamic.
While stakeholders claim to better understand the concept, they still associate sustainable construction primarily with environmental issues, according to the study. The energy efficiency of buildings and the use of ecofriendly materials remain the main criteria for defining the concept.
Resilience in the face of climatic hazards is becoming an increasingly important issue and the topic has seen the strongest growth since the previous edition, reaching 21 per cent.
The “human” dimension of sustainable construction is still struggling to gain acceptance and remains relegated to the background. Only 15 per cent of stakeholders and 15 per cent of citizens associate sustainable construction with improved occupant well-being, even though this aspect could play a key role in its acceptance and deployment.
Although stakeholders claim to be familiar with sustainable construction, only 28 per cent say they are fully informed on the subject, and 35 per cent of professionals have taken dedicated training.
A total of 78 per cent of students consider training in sustainable construction to be differentiating for employment, but only 40 per cent would refuse an offer from a non-committed company. 67 per cnet of professionals say they assess the carbon footprint of their projects, but only 30 per cent do so systematically.
The study revealed that 51 per cent of elected representatives say they would like to exclude non-committed projects from public procurement contracts, but only 37 per cent have taken this step, a result which is an encouraging sign. 51 per cent of associations plan to call for a boycott of companies deemed to be under-invested, but only 24 per cent have taken action.
The challenge for all value chain actors is to transform this collective awareness into concrete actions and is an opportunity for mobilization.
With Canada being part of the global survey for a second year, it appears that industry stakeholders remain engaged towards sustainable construction and see it as a priority. However, there is a need for more awareness and education within the Canadian population as only 22 per cent have heard and know what sustainable construction is.
Top three actions that need to be put in place to accelerate the development of sustainable construction for stakeholders include raising awareness among all stakeholders and strengthen their collaboration, training professionals more, and making sustainable material, products and solutions more competitive.
In terms of the general population in Canada, actions include making sustainable material, products and solutions more competitive, prioritizing the use of bio-materials over conventional materials, raising public awareness of the challenges of sustainable construction, and making sustainable performance of constructions more visible and transparent.
