The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) welcomes three new additions to its Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment: ARA Asset Management Limited, B+H Architects and Currie & Brown.

LONDON – 9:00 AM BST, 26 May 2021 – Today, WorldGBC announces three new organisations as signatories to its Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment), signalling growing global industry leadership to decarbonise the built environment and combat climate change.

The Commitment now has a total of 141 signatories, with 107 businesses & organisations, 28 cities and 6 states & regions. The businesses and organisations signed up to the Commitment now account for over 5.2 million (tCO2e) of portfolio emissions.

 

Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council:

“The ambition from these leading companies is crucial as WorldGBC builds momentum to the historic ‘Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day’ at COP26. Commitment signatories are “frontrunners” in the Race to Zero, in recognition of their efforts to go further faster to tackle operational emissions from their real estate assets. These actions are stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary for the entire sector to reach our 2050 decarbonisation goals.”

 

ARA Asset Management Limited

ARA is the largest real assets manager in APAC. The Group manages a multi-platform funds management business, covering REITs and private funds in real estate, infrastructure, and credit, with a total of S$116 billion in gross assets under management. Committed to only owning assets that are net zero carbon under direct control by 2030, ARA advocates for net zero transformation through their core business activities and stakeholders’ engagement. As part of its decarbonisation roadmap, ARA will set Science Based Targets and implement energy efficiency measures.

 

B+H Architects

B+H is a global, award-winning consulting and design solutions firm providing core architecture, planning, landscape, interior design and Advance Strategy services, with a global presence across ten studios throughout North America, Asia, and the Middle East. They believe in embracing change and challenging the status quo to deliver resilient, healthy, zero carbon environments that make positive contributions to their communities and are characterised by vibrant human experiences. Through their commitment, they will only occupy net zero operational studios by 2030. Additionally, they will advocate for all design work led by B+H globally to meet net zero carbon standards and continue to empower clients to deliver net zero carbon operational buildings and embodied carbon benchmarking.

 

Currie & Brown (UK and Europe)

As a leading physical assets management and construction consultancy, Currie & Brown is committed to developing and implementing an organisational decarbonisation action plan in alignment with the UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings framework by 2030. Actions within this emissions reduction strategy include implementing green leases with landlords, reducing operational energy use through energy efficiency measures, increasing renewable energy supply, and offsetting any remaining carbon. In addition to transforming their core business, Currie & Brown will continue to advocate sector transformation by supporting and influencing public and private sector clients to target and achieve net-zero carbon in their buildings and projects.

 

Mr Ng Beng Tiong, Deputy Group CEO and Group COO, ARA Asset Management Limited:

“ARA is an early supporter of sustainability and has long been pursuing decarbonisation across our portfolio to combat climate change. Our pledge to the WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment reaffirms our commitment to support the global net zero agenda, as we push forward with a technology-driven decarbonisation plan. Two of our properties – Nova Properties in central London and 477 Collins Street in Melbourne – are already operating at net zero emissions, and we expect more of our properties to achieve the same in the coming years.”

 

Lisa Bate, Global Sustainability Lead, Senior Principal, B+H:

“By joining the WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, we are continuing the course for our future as a global design and consulting practice committed to advancing net zero carbon performance across all our studios and operations. We will continue to advocate for and enable our clients’ net zero carbon agendas through high-performance solutions combined with strategic thinking, bold design, and advanced technology. We are thrilled to join a group of like-minded, world-class organizations who will collectively work to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.”

 

Alan Manuel, Chief Operating Officer for the UK and Europe, Currie & Brown:

“Over the course of our 100-year history, Currie & Brown has taken a dynamic and adaptive approach to addressing the various changes and challenges to the way we work, always maintaining our focus on excellent client delivery. 

Today, we are responding to one of the biggest challenges ever faced by our industry by proactively endorsing and promoting drives to achieve net-zero carbon. 

Sustainability is one of our core values, and our sustainability team is at the forefront of our commitment to staying at the front line of new approaches to zero-carbon targets – for both existing assets and new-build developments.

As well as a commitment to reducing the carbon emissions from the buildings we occupy ourselves, we are responding to the significant and growing client demand for our sustainability services. We offer wide-ranging solutions to support net-zero carbon ambitions, and we continue to evolve our advisory services in this area to meet rapidly changing client requirements. 

Currie & Brown’s senior management team is united in being fully committed to this endeavour, and the issue of carbon emissions is a key consideration in every operational decision taken.”

 

<ENDS>

MEDIA CONTACT

Rebecca Moir, Digital Marketing Coordinator, World Green Building Council

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 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.

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 buildings 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 comprised of 70 Green Building Councils around the globe.

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.

www.worldgbc.org