Paris:Flood risk has played a significant role in the redevelopment of the former Matra industrial site in central France, highlighting the growing importance of climate resilience in building performance considerations.
According to World Economic Forum, resilience is gaining visibility as a crucial element in building performance, alongside traditional criteria such as energy efficiency, carbon footprint, cost, safety, and user well-being. The upcoming 2026 UN Climate Conference (COP31) underscores the importance of resilient cities, raising practical questions about how identified climate risks influence building design, financing, and operation.
The 2026 Sustainable Construction Barometer indicates a shift in perceptions, with resilience gaining five additional points in defining sustainable construction across 30 countries, following a previous eight-point rise. While climate risk analytics have become more advanced, effectively integrating resilience into building processes remains a challenge. Interviews with banks and insurers reveal an increasing focus on resilience, albeit with ongoing uncertainties in its definition and the demonstration of return on investment.
Building performance must adapt to the climate challenges it will face, incorporating resilience without displacing essential criteria. Adaptation and resilience are distinct yet complementary, focusing on maintaining functionality and recovering from disruptions. The Saint-Gobain-Arup report highlights that climate risk assessments are now being used to predict hazards over a building's lifetime, emphasizing the need for buildings to withstand, limit damage, and maintain critical functions.
The integration of resilience requires collaboration among developers, architects, engineers, policymakers, investors, and operators, each playing a role at different stages of construction. Building codes are slowly integrating climate change considerations, but more widespread adoption is needed. The Sustainable Construction Observatory advocates for adaptation and resilience to be fully integrated into construction practices to accelerate sustainable development.
As climate conditions evolve, resilience should become as routine in building decisions as cost, carbon, energy, or safety, moving from an ambition to a decisive factor in building performance.
Source World Economic Forum
