Protecting the environment is essential for all our futures, and the built environment plays a significant role in that. The process of construction contributes 25% of global carbon emissions and 50% of global landfill waste, and buildings use 80% of the world’s energy to operate. Environmental consideration isn’t just about power and carbon, though; wildlife and ecosystems are part of everyday life and must be protected. Pollution in the air and the water can cause harm to all living things, and light and noise pollution have been shown to have a serious impact on human health.

To protect the environment and reduce the damage created by the built environment, we need to rethink our approach to recycling and reuse. Creating more efficient buildings can help to reduce energy usage, but demolishing existing buildings must be done with care and consideration for materials that can be reused and land that must be cleaned. Using environmentally-friendly materials in buildings could reduce the damage caused by mining and quarrying steel, clay and cement. 

Some environment and pollution clients include everyone from local and national governments to individual homeowners. Roles in environment and pollution include Construction Management, Site Management, Structural Engineering and Waste Management and you’ll find out more about these during your work experience. By completing this module you will start to develop some of the skills needed for these roles and develop a clearer picture of whether this area of construction is right for you.

In this virtual work experience theme you’ll be looking at Wildlife Protection, Waste Management and Sourcing Materials. You should plan to spend about 45 minutes to an hour on each topic. When you have finished all the tasks, you will receive a certificate of completion that you can use on your CV.

Pick your first topic to get started and get a task briefing from your supervisor.