With more than 9 billion people expected on our increasingly resource-scarce planet by 2050, meeting the global challenges of more people and dwindling resources are the key issues facing home builders today. Adding to this situation is a dramatic rise of new middle classes in countries across the world, all demanding higher standards of living, including air-conditioned houses and cars, computers and other technologies, all of which require energy.
André Veneman is corporate director of Sustainability forAkzoNobel.