Eco-friendly construction is becoming much more prevalent in 2020. One study by the Green Building Council found that 60% of contractors expected to make green buildings back in 2018. This figure appears to have increased in recent months.

However, not all companies know how to create green building projects. Eco-friendly construction sites are a source of noise and light pollution, but they don’t have to be a source of pollution that damages the environment too. While temporarily annoying the neighboring businesses and households doesn’t matter in the long-term, pollution caused through emissions, landfill and the destruction of natural habitats will have more serious consequences for the planet.

Making Construction Sites Eco-Friendly

If you’re a property developer, construction site manager or even construction worker, we’ve found three simple changes that you can make to your construction site to ensure that its impact on the environment is as little as possible. We have talked about the importance of choosing the right materials before, but wanted to talk in more detail about other aspects of the project. Making construction sites eco-friendly can be a lot easier than you thought.

Technological Planning

Reducing waste is one of the most important aspects of any eco-friendly construction project. You will reduce your carbon footprint and preserve precious natural resources if you find creative ways to reduce waste. Technological planning is key to achieving this end.

Using 3-D technology to fully immerse yourself and your fellow construction workers into the development project will mean that you can not only spot areas that need plumbing or mechanical work, but plan how much material is needed for this work. This means that excess materials aren’t bought and then no longer needed or wasted, which can save money and resources too. Obviously, using collaborative technology to plan projects, like Google Suite, Slack, and Trello can save on resources, paper and pens too! It removes the need for an office, since it relies on remote technology that allows people to collaborate without being in close proximity to each other.

Fuel Efficiency

Energy efficiency is a critical aspect of sustainable buildings. Eco-friendly construction projects lead to buildings that use 25% less energy, largely because they require less fuel.

Planning ahead the routes that your materials and employees will take to the construction site means that the most fuel-efficient and quickest journeys can be made. Opting for a vehicle that runs on cleaner fuels and has diesel particulate filters fitted to the exhaust will help to reduce the fuel emissions that enter the air when driving.

Ensure that when transporting materials, you plan ahead. Even if you don’t need the material now, think about the material that you’ll need later on. This will make sure that each vehicle is as fully loaded as it can safely be, to maximize this first vehicle’s fuel and to save wasting more fuel when transporting material that is needed later on in a half-empty vehicle.

Manage Your Waste

Not everything on your construction site needs to go to landfill and you should see what you can reuse, recycle and upcycle. Even if you don’t want to reuse something, someone else might! There are specific websites where you can actually offer up your unwanted construction goods for sale that others can make use of! Your old wooden beams could landscape someone’s garden, or broken concrete could be used as pathways in the garden. When you do have waste, you should ensure that it is disposed of correctly with industrial containers that accept wood, concrete, roofing materials and other construction waste. This means that your waste doesn’t all go to landfill!

Your buildings and future businesses or properties will change the immediate environment for better, so why not ensure that they benefit the wider environment too? Starting to make small changes now to respect the earth, like the ones that we have suggested, will help further regulations and practices be developed. Lead the way now, to set the trend for construction site developers and be ahead of the rest!

Eco-Friendly Construction Can Be a Reality with Proper Planning

There are a number of great ways to make eco-friendly construction possible. The steps listed above are key. You should follow them closely while working on these projects.