Sustainable Design
Sustainable Design

© Jad Sylla / Marcus Bredt / Achim Birnbaum / Michael Elkan / Thomas Robbin / KÉSZ Metaltech Ltd. / Conné van d’Grachten
We focus on sustainability
Our planet and climate are changing. Every construction project shapes our environment – whether through resource extraction, emissions from production and construction processes, or waste disposal at the end of a project’s life. We accept this responsibility and recognize the opportunities it presents to create positive change. Regardless of the size, type and location of a project, our focus is to enrich the communities where our projects are located and to minimize our impact to the environment.
We provide future-oriented advice and respond to pioneering trends through innovative sustainable design. In this way, we support our partners and clients in realizing our mutual sustainability goals.
Reducing embodied carbon
The structural system of a building is typically responsible for one to two thirds of the initial embodied carbon stored in a building over its lifetime. In the case of a bridge, the structural system can account for more than ninety percent of the embodied carbon.
We determine the environmental impact of the structures we design using life cycle assessment (LCA). Reducing the embodied carbon of our designs is a primary goal throughout the design process from the early stages of refining a brief, comparing different structural solutions to specifying material choices.
Our in-house benchmark database from past projects enables us to assess the performance of new projects and provides embodied carbon target values for new projects. We are members of the SE 2050 Commitment program in the USA and contribute to their project benchmark database.

Closing loops
We seek to embed circularity in our projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with manufacturing new structural elements, minimize impact on natural environments caused by new material extraction, and – for biogenic materials such as wood – continue to sequester embodied carbon for longer. Every structural component that is reused does not need to be produced again meaning that we can close the current wasteful loop of the industry by transitioning from a linear economy to a circular one.
We facilitate our clients in reusing structural materials at their end of life, design new structures with reclaimed elements, and plan for a future circular economy by designing new structures for deconstruction. The circular economy value chain not only reduces negative environmental impacts, but can allow clients to realize embedded value – financially, culturally, and environmentally.


Extending service life
Much of our work focuses on extending the service life of existing infrastructure through renovation, such as structural reviews, reanalysis and element maintenance strategies. We preserve historic structures by extending their functionality, such as with the addition of new roofs. We reconfigure existing structures to have added value to the community through modernization and adaptive reuse. We also take possible future uses of new building structures into account as early as the concept stage to ensure that later changes in use are easily accommodated.
Research to
facilitate change
To drive long-term change, we bring our in-depth technical expertise and a high level of innovation to the research and development of intelligent sustainable construction solutions. In our pursuit of continuous improvement, we do not hesitate to break with conventions and promote change and paradigm shifts.
Our sustainability research in partnership with research institutions and manufacturers focuses on better integrating circular economy principles into our project work, the use of insulating structural materials that can better integrate with project-wide sustainability outcomes, and the development of material-efficient structural products which can replace conventional high environmental impact structural elements.
Bio-based construction
Using structural materials derived from nature allows us to minimize the environmental impact of extraction and processing, and safeguard resources and environments for future generations. We design with locally sourced timber species and high-performance laminated engineered wood products, both as renewable structural material alternatives to steel and concrete. When appropriate, we also explore opportunities for the use of local stone, rammed earth, and products made from fast-grow crops such as grass and straw.

Renewable energy
sbp sonne has been active in the renewable energy sector for over 35 years. Our team at sonne makes a fundamental contribution to sustainable, climate-friendly energy production by designing, developing and implementing innovative solar technologies. Our range of expertise includes building-integrated photovoltaic systems, PV systems for shading parking lots and agricultural land, and large-scale power plants using PV systems or concentrating solar-collector technology. We are the leading international engineering company in the field of solar thermal power plant technology.