Target issues for sustainable construction

The five “target issues” for sustainable construction were defined by the Holcim Foundation to quantify the degree to which buildings contribute to sustainable development. The MAS Intimates Thurulie clothing factory in Sri Lanka respects the balance between environmental, social, and economic performance whilst also providing a functionally, culturally, and aesthetically appropriate response to its unique setting. It claims to be the world’s first clothing factory powered solely by carbon-neutral sources and consumes 25% less energy and 50% less potable water than comparable factories.

Download booklet – MAS Intimates Thurulie: Clothing factory in Sri Lanka (PDF, 3MB)

A framework for sustainable construction

The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction is committed to the “triple bottom line” concept, which asserts that long-term and sustainable progress requires the balanced achievement of economic development, environmental performance and social advancement.

Based on this concept and to make sustainable construction easier to understand, evaluate and apply, the Holcim Foundation and its renowned partner universities have identified a set of five “target issues” for sustainable construction, which serve as a basis for the evaluation of submissions in the Holcim Awards competition and for assessing other projects in the context of Holcim Grants and publications on exemplary sustainable construction buildings.

Click on the links below for in-depth definitions of each “target issue”, including their practical application within exemplary buildings and Holcim Awards winning projects from different regions of the world: