Rooted in Responsibility: Materials for a Sustainable Landscape

As urban areas continue to expand and new towns and cities are built, greater resources are needed to support this development. As (Harby, 2021) notes “Construction alone uses half of all non-renewable resources consumed.” worldwide. This staggering statistic highlights the immense impact the construction industry has on planetary health, and does not even consider environmental health, carbon emission, deforestation and habitat destruction. This cannot continue.  

Often overlooked is the impact of extracting materials on deforestation. Between 2010 to 2017 there was a decrease of 55.8% in the quality of Chinas ecosystems. (Wang, 2022) This was primarily due to resource extraction and habitat destruction. In the UK we rarely see the impact of such large-scale resource extraction as we import most of our construction materials from abroad. £22,748 million worth of construction materials were imported into the UK in 2023. (GOV.UK, 2024).  

 

Sustainable sourcing 

 “Sustainable sourcing is the integration of social, ethical and environmental performance factors into the process of selecting suppliers.” (Ecovadis, 2023). Sustainably sourced materials include ones that are recycled, renewable or locally available. Landscape Architects must prioritise sustainable sourcing of construction materials to reduce carbon emissions, rebuild the environment and create ecologically harmonious spaces.  

Beyond environmental protection, sustainable sourcing also reduces carbon emissions. “Concrete is by far the most widely used building material in the world today.” It is cheap and easily available. However, it is a large contributor to carbon emissions “Global cement manufacturing is responsible for about 8% of the world's total CO2 emissions.” (Purton, 2024).. “If the cement industry were a country, it would be the world's third or fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2)" (Purton, 2024) 

The challenge for landscape architecture is to meet the needs of the client, whilst acting ethically.  Simple changes can have a big impact such as using local or site- specific stone rather than importing exotic rocks. Local sourcing also minimises transport emissions due to a reduction in material miles (the distance a material has to travel to get from source to site). Other simple swaps include switching to low- carbon cement, or sustainably harvested timber. It is important to remember that sustainable choices can enhance, rather than compromise, design beauty. 

Having a Wider Impact 

As well as reducing waste and promoting resource efficiency, sourcing materials sustainably supports a circular economy, “The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting.” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2024). An example of this is incorporating recycled plastics in urban furniture such as playground equipment, thereby reducing the need to produce new materials. Another option is to turn organic matter, such as food scraps or yard waste into compost and then add it to soil to improve its quality, thus making the soil much more nutrient dense. Such practices also support local suppliers and create a larger market for sustainable material trade.  

 Conclusion 

Sustainable material sourcing is critical to addressing the pressing environmental challenges we as a society currently face. Landscape architects can lead the way by sourcing materials sustainably thereby reducing environmental degradation, lowering transportation-related emissions, and supporting a circular economy where waste is minimised. It is vital that we as professionals put this at the top of our priorities in order to ensure a greener future. 

 

 

Reference list 

Ecovadis (2023). Sustainable Sourcing Definition. [online] EcoVadis. Available at: https://ecovadis.com/glossary/sustainable-sourcing/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2025]. 

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2024). Circular Economy Introduction. [online] Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview [Accessed 3 Jan. 2025]. 

GOV.UK (2024). Construction building materials: commentary, February 2024. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/building-materials-and-components-statistics-february-2024/construction-building-materials-commentary-february-2024. 

Harby, A. (2021). Sustainable Construction: Facts & Figures. [online] CityChangers.org – Home Base for Urban Shapers. Available at: https://citychangers.org/construction-facts-and-figures/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2025]. 

Purton, M. (2024). Cement Is a Big Problem for the environment. Here’s How to Make It More Sustainable. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/09/cement-production-sustainable-concrete-co2-emissions/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2025]. 

Wang, Y. (2022). Human health and ecosystem impacts of China’s resource extraction. Science of the Total Environment, 847(157465), pp.1–12.