Birds see things differently—and that’s a deadly problem for them.

When they’re flying toward a window, they see food, trees and skies, not a reflection. The next instant often brings a gut-wrenching thud and a stunned bird or carcass on the ground. But humans seldom see or hear this, making it seem like these strikes are rare, limited to when migration paths cross skyscrapers, easily solved by pasting a sticker on a window.

These are myths, according to Brendon Samuels, a doctoral student at the University of Western Ontario and expert in how birds perceive the world. An estimated 400 million to 1 billion birds strike buildings and die each year in the United States and Canada. Some 44% to 90% of deaths occur at low-rise residential structures, and birds fly around those colorful stickers and aim for the clear spaces that surround them.

One point is crucial: The amount of glass on a building—especially clear or mirrored—is the best predictor of the number of birds that will die running into it.

“We can’t change the bird, so we must change the building,” Samuels said. That takes a willingness to modify the structures so they don’t contribute to the 30% drop in bird numbers that Cornell Lab has seen since the 1970s. To save avians, architects, engineers and planners need to incorporate bird-friendly design in every project, while bird advocates, government authorities and legislators strive to implement model ordinances and bird-safe building codes.

 The scourge of bird strikes

If no one sees or hears a bird run into a window, it goes unnoticed except by the bird suffering from hemorrhage, concussion or damage to its bill, skull, eyes or wings. But during the COVID-19 pandemic—when millions around the globe teleworked—the Google search volume for “bird window” skyrocketed, indicating this “infrequent” event became much more observable, especially at home.

“There’s very little uptake of bird-safe design in residential building construction,” Samuels said. “It’s almost entirely voluntary adoption by homeowners and renters who treat their windows.” If the treatment is stickers—or raptor and crow calls or plastic owls—it’s largely ineffective.

One more confounding factor is artificial lighting at night that disorients birds, compelling some to circle until dawn. The Audubon Lights Out Program offers an immediate solution by encouraging building owners and managers to turn off excess lighting during months when birds are migrating.

Bird-aware building design

The first step architects and designers can take to protect birds is determining what ordinances or building codes apply. To assess the risk a specific structure might pose, Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada developed the BirdSafe® DIY Building Risk Assessment to estimate the collision risks—both day and night—that a building and its individual façades present.

Bird-safe building design standards help alleviate that risk, Samuels said. The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) offers an in-depth Bird-Friendly Building Design guide that covers underlying science and solutions for new and existing buildings. Although LEED adopted a permanent “Bird Collision Deterrence” credit in 2022, it isn’t mandatory—so even all LEED-rated buildings aren’t bird-friendly.

Expertise is also critical. “Start with a professional, because design is not one-size-fits-all,” said Heidi Trudell, bird friendly specialist, regional technical advisor, Guardian Glass. “You may need to triage solutions or use multiple products to fine-tune for your situation.”

For a new structure, Trudell recommended incorporating bird-friendly design and products as early as possible for greater control over aesthetics, thermal benefits, cost and effectiveness. On the other hand, retrofit solutions have a limited lifespan compared to glass, with labor for installing solutions like films making up the bulk of the cost. But after-the-fact treatments may be the only option for residences, because most bird-friendly glass comes in 6” commercial thicknesses, not the 4” thickness that residential framing supports.

A close-up look at glass

The goal for glass is incorporating a visual element that birds detect, react to and avoid by diverting their path. Three bird-friendly categories of glass products are available—frit, etch and UV. For all these categories, patterns and visual interest should appear on S1 (the outermost layer of glass) to increase effectiveness, Trudell said. Any low-e coating can be used on S2 or S3 as needed to meet thermal performance goals. Bright white ceramic frit provides the best contrast, critical to ensure birds can see the patterns against the interior background.

Bird-safe glass can also lead to a win-win for thermal efficiency and aesthetics. “In cases where a frit pattern is planned for the glazing, slightly modifying the proposed pattern’s size and spacing to provide bird deterrence may have a minimal impact on cost while still meeting the required design and energy performance required,” Trudell said.

The tight arrangement of stripes and dots needed to stop birds can surprise designers. “The recommended spacing is usually 5 centimeters or 2 inches between markers,” Samuels noted. “Applications must cover the entire surface and not leave gaps too much wider than the bird.” Designers can gain inspiration from successful installations that use certified products, like those included in the ABC Products & Solutions Database.

Convergence of code and products

With more effective solutions coming on the market, municipalities can enact ordinances and implement building codes to enforce bird-safe design. Toronto was the first city worldwide to update local bylaws and adopt bird-friendly building design into regulation. Now others are following suit. In 2020, New York City passed legislation requiring bird-friendly materials on the outside of new buildings and alterations replacing all exterior glazing.

Elsewhere, concerned citizens are working to develop and pass ordinances requiring adoption of bird-friendly building standards. For example, American Bird Conservancy has a model bird-friendly building ordinance that municipalities, states, universities and businesses can use as a starting point. Ordinances should apply to as many building types as possible, not just skyscrapers, and incorporate the need for retrofits to reduce bird collisions.

The U.S. government intends to lead by example. The Bipartisan Bird Safe Buildings Act focuses on reducing bird impacts with federal buildings—and hopefully that will raise awareness of building strategies to protect birds and offer guidance that can keep the world’s feathered creatures alive.

Despite political resistance to environment, social and governance (ESG) practices and reporting in the United States, many builders and manufacturers are finding unexpected value.

“Companies realize that ESG principles are common sense and reduce risk and costs while enhancing brand reputation and loyalty,” said Sara Gutterman, CEO of Green Builder Media. “Financial benefits and regulatory pressures are also pushing the building industry to adopt ESG, making it more mainstream.”

Three main elements drive ESG. “First is the environmental reality—we’ve already hit 1.5°C of warming globally,” Gutterman said. Second is the social reality of climate anxiety, “especially among younger generations, who think humanity is doomed because of climate change.” Third is investor demand, making ESG and climate technology the fastest growing portion of venture capital.

To a large extent, ESG builds on the tenets that firms already follow to manage environmental and societal risks and operate ethically. More than ever, lenders are requiring ESG strategies and full reports when companies seek financing. Also, in March 2024 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rules requiring disclosures about climate-related risks that impact business strategy, operational results or finances in SEC filings beginning year-end 2025. Plus, stakeholders and shareholders often prefer companies with strong ESG performance, which can ease access to new markets and opportunities.

This article takes a closer look at the benefits of ESG reporting for all construction firms and manufacturers—not just publicly traded ones—along with the new SEC and European Union (EU) rules, material metrics for ESG, and a roadmap to get started.

The advantages of adopting ESG

ESG creates value in various ways, from making borrowing easier to creating a positive work culture:

• Streamlined access to capital: ESG reporting demonstrates a commitment to environmental and social responsibility, which can translate into better terms when securing financing. “Investor demand and greater access to capital can drive ESG adoption for builders, while manufacturers often see more leadership commitment to sustainability and ESG at the executive and board levels,” Gutterman said.
• Minimized operational risks: Construction firms can protect their financial performance and reputation by identifying and mitigating risks before they become public issues and implementing effective risk management systems and strong internal controls.
• Enhanced operational efficiency and cost reduction: Acting in a sustainable manner can slash operating expenses and increase profits by up to 60%, according to McKinsey. For instance, energy-efficient equipment and techniques can lower power bills and circular design principles help reduce waste.
• Increased consumer trust and improved brand reputation: Consumers are using their purchasing power to drive change toward a sustainable future. McKinsey research found that more than 70% of consumers surveyed on purchases in multiple industries, including building, said they would pay an additional 5% for a green product if it met the same performance standards as a nongreen alternative.
• Improved talent acquisition and retention: The social component of ESG encourages an inclusive and safe work environment, where prospective employees—especially the younger demographic—want to work and current employees want to remain.

Moving from SEC regulations to EU alignment

A growing number of construction companies are embracing ESG practices, procuring carbon offsets and enhancing the transparency and strength of their sustainability commitments, Victoria Muharsky wrote in an article for Green Builder Media. In fact, the majority of national home builders report on ESG metrics, whatever they call them, although small companies lag on adoption.

The passage of the SEC climate-related disclosure rules in March 2024 signaled increasing investor demand for corporate sustainability. The SEC requires reporting on Scope 1 and 2 emissions—direct emissions from sources companies own or control and indirect emissions from the production of energy they purchase. Corporations with 75 million or more publicly traded shares must meet even more rigorous requirements, including disclosing costs of severe weather events and other natural disasters, as well as actual and potential material impacts of climate-related risks.

The United States often follows Europe’s regulatory direction—slowly. Most recently, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mandated disclosures starting in 2025 for the 2024 financial year. In time, the SEC will likely align with these requirements.

ESG drivers and metrics for construction

Determining the most pressing ESG risks and opportunities usually starts with an internal audit as well as benchmarking against peers. Here are metrics that Gutterman said firms in the building sector most often report.

Environment: Energy efficiency, GHG emissions, site selection, supply chain management and water management.

Social: Employee retention and satisfaction, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and universal design principles for accessible housing.

Governance: Board composition and oversight, environmental, health and safety management, risk management, code of ethics, supplier code of conduct and shareholder agreements.

Selecting the path forward

One look at the alphabet soup of ESG organizations, frameworks and acronyms can stall a company’s best intentions.

Consider the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), two of the best-known standards for disclosure, which recently consolidated into the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Sustainability Disclosure Standards from the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

If that’s not muddled enough, throw in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

To get through this maze, it helps to follow guidelines developed specifically for the building sector. One possibility is the comprehensive guide that Green Builder Media developed with the help of the ESG for Building Working Group, a consortium of more than 60 builders, architects, manufacturers, nonprofit participants, energy consultants and developers. ESG for Building: Defining Principles for the Building Industry focuses mainly on residential and community development, but it lets readers choose the path that works best for them as they implement ESG practices and streamline reporting. The shift toward ESG practices and reporting doesn’t upend how builders and manufacturers operate today. Rather, it fine-tunes in a way that can make companies more sustainable, profitable and resilient.