Sustainability

At AQUILA, we are on a mission to help lead the way towards a more sustainable future. Spurred on by the climate-change crisis, we are determined to do all we can to reduce the costs and impacts of construction through the use of cutting-edge structural investigation technology.

Global megatrends are combining to create an urgent need for sustainability, resilience and lower carbon emissions in the built world.

Construction and operation of buildings and infrastructure account for almost 40% of energy related green house gas emissions, while over 50% of the emissions related to new construction are in the form of embodied carbon. On the other hand, 80% of buildings that will be standing in 2050 have already been built and require maintenance, repair and retrofitting efforts to increase their useful lifespan under growing climate, usage and environmental efficiency demands.

By optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the structural investigation technologies that play such a pivotal role in condition evaluation and maintenance, and enabling this market-leading technology to be used easily and well all around the world, AQUILA is proud to be making a significant contribution to a greener tomorrow.

Our goal is to enable existing structures to be used as long as possible with a minimum of structural intervention, by providing confidence that they remain safe and fit for purpose or by identifying any potential weaknesses and enabling precisely defined remediation work to be carried out in good time.

How the environment benefits from Aquila’s approach to structural INVESTIGATIONS

AQUILA’s high-tech “asset management” approach to assessments of structures and infrastructure, with all data and records stored on a specially developed cloud-based platform, is environmentally friendly in various ways.

Extending service life of the asset and its components:
Perhaps most significantly, the asset-management approach to structural investigation can extend service life by many years, avoiding all the environmental impacts associated with demolition and new construction.

Improving planning of renovation work:
The high-quality data provided and stored on the cloud-based platform gives in-depth insights into an asset’s construction and condition, enabling the extent and environmental impacts of renovation, modification or remediation works to be minimized.

Optimizing repairs and maintenance:
Placing all relevant data at the fingertips of inspectors and engineers supports condition-based maintenance and enables the environmental impacts of maintenance and repair to be substantially reduced.

Reducing invasive investigations:
The use of our industry-leading non-destructive testing (NDT) technology reduces the need for invasive investigations that can damage or weaken assets – thereby saving repairs that require materials and energy and may cause disruption to traffic.

Carbon emissions per year of service life

Representation (illustrative only) of possible reductions in associated carbon emissions per year of service life throughout an asset’s service life resulting from AQUILA’s high-tech “asset management” approach to structural and infrastructure investigation work.

Traditional asset management approaches

Extend life of asset components

Optimize repairs and maintenance

Improve planning of renovations

Reduce invasive inspections

Holistic, digitalized, data driven asset-management approach

FACTS & FIGURES

40%

Construction and operation of buildings and infrastructure account for almost 40% of emissions causing climate change.

80%

80% of buildings that will be standing in 2050 have already been built and require ongoing maintenance and repair.

up to 75%

The Preservation Green Lab estimates that retrofitting an existing building can save between 50% to 75% of the embodied energy compared to constructing a new building.

548m tons

The annual amount of construction and demolition debris in the United States according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

50%

50% of the emissions related to new construction are in the form of embodied carbon.

11%

According to the World Green Building Council, building materials and construction activities account for approximately 11% of global carbon emissions.

Tectus Group's vision

As a subsidiary of the Tectus Group, AQUILA is guided by the same principles that inspire and motivate the entire organization - particularly with respect to sustainability.

The Tectus Carbon Initiative was established to optimize the Group's focus on decarbonization of the built environment and other sustainability objectives.

Gianni Moor, member of the TCI's executive committee, describes some of the Group's initiatives in this regard (see video).

"Our mission is to protect, maintain and responsibly grow the built world using structural investigation technology that will enable a structure's service life to be extended with minimal intervention – thereby avoiding unnecessary impacts on the environment and on the structure's users while also reducing costs."

Hemera Beretta
Chief Sustainability Officer, AQUILA
"Buildings and infrastructure typically have long lifespans, with ever-increasing demands due to environment, population and societal growth. Data- and AI-supported decision making as enabled by AQUILA can reduce costs, waste and carbon emissions by identifying defects and supporting optimal maintenance patterns."

Felipe Daguila,
Chief Customer Officer Terrascope,
LinkedIn Top Green Voices