World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) welcomes businesses, including Brunswick Property Partners, Joseph Homes and Varming Consulting Engineers Limited, to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment).
Since COP26, 22 new and existing businesses and organisation signatories have demonstrated their climate leadership and dedication to decarbonising the built environment by signing up to the updated NZCB Commitment. The Commitment now has a total of 171 signatories, which includes 136 businesses and organisations, 29 cities, and six states and regions. The businesses and organisations signed up to the Commitment now account for approximately 7.3 million (tCO2e) of portfolio emissions annually, nearly 20,000 assets and $400 billion annual turnover.
Business signatories are committed to reducing and compensating all operational emissions for assets over which they have direct control. As part of the updated Commitment, they will also maximise embodied carbon emissions reductions for new developments and major renovations by 2030, compensating for any remaining residual upfront embodied carbon emissions as part of a whole lifecycle approach.
At COP26, the UN High Level Climate Champions Race To Zero announced the 2030 Breakthrough Agenda. Launched by 45 world leaders, it is a commitment to work together this decade to accelerate innovation and deployment of clean technologies, making them accessible and affordable for all this decade. To kick start this Agenda, countries endorsed Breakthrough goals to make clean technologies and sustainable practices more affordable, accessible and attractive than their alternatives by 2030.
Ahead of COP27, UN High Level Climate Champions team announced the Breakthrough goals for Human Settlements. The built environment goals states that ‘All new projects completed from 2030, are net zero carbon in operation, with >40% reduction in embodied carbon’. The Commitment is now recognised as a Delivery Partner and Breakthrough Initiative for the UN High Level Climate Champions Race To Zero campaign and the Built Environment 2030 Breakthrough Agenda. Commitment signatories are therefore frontrunners in the Race to Zero, taking accelerated action by 2030, contributing to achieving the built environment sector breakthrough goals. Commitment signatories are going further and faster to tackle operational and embodied emissions from their real estate assets, stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary for the entire sector to reach 2050 goals.
Cristina Gamboa, CEO of the World Green Building Council:
“I’m delighted to welcome new and existing signatories stepping up to join the updated Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment that accounts for the whole life carbon of buildings. In the lead up to and in the aftermath of COP27, we have seen industry leaders send strong signals to market about the urgency and strong ‘business sense’ to mainstream net zero carbon buildings, and accelerate solutions within a local, regional and global context to achieve carbon neutrality. Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment signatories are at the forefront, spearheading industry transformation and the decarbonisation of our built environment.”
Brunswick Property Partners is a London focused, private real estate investment company driven by a desire to deliver financial success for investors without compromising the environment and communities where they invest. They identify thematic real estate strategies, capturing structural growth in progressive trends, and invest in properties with exciting prospects and the potential to create long-term real value. Brunswick will minimise embodied carbon emissions and operational energy consumption, achieving net zero upfront carbon for all major development projects and net zero carbon in operation for areas of direct control by 2030, reducing emissions in line with a science-based reduction target. Moreover, they will advocate for further industry change by engaging tenants to implement carbon saving initiatives and introduce green lease provisions to support energy efficiency. Brunswick’s occupiers are more than just tenants, together they strive to create experiential places that stand out from the crowd, have low carbon impact and are healthy and happy environments. Read Brunswick Property Partners’ Commitment profile here.
Joseph Homes are an award winning, B-Corp certified developer who measure their success by the benefit they bring to all those they affect. Their goal is to Build Better Homes for a better world by setting the standard for sustainable development at every level. By 2025 they will only be developing energy positive homes achieving net zero operational carbon emissions for all buildings under direct operational control and maximising reductions of embodied carbon emissions at new developments and major renovations of existing assets. Read Joseph Homes’ Commitment profile here.
Varming Consulting Engineers provide high quality award winning design, specification and cost control of mechanical and electrical services coupled with expert advice on the most sustainable solutions in line with current regulations and future trends, supported by a tradition of design excellence and inspired by a spirit of innovation. Varming will not only take action on their own portfolio, but advocate to and engage clients to pursue net zero carbon designs, sharing knowledge to enable them to achieve it, and encouraging them to make their own Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. Read Varming Consulting Engineers’ Commitment profile here.
As the leading initiative focused on climate action in the built environment, the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment continues to grow exponentially, complementing initiatives such as the Race to Zero, Science Based Targets and The Climate Pledge. The Commitment’s signatories take action to reduce and compensate for all portfolio operational carbon emissions by 2030 or earlier, and maximise reductions of embodied carbon in new developments or major renovations, compensating for any residual emissions. Signatories demonstrate annual progress via reporting and verification protocols.
The Commitment is recognised as a Delivery Partner and Breakthrough Initiative for the UN High Level Climate Champions Race To Zero and the Built Environment 2030 Breakthrough Agenda. Commitment signatories are therefore frontrunners in the Race to Zero, taking accelerated action by 2030 to contribute to the built environment sector breakthrough goals. Commitment signatories are going further and faster to tackle operational and embodied emissions from their real estate assets, stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary for the entire sector to reach 2050 goals. For eligible signatories, the Commitment acts as a pathway to membership of the global EP100 initiative from the Climate Group, bringing together energy-smart companies doing more with less energy, in order to lower emissions and improve their productivity.
Jon Cochrane, Director – Asset Management & Sustainability, Brunswick Property Partners:
”BPP’s transition to the updated commitment reflects our dedication to tackling both embodied and operational carbon in the portfolios we manage. A whole life approach is essential to changing how we seek to reduce our impact on the environment and is fundamental in how we create a resilient industry fit for future generations”
Paul Dipino, Chief Innovation Officer, Joseph Homes:
”We are excited to be working towards making our buildings get to Net Zero and beyond. Ultimately success will only come with solutions that are cost-effective in all world markets, and we must show leadership and commitment to innovate and drive change to make this happen.”
Declan Alcock, Executive Director of Sustainability, Varming Consulting Engineers:
“Throughout Varming’s history, the business has been at the forefront of building services design with a portfolio of landmark and award-winning projects.
Creating a more sustainable built environment plays a major role in limiting global warming to 1.5•C and it’s crucial we address embodied carbon throughout the supply chain. As signatories of the Commitment, Varming has made it a focus to act now and limit the impact of the developments we work on and use our influence to facilitate industry transformation.”
Kirsty Barnes, Marketing and Communications Officer, WorldGBC
media@worldgbc.org
Editor’s Notes
The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment comes from Advancing Net Zero, WorldGBC’s global project to accelerate uptake of net zero carbon buildings to 100% by 2050. The project works with the global Green Building Council network to develop tools and resources, including net zero carbon buildings certification schemes and training programmes.
The Commitment has been partly funded by We Mean Business, along with Laudes Foundation, IKEA Foundation and the European Climate Foundation as part of the #BuildingLife project.
The Commitment was launched in September 2018 at the Global Climate Action Summit. It promotes and inspires leadership action on an advanced trajectory from business, governments and NGOs, to scale up responses to net zero carbon buildings through corporate and policy action.
The Commitment is recognised as a frontrunner initiative and signatories as frontrunners in the Race to Zero, Commitment signatories are going further and faster to tackle operational emissions from their real estate assets, stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary for the entire sector to reach 2050 goals.
See the full profiles of company signatories and what they are committing to here: https://worldgbc.org/commitment-signatories
About the World Green Building Council
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) catalyses the uptake of sustainable built environments for everyone, everywhere.
Transforming the building and construction sector across three strategic areas — climate action, health & wellbeing, and resources & circularity — we are a global action network of more than 70 Green Building Councils around the world.
As members of the UN Global Compact, we work with businesses, organisations and governments to drive the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Through a systems change approach, our network is leading the industry towards a net zero carbon, healthy, equitable and resilient built environment.
About EP100
EP100 is a global initiative by the Climate Group, bringing together a growing group of energy-smart companies committed to doing more with less to improve their energy productivity. Members are driving tech innovation and reducing emissions while making substantial cost savings and improving competitiveness – inspiring others to follow their lead. EP100 is delivered in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy and in association with the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. #EP100
Signatories of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment also include leading state and regional governments in the Under2 Coalition, of which the Climate Group is Secretariat.
