The Problem: The House and the Lifestyle That Comes With It

One of the biggest issues Marc sees in the UK’s built environment is how deeply cultural perceptions of homeownership shape the country’s carbon footprint.

“In the UK, the ultimate dream is still a detached house, a driveway, and two cars parked outside,” Marc explained.

“It’s a vision that’s been ingrained for generations, but it comes with a high-carbon lifestyle—one that’s built around long commutes, energy-intensive homes, and car dependency.”

Even though denser urban living—with well-designed apartments, shared green spaces, and integrated public transport—is objectively better for both sustainability and quality of life, Marc highlighted how developers, policymakers, and homebuyers continue to default to suburban sprawl.

“We’re still designing new housing developments that bake in car dependency from the start,” he said.

“If you build an estate in the middle of nowhere, with no walkable shops, schools, or public transport, you’re forcing people into a car-based lifestyle for decades to come.”

This, he argues, is where sustainability in construction is failing—not because we don’t have energy-efficient materials, but because we keep designing places that make low-carbon living impossible.

Sustainability Starts With Systemic Thinking, Not Just Better Buildings

One of Marc’s biggest takeaways from his career—spanning engineering, architecture, and sustainable design—is that sustainability isn’t just about making buildings more efficient, it’s about designing better systems.

“We focus so much on energy ratings and materials, but if you zoom out, the bigger problem is how we design entire neighbourhoods,” he said.

“If a development is built in a location that forces people into cars and long commutes, then it doesn’t matter how low-carbon the buildings are—the lifestyle it supports will still be high-carbon.”

The key, he argues, is rethinking how we define sustainability—not just by looking at individual buildings, but by considering:

✔ How connected a place is – Can people get to work, schools, and shops without relying on a car?
✔ How resources are shared – Could we design for co-housing, community spaces, and shared infrastructure rather than everyone owning the same appliances, tools, and cars?
✔ How people actually use buildings – Are we designing for sufficiency, or are we still building bigger and bigger homes with more energy use baked in?

Marc pointed out that policy and regulation still lag behind in this kind of thinking. “We have regulations on how energy-efficient homes should be,” he said. “But there’s no regulation saying we should stop building isolated developments that force car dependency.”

This, he believes, is the real sustainability challenge—shifting from optimising individual buildings to creating built environments that enable lower-carbon living.

Why Behaviour Change Is the Missing Piece

A recurring theme in Marc’s work is that technology alone isn’t enough—people’s behaviours and expectations need to change too.

“We already have the technology to build net-zero homes,” he said.

“What we don’t have is a society that’s ready to adopt the lifestyle changes that come with them.”

One of the biggest behavioural shifts he sees as necessary is rethinking what makes a good home.

“We’ve normalised the idea that bigger is always better,” Marc explained. “But bigger homes aren’t just expensive—they also use more energy, more materials, and more land. We need to rethink the relationship between space, comfort, and sustainability.”

He also pointed to the heat pump dilemma in the UK as an example of behaviour-driven barriers.

“Heat pumps are a great alternative to gas boilers, but people are reluctant to switch because it’s different from what they know,” he said.

“A lot of sustainability solutions aren’t failing because they don’t work, but because they don’t fit into existing habits.”

Marc believes better communication is key. “We can’t just tell people, ‘This is more sustainable, so do it.’ We need to show them how these changes improve their quality of life—whether that’s lower energy bills, better air quality, or more walkable communities.”

The Real Challenge: Balancing Progress With Practicality

One of Marc’s most interesting reflections was how sustainability professionals must balance ambition with realism.

“There are two camps,” he said.

“One side believes we need radical system change now—stop all new roads, stop suburban sprawl, force high-density living. The other side believes in incremental progress—working with what we have, nudging people in the right direction.”

Marc sees himself somewhere in the middle.

“I’d love to see major system change overnight,” he admitted.

“But I also recognise that people don’t change that fast. You can’t just force people to accept something different—you have to bring them along, make it desirable, make it practical.”

This pragmatic approach is why he sees education and cultural shifts as just as important as regulation.

“If we can change the way people think about space, home, and transport, we can create demand for more sustainable urban planning and construction,” he said. “And once that demand is there, the market will respond.”

Final Thought: The Built Environment Reflects the Lives We Want to Live

Marc’s insights make one thing clear: sustainability in construction isn’t just about buildings—it’s about the kind of lives we’re designing for.

Without addressing car dependency, lifestyle expectations, and systemic planning failures, even the most energy-efficient homes won’t be enough to tackle climate change.

As Marc put it:

“You can’t just make buildings greener—you have to make low-carbon living the easiest and most attractive option.”

And that, he believes, is where the real work in sustainable construction needs to happen.