insights Building a career for a sustainable future

The Global Construction 2030 report reveals that over the next decade construction output will expand by 85%. Though millions of housing units need to be built around the world to accommodate the growing population, such an expansion is a threat to our environments and the species that inhabit them. Professionals are now dedicating their careers to delivering smarter construction solutions and sustainability has rightfully made its way onto the agenda for many governing bodies.

Freya Crunden, an environmental consultant at AtkinsRéalis , encouragingly remarks that there is no single way into a career in sustainability because sustainability covers a breadth of areas, from carbon emissions and biodiversity to community and finance. This means that for anyone looking to taking their passion for the environment and turn it into a career, there are many options. Let's take a look at some of the most exciting jobs in this realm and how you can build a career for a sustainable future.

Why sustainability is important to us

Sustainability is about creating a world that we're all happy to live in and proud to pass onto the next generation, knowing that we've built a better future for them. It’s a bold claim to say that a career in sustainability is a chance to save the world but it’s one that we stand by. At Atkins, we’re proud to be supporting people who are committed to finding a career where they can help to cut carbon emissions, preserve biodiversity and reduce our overall impact on the environment.

A sustainable career in infrastructure

The Upcycle – a book written by an architect and chemist to make a case for a better-designed world – states that “Human beings don't have a pollution problem; they have a design problem.”Urbanisation and population growth have drained our natural resources, not because the rate we’ve used them at but the way we’ve used them.

When bringing a green building to life, architects will work alongside civil and mechanical engineers, urban planners and building surveyors. They’re responsible for designing energy, waste and waters systems that have the lowest impact on the surrounding landscape. As costs for building materials and concern for our impact on the environment both mount in equal measures, green architects with innovative and cost-effective solutions will be more highly sought after.

Buildings not only need to be constructed from eco-friendly materials, but they must also incorporate energy-saving techniques. There’s a growing trend within architecture and surveying to use smart city technologies to help design these sustainable buildings. The use of these technologies has allowed architects to push the boundaries of design and shift their focus to other areas, such as biophilic design. Biophilia is based on the understanding that humans enjoy better health and wellbeing when they are closer to nature. As a result, we see buildings like the Nanjing Vertical Forest which not only connect people in large cities with the outdoors, but this particular building can reduce CO2 emissions by around 18 tons each year.

A sustainable career in transportation