Sustainability
At Serneke we believe that a focus on environmental and social sustainability is essential for long-term growth. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to promote more sustainable development and to positively contribute to the built environment and our society as a whole – for us and for the next generation.
One of the construction industry’s biggest challenges is to reduce the environmental impact of the buildings we create, not only during the construction phase, but also for the many years they will be in use.
The construction industry uses large amounts of resources, material and energy. Traditionally concrete and steel are the main structural elements, bringing high levels of embodied energy to every project. Scaffolding and formwork are typically used on multi-storey projects; a significant expense for work and materials that will form no part of the finished building. Serneke is at the forefront of modern methods of construction, using high levels of offsite fabrication and, increasingly, sustainably-produced engineered timber.
The process of changing the way we build also offers opportunities to change what we build. The carbon footprint and total embodied energy of a completed building and all that goes into constructing it represent less than a third of the carbon it will ‘produce’ over its operational life. For this reason, Serneke is committed to designing and building low-energy buildings, which are significantly more efficient to heat and cool and cheaper to operate.
A combination of good design, informed material selection, value engineering, modern methods of construction (including offsite fabrication and the use of engineered timber) and careful project management not only reduces the overall project duration but also reduces waste and minimizes disruption to the neighbourhood around the site. This is “sustainability in action”.
Serneke has extensive experience working with various environmental certifications, and in-house qualified expertise in LEED, BREEAM, Passivhaus and several Scandinavian systems. We are regularly comparing the many and varied international environmental assessment frameworks and, as a minimum, we approach every project with the aim of meeting most of the common criteria in collaboration with our clients and design and construction teams.
As we have increasingly become involved in higher-density residential projects, our understanding of - and commitment to - social sustainability has become one of our core values; one of Serneke’s business fundamentals.
Sustainability in action.
NÄSTA GENERATION