Sustainability intern Valeria Lalinde Vallejo will contribute to the development of KHR's sustainability-related business processes and services. Combining her design background with current sustainability studies, she brings new perspectives and knowledge to KHR's mission to be a leader in socially sustainable architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Would you like to briefly introduce yourself and your professional background?<\/strong> Why did you choose to study a Master in Sustainability at Aalborg University?<\/strong> What is your main interest in sustainability?<\/strong> What is your role as a sustainability intern at KHR? What do you expect to achieve during your sustainability internship? In a broader perspective, where do you see opportunities for the construction industry to contribute to a sustainable transition?<\/strong> What do you see as the biggest challenge for the construction industry in the near future in terms of meeting new requirements for projects and buildings with a more sustainable profile?<\/strong> How do you stay up to date and inspired professionally? Do you have a role model or organisations that you think we should look out for?<\/strong> What does your future look like? What's next for you and where would you like to be in 5 years? What would you recommend to companies that want to focus more on sustainability but don't know where to start? Read more about KHR's sustainability services<\/a> or contact us<\/a> for a no-obligation conversation about the possibilities.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new sustainability intern will support KHR's work to implement sustainability in the design studio's work processes and services.
My name is Valeria Lalinde and I am a designer with a passion for sustainability. I was born in Colombia, a country with incredible biodiversity and the most resilient and extraordinary people, which has always inspired me to look around, care for the environment and understand society.
I have a bachelor's degree in industrial design with a focus on product, interior and urban design. I worked for a construction + architecture company for 4 years, gaining experience in the residential and construction industry in a multidisciplinary workplace. Some of the projects I was responsible for included implementation of sustainable design strategies and circular economy for building materials, eco-design and up-cycling in collaboration with universities, and a prototype of a futuristic and highly sustainable urban project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I started getting involved in sustainability projects at my job, I lacked a lot of knowledge and skills that were essential to do the job. First, I took a course in sustainability and learned about the basics: I learned about the Sustainable Development Goals, planetary boundaries and circular economy and other relevant topics. However, there was a missing link between my previous studies and sustainability. I believe that design has the potential to take sustainable development further and create a positive impact on different industries and countries. Design can take sustainability to another level, supporting and enhancing it. That's why I decided to study a master's degree in Sustainable Design Engineering at Aalborg University<\/a> in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My main interest in sustainability is the concept of circular economy and how it allows people, industries and even countries to change their mindset and see waste as a resource for others. It has succeeded in uniting businesses and governments to work together, creating regulations to support change and working in a systemic way to achieve many of the changes we need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>As an intern at KHR, I am mainly involved in 3 projects: monitoring and implementing at KHR new sustainability requirements for the construction sector, creating new services around social sustainability and developing a sustainable profile and strategy for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KHR has started working with external consultants to develop a solid sustainability strategy and profile for the company. My role is to facilitate the collaboration and co-create the strategy to achieve the desired outcome. In addition, the construction sector is increasing the number of requirements around sustainability, some related to operations and others related to the design process. My role is to monitor the new requirements, especially LCA and sustainability certifications, and research the tools, guidance and skills needed to meet the new regulations.
Although sustainability is of increasing interest to the construction sector and its clients, the focus on social aspects is still rather limited compared to the environmental dimension. KHR has a particular interest and experience in human design and will use this as a starting point to offer services in the field of social sustainability. My role involves analysing KHR's existing portfolio and conceptualising different sustainability models to offer concrete services that can help KHR's clients to create projects with a more socially sustainable profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>I will understand how sustainability is understood and assessed at company, industry and national level, and use design as a useful tool to unravel, strengthen and establish sustainability. I want to contribute to KHR's sustainable development as a company and help position the company as a reference in the sector. I want to motivate my colleagues to engage in the company's transformation and create awareness both professionally and personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The construction sector is a key player in the sustainable transition, accounting for 40 % of global CO2 emissions, using large amounts of resources and materials, and employing large numbers of people around the world. As one of the strongest sectors in the world economy, it has the potential to influence other industries and create transformations that can have a positive, relevant and global impact. Therefore, I see many opportunities in the industry related to the use of sustainable materials, low-carbon building processes, passive buildings and human-centered design that promotes inclusion, health and diversity, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me, the biggest challenge is the dimension and complexity of the projects that the construction industry deals with. In terms of materiality, a building uses hundreds of different materials and resources, which are more difficult to assess, certify or replace than at product level. In addition, the sector collaborates and engages with different types of stakeholders, including partners, developers, municipalities and users, who bring a range of different needs and requirements to be considered as part of social practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For at holde mig opdateret tjekker jeg normalt digitale magasiner som The Guardian, der har en blog om b\u00e6redygtighed med interessante og seri\u00f8se artikler og nyheder inden for forskellige omr\u00e5der. For at f\u00e5 et hurtigt indblik f\u00f8lger jeg relevante initiativer, aviser, organisationer eller aktivister, der deler enkle og relevante oplysninger p\u00e5 sociale medier, f.eks. Greta Thunberg og Future Earth.
At the local level, I think that Danish Design Center<\/a> are doing well because they use design methods, tools and knowledge to enable companies to innovate and collaborate across industries and drive green, digital and social transformations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>I envision running my own consulting business, working across companies and sectors to help them implement sustainability, collaborate and network. I see myself helping people understand sustainability and raising awareness of how important it is to make changes both in industry and in society. Ultimately, I see myself as a driver for change and creating the greatest positive impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>First, I would recommend looking around to identify what competitors, industry and partner companies are doing, as well as what potential customers or users are asking for or expecting. Then I would look within the company for key players, processes and tools to establish the starting point and create a common understanding and direction. Finally, I would work with experts (consultancies or specialists) to develop a strategy and action plan to follow and start making changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nRead about the projects she is involved in, the challenges and opportunities she sees for the construction industry in relation to the new sustainability requirements, and how she keeps herself updated in the field.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[285,91],"tags":[286],"class_list":["post-16325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baeredygtighed","category-people","tag-medarbejderinterviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16325"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22664,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16325\/revisions\/22664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khr.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}