“For sustainability to take hold, it has to be cost-effective”

Dubai, UAE, 20 June 2018: A high-performing building is a better building, said Lynelle Cameron, CEO, Autodesk Foundation and Vice President, Sustainability, Autodesk. “For sustainability to take hold, it has to be cost-effective,” Cameron said. “Ten years ago it might have been more investment to design a high-performance building. Today you can make those decisions early in the design process so it doesn’t cost more and you reduce the cost over time. It has to be driven by economics, in addition to the regulatory environment,” she added.

Cameron admitted that there are different levels of adoption in terms of relevant technologies for the construction sector, owing to differing regulations in various countries, as well as private sector acceptance. However, she commends the United Arab Emirates government for making bold commitments to sustainability through smart cities, renewable energy and solar projects. Cameron said: “I’m more optimistic than ever that the construction industry will adopt the technology because there is the economics behind it to design and construct things better. It’s a combination of technology being readily affordable and available and the government’s vision of where we want to be in the next couple of decades being the key drivers.”

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com