World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) welcomes three new signatories, including Avara Amplus, Breathe Architecture, and Premico Residential Fund III, to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment).
LONDON – 9am GMT, 1 February 2023 – Today, WorldGBC announces an Australian signatory – Breathe Architecture, as well as Finnish signatories – Avara Amplus and Premico Residential Fund III, joining the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. These industry leaders commit to addressing the whole life carbon of buildings within their portfolios, implementing actions to decarbonise and tackle the climate emergency.
The Commitment now has a total of 172 signatories, which includes 137 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. Signatories demonstrate their annual progress via Commitment reporting and verification protocols.
Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council:
“I’m so pleased to welcome three new signatories to WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. With support from their national Green Building Councils, Australia and Finland, these companies are demonstrating industry leadership and ambition to tackle whole life carbon across their building portfolios. The building and construction sector is still off track to halving emissions by 2030. We need more companies like these to be driving systemic transformation to mainstream net zero buildings, and accelerate the decarbonisation of our built environments at speed and scale.”
Avara Amplus is a residential real estate fund specialising in subsidised rental apartments. The residential real estate portfolio comprises more than 4,000 affordable apartments across Finland. The investment and asset management services of the fund are taken care of by Avara Oy. To achieve the goals as stated in their Commitment, Avara Amplus’s carbon neutrality roadmap was prepared during 2021 and several steps towards the goal have already been made. Read Avara Amplus’s Commitment profile here.
Breathe Architecture produces world class architecture with an enduring and meaningful impact on place, people and the planet. They are sustainability advocates with a mission to accelerate change for a regenerative, fair Australia. The business’s aim is to lead industry response to the climate and biodiversity emergency. Breathe Architecture is recognised and awarded for its ability to match environmentally considerate, beautiful and socially conscious design responses to any brief. Read Breathe Architecture’s Commitment profile here.
Premico Residential Fund III is a build-to-rent residential fund where environmental and social considerations are integrated in the investment decisions and operations. Net carbon neutrality and energy efficiency are at the core of the strategy. The fund manager – Premico, is a Finnish real estate and investment, development and management company with more than 60 years experience. Read Premico’s Commitment profile here.
Tuomas Rantsi, Chief Operating Officer, Avara Amplus:
“The carbon footprint of housing and properties has been a key corporate responsibility theme at Avara for several years. We are committed to reducing the climate and environmental impacts of housing and increasing the efficiency of resource use through actions with measurable impacts and with a long-term view. Going forward, we will increasingly adopt new and innovative solutions and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint.”
Bonnie Herring, Director of Sustainability, Breathe Architecture:
“We care deeply about the planet, and recognise our part in its peril. Through our work, advocacy and integrity we can build a better future. Our pledge is to deliver net zero ready buildings. No new gas – no question. To meet industry leading energy performance targets. To track and to taper upfront carbon toward a climate positive 2040.”
Kalle Hallanoro, Director, Premico Private Equity Funds:
“Premico is a Finnish real estate investment, development and management company specialising in residential assets with an emphasis on decarbonising the residential sector and constructing affordable multifamily properties ensuring comfortable housing for all. The company currently employees over 50 real estate specialists.
Premico’s third housing fund, Premico Residential Fund III, is building approximately 1,700 new residential apartments by 2025, mainly in the Finnish capital region. The fund is committed to the carbon neutrality of its residential properties in terms of energy use during operation, and also to reducing the carbon footprint during the construction phase of the properties. All the developments in the fund will have energy efficiency class A, a BREEAM or a LEED certificate and they will comply with the new construction criteria of the EU taxonomy. Joining the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment) is a natural step for Premico Residential Fund III, as it complies with the Fund’s values and goals perfectly.”
MEDIA CONTACT
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 programme working towards total sector decarbonisation by 2050. Working with Green Building Councils across the network to develop tools, programmes and resources to promote the urgency and achievability of net zero carbon buildings and build industry capacity to deliver them.
The Commitment has been partly funded by We Mean Business.
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 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 to tackle operational and embodied emissions from their real estate assets by 2030, stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models, and contributing to achieving the built environment sector breakthrough goals.
See the full profiles of company signatories and what they are committing to here: https://www.worldgbc.org/commitment-signatories
About the World Green Building Council
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is the largest and most influential local-regional-global action network, leading the transformation to sustainable and decarbonised built environments for everyone, everywhere.
Together, with 75+ Green Building Councils and industry partners from all around the world, we are driving systemic changes to:
We work with businesses, organisations and governments to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
Find out more www.worldgbc.org
