It is a strange time to be building buildings. The back-and-forth of tariffs and global agreements, policy changes across the pond, rising geopolitical conflicts, and economic unpredictability have affected global logistics, which are in turn affecting construction in varied ways. While each new project now carries increased financial risk, crucially, it also bears significant ecological and social weight. And yet, we keep building. The sprawl still crawls, and the cranes rarely pause to reconcile their pace with the needs of the planet they build on, or the people they build for.

As the group sustainability director at Broadway Malyan, and a professional with cross-continental experience in design, sustainability, and policy, I have recently been reflecting on the shifting forces currently shaping parts of our industry and the sustainability challenges that accompany them.

The construction landscape has been increasingly strained in the past few months. New tariffs (and trackbacks) from the U.S. have sparked volatility in material prices, especially in steel and aluminium; and the delays in material access have disrupted timelines and budgets.

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