New Report: The Building & Construction Sector Can Reach Net Zero Carbon Emissions By 2050
- Theme
- Zero Carbon
With the support of more than 80 organisations, the World Green Building Council’s new report describes actions to revolutionise the buildings and construction sector towards a net zero future, through elimination of embodied carbon emissions
23 September 2019 – London, UK – As part of the 10th annual World Green Building Week, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has issued a bold new vision for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can reach 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve 100% net zero emissions buildings by 2050.
Together, building and construction are responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world1, with operational emissions (from energy used to heat, cool and light buildings) accounting for 28%. The remaining 11% comes from embodied carbon emissions, or ‘upfront’ carbon that is associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole building lifecycle. WorldGBC’s vision to fully decarbonise the sector requires eliminating both operational and embodied carbon emissions.
The ‘Bringing embodied carbon upfront’ report proposes this ambitious goal alongside solutions to accelerate immediate action by the entire building and construction value chain. The vision is endorsed by representatives from developers and construction companies, financial institutions, city networks and government, as well as industry representatives from concrete, steel and timber and many more including: HeidelbergCement, Skanska, Stora Enso, Google and the Finnish Government.
The report sets out to demystify the challenge of addressing embodied carbon emissions, through breaking down complex terminology and creating a common language to set a consensus-built definition for net zero embodied carbon.
Embodied carbon emissions have been overlooked in the past but as shown by milestone research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), achieving drastic cuts in all carbon emissions over the next decade is critical to keeping global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Addressing upfront carbon is therefore crucial to fighting the climate crisis, as new construction is expected to double the worlds building stock by 2060 causing an increase in the carbon emissions occurring right now. Therefore, the new report is calling for coordinated action from across the sector to dramatically change the way buildings are designed, built, used and deconstructed.
WorldGBC presents a clear pathway of actions that designers, investors, manufacturers, government, NGOs and researchers across the whole value chain can take to accelerate decarbonisation, address current market barriers and, develop low carbon alternative solutions for market. However, the report warns that change will not happen unless there is a radical shift in how industry works together to enable a market transformation.
The transition towards mainstream net zero carbon standards requires immediate action to achieve greater awareness, innovation, improved processes to calculate, track and report embodied carbon, voluntary reduction targets from industry and roll out of new legislation at city, national and regional level. Approaches such as maximising the use of existing assets, promoting renovation instead of demolition and seeking new circular business models that reduce reliance on carbon intensive raw materials are also needed. To kickstart cross-sector collaboration, WorldGBC is calling for new national and sectoral roadmaps to be developed, such as those produced in Finland, Norway and Sweden, with strong support from industry and policymakers.
Demonstrating the feasibility of achieving zero carbon goals, the report is supported by case studies of existing best practice across the whole breadth of the building industry.
Businesses involved in design and delivery have already committed to ambitious individual or national decarbonisation strategies. For example, Skanska, a major development and construction group is making strides in enabling projects to be evaluated for full lifecycle impacts.
Materials suppliers are also taking a leading role. HeidelbergCement has committed to developing carbon neutral products by 2050, and Dalmia Bharat Cement, one of India’s leading cement manufacturers, is committed to becoming a carbon negative group by 2040.
Cities have also been instrumental in pushing for new innovations and approaches. Oslo, Norway, has a commitment to fossil free construction sites. Vancouver, Canada, has mandated that embodied carbon be reduced in new buildings by 40% by 2030, as part of its climate emergency response, demonstrating the type of regulatory frameworks that can drive market change.
The report can be downloaded HERE as part of World Green Building Week 2019 taking place 23-29 Sept.
For quotes related to this release, contact media@cagbc.org.
Notes to editors
The report has been generously supported by the European Climate Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. It was delivered in partnership with World Green Building Council’s technical partner Ramboll, and delivery partner C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The consultation and stakeholder engagement process has involved over 200 individuals from across the Green Building Council network, in order to develop a pioneering, robust, and consensus-built call to action for industry.
About the World Green Building Council
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is a global network leading the transformation of the built environment, to make it healthier and more sustainable. Collectively, with our Green Building Councils (GBCs) in around 70 countries, we accelerate action to deliver on the ambition of the Paris Agreement, by eliminating the buildings and construction sector´s emissions by 2050. We are committed to green buildings for everyone, everywhere to build a better future.
For the last decade, World Green Building Week has been the global campaign to raise awareness of green building and shape responses to some of the most pressing issues relating to the implementation of sustainable practices in the construction and building industry. These issues have included net zero carbon buildings and green homes. WorldGBC’s green homes campaign in 2018 reached over 155 million people worldwide.
Through its global Advancing Net Zero project, WorldGBC is working to help shape a future in which every building in the world is entirely net zero carbon by 2050, eliminating the building and construction sector’s reliance on fossil fuels which are causing irreversible damage to the planet. In order to achieve this goal, the buildings and construction industry must take urgent action to prevent the emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the building lifecycle.
About C40
C40 Cities connects 96 of the world’s greatest cities to take bold climate action, leading the way towards a healthier and more sustainable future. Representing 700+ million citizens and one quarter of the global economy, mayors of the C40 cities are committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level, as well as to cleaning the air we breathe. The current chair of C40 is Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo; and three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Realdania. To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit our website, or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.