Case
Building design
Biodiversity
Building materials
+10
Upstream Partners is a purpose-driven consultancy dedicated to creating a nature-positive future by supporting companies, governments, and financial institutions in their transition toward sustainability. Our special focus is on biodiversity, and the development of systemic transformations, strategies, policies, and other solutions that holistically delivers on both impact and financial viability.
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Construction and infrastructure projects are major drivers of biodiversity loss, yet the sector lacks a unified, science-based method to assess these impacts. While efforts have typically focused on enhancing green spaces at individual project sites, the far greater biodiversity impact occur along the value chain – from the extraction and production of buildings to the energy consumed in building operations. With growing awareness of nature loss and increasing pressure from the green transition, the construction industry faces the dual challenge of addressing both local and global biodiversity impacts. Without consistent assessment tools, stakeholders struggle to make informed decisions, compare project outcomes, or meet biodiversity-related targets, which leaves the sector as a significant driver of biodiversity loss.
Preliminary calculations show that up to 90 percent of the construction sector’s total biodiversity impact lies within the value chain. Therefore, the construction industry needs concrete measurement methods that can help key actors take responsibility and reduce not only their own impact but also that of their suppliers and partners.
To address this challenge, AP Pension, PensionDanmark, and the Planetary Responsibility Foundation – supported by Realdania and in collaboration with Aaen Engineering, Oiko, Sweco, and Upstream Partners – are developing a standardised, science-based method for assessing biodiversity impacts across the entire building lifecycle. Developed around life cycle assessment (LCA), the method is being tested on real urban development projects to ensure practical application.
It is designed to align with EU regulations and international frameworks such as the Science Based Targets for Nature, while offering developers and investors clear insights into biodiversity performance. The approach enables biodiversity to be evaluated alongside climate and other sustainability indicators, which provides a common tool for setting requirements and making informed design choices.
By offering consistent, science-based evaluations, it will equip construction professionals and city planners with a reliable t00l to measure and manage biodiversity impacts across the value chain. Early pilot projects already indicate that renovation and transformation of buildings have lower impacts than new construction, material choices matter significantly, and where the material is sourced. The standard is expected to drive more nature-positive practices in construction and help the sector transition from being a biodiversity challenge to part of the solution.
The first report is already live and available on the following link https://realdania.dk/publikationer/faglige-publikationer/biodiversitetspaavirkning-fra-50-byggerier.
Report 1 presents the first results of a cross-disciplinary collaboration on construction’s biodiversity impact. It proposes a common industry standard, based on 50 case calculations, and suggests preliminary baseline values to frame typical impacts in the sector.
