Stepping Up the Pace: Fossil Fuel Free Construction

This is the inspiration for Mission Zero, our commitment to be a 1.5 degree aligned company targeting net zero (Scope 1 & 2) by 2025 and absolute zero, all scopes, by 2040. With our targets set, the challenge to achieve them has now begun in earnest.

This report is part of that journey. It zeroes in on a single action within our Mission Zero Roadmap: ‘zero use of fossil fuels in construction’.

With the help of the University of Queensland, we have explored how quickly can we electrify construction machinery and what alternative fuels are viable. UQ’s new report, Planning a Transition to Low and Zero Emission Construction Machinery, addresses these questions with rigour and evidence. Lendlease’s companion report, Stepping Up the Pace: Fossil Fuel Free Construction, translates UQ’s research into a clear action plan to create fully-electric, fossil fuel free construction sites.

We learnt decarbonising construction will be challenging.

Achieving absolute zero emissions on our construction sites by 2040 will require significant acceleration in the electrification of construction machinery and equipment. This, like many decarbonisation challenges, is a challenge that can only be solved systemically – it’s one of those wicked problems no single party can ‘fix’.

This is why our sector deserves ‘hard to abate’ status.

However, rather than let this deter us, understanding the nature of our challenge can give us direction. Now, with the help of the University of Queensland, we know what change is needed, and we have clarity of focus.

Our hope in publishing this paper, is that this focus can firstly be understood and secondly, inspire collective action to decarbonise construction.

Click here to read the full report.

For further reading you can access the comprehensive Literature Review here. The supporting databases can be accessed here.