To meet the 2050 net zero carbon emissions target the built environment has to change significantly. This will involve changes to most, if not all, aspects of the way people live and whilst it may seem a daunting challenge it's also one that offers an exceptional range of business opportunities as Wales transitions to become a zero carbon nation. The extent to which these opportunities are capitalised upon is of course dependent on the degree to which the business community chooses to embrace and invest in what is a rapidly emerging green economy.
Here are some of the key elements of the green economy that will see growth based on the positive contributions they can make to help establish the sustainable built environment of the future.
1 Skills and training
To achieve decarbonisation a workforce with the right skills is needed. The obvious need will be in the construction sector where, in addition to the traditional trades, new skills will increasingly be in demand. These include: technical and practical skills in Modern Methods of Construction, and in the increasing number of construction roles that rely on technology throughout the process. This presents a significant opportunity for new apprenticeship programmes, that in turn would help create a highly skilled and better paid workforce.
2 Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Under the banner heading of Smart City, the use of technology will continue to increase in all aspects of our built environment. From using data to manage our infrastructures more efficiently to the intelligent management of our home appliances and heating systems. For the green economy, this increase in efficiency will result in less waste, and as demand for electricity will continue to grow, being energy efficient will be critically important to ensure we have sufficient energy to meet demand. This will create opportunities for development of the required software and hardware (including sensor technology). It will also present business opportunities in the management of data and the development of digital twins of our towns and cities to allow for accurate planning and forecasting. Fully embraced we could even see Wales developing its own equivalent of Silicon Valley, but at the very least the use of technology has a key role to play in decarbonisation and it's one that presents a wealth of new business opportunities.
3 Renewable energy
The geography of Wales works in our favour for the wide scale adoption of renewable energy, and this has the potential to develop a highly successful renewable energy sector to secure our green energy for generations to come. For these opportunities to be fully realised there is however a need to tackle the acknowledged barriers renewable energy generation is facing. These barriers include; funding gaps, skills shortages and grid constraints, and are illustrative of the need to become more responsive and accepting of the need to change the way the energy sector itself operates. Hopefully, the net zero emissions target will work to provide the impetus needed to bring about this change allowing business across Wales to play a proactive and profitable role in creating and delivering renewable energy solutions. This would serve not only our domestic market, it could also open up export potential to sell our renewable energy expertise globally.
4 Modern Methods of Construction
Creating the highly energy efficient homes we need to achieve decarbonisation will result in an increase in the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). This encompasses the complete building of homes off site in factory settings, and also includes the manufacturing of panel systems. In Wales investments are already being made in MMC including £35 million by the Welsh Government to deliver 400 factory-built homes as part of its Innovative Housing Programme. Offering the potential to use Welsh timber, this method of construction is supportive of the green economy, and can provide new job opportunities in both forestry and construction. In addition it's perfectly feasible for the homes to be exported both within the UK and internationally.
5 Renovation
Any existing structure in the built environment sits with its carbon footprint already having been spent. So it makes sense to retain existing buildings rather than demolish them only to build new ones in their place, although of course there will be exceptions to this. One of the reasons why the renovation of existing buildings has become less commonplace is down to VAT. New build projects are exempt from VAT whereas renovation or refurbishment work attracts VAT. If, as the Retro First campaign is calling for, VAT stopped being applied to building renovations it would become more attractive for smaller developers and builders to take on renovation projects. This would help reduce the carbon footprint in construction due to the less carbon intensive process of renovation. At the same time it would create new opportunities for smaller builders and developers across Wales.
6 Urban regeneration
There is significant talk about how we need to repurpose our towns and cities, in part to counter the internet induced retail exodus, and also in response to the increase in remote working brought about by the Pandemic. Much of the thinking is focusing on creating urban centres that embrace nature, provide more housing (particularly apartments) in place of the empty large stores, and finding ways to encourage people back. In terms of business opportunities these could include, converting the floors above shops into apartments that could be ideal for first time buyers. Equally we could expect an increase in demand for coworking spaces and smaller retail units better placed to serve independent businesses that sell not only products but the services and experiences that can’t be bought on the internet. Adding more nature will increase demand for the plants and trees needed to adopt Biophilic design principles.
7 Reuse, Repurposing, Recycling
The sustainable future will see greater adoption of the Circular Economy, this more widespread reuse and repurposing of existing products in the built environment will create opportunities on an individual level to find ways to sell unwanted goods, and buy the things we need through sites such as Gumtree. On an academic level it opens up further research opportunities into product design, durability and recyclability. In terms of business this also opens up the possibility for reusing, remaking and repurposing to become a valuable sector within the built environment that could grow across Wales.
8 Wellbeing
In 2020, the overall wellness market in the UK was an estimated £12.4billion, and the quest for wellbeing is closely linked to the environment. This is especially true for outdoor activities such as cycling and walking, along with undertaking other activities that support wellbeing including fitness classes and yoga. With this market set to continue to increase, businesses that manufacture or retail outdoor clothing, footwear, push bikes and other equipment are well placed to grow. Equally, instructors who run classes should continue to see increasing demand, and again this represents a raft of potential new business opportunities.
9 Timber and forestry.
Already we are seeing timber shortages around the world, in part due to an increase in demand and also unfortunately due to the extreme forest fires that we’re witnessing this summer. As more homes and other buildings are going to be made using timber it’s crucial for Wales to secure its own sustainable source of this essential material. This will create opportunities not just in the forestry sector but also in the processing of timber. It has the potential to create significant job opportunities for the rural economy.
10 Local enterprise.
The green economy benefits local businesses and vice versa. It means looking to what can be achieved close to home: using local suppliers, manufacturing locally, and supplying locally. The less distance goods have to travel the lower their carbon footprint and that’s good for the planet. This more localised approach to doing business encourages: cooperatives, coworking and community enterprise, and is supportive of the adoption of the Foundational Economy. As a small country, embracing local enterprise suits Wales and the country is perfectly positioned to embrace the new businesses that will be needed to provide the products and services that will allow us to become a net zero carbon nation. This will become the new built environment and it needs to be truly sustainable for generations to come.
I’ve listed just ten ways the emerging green economy is good for business, and there are plenty more worth considering. It’s almost a given that, in order to meet the net zero carbon emissions target by 2050, substantial changes will need to be made in the way everyone lives their lives. This gives existing businesses the opportunity to realign their current activity to ensure they can trade successfully in the green economy. At the same time, this change is also generating significant opportunities for new business and investment across Wales, and in that respect now is the ideal time to be curious about finding ways to embrace the green economy.
