Do we care enough about the spaces in which we spend our time? If we knew the extent of the impact that buildings have on our health and wellbeing, our communities, and our planet, would we change our perspective?

In November 2020 World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) launched the Building a Better Future series, introducing a large audience on BBC.com to the world of green buildings. The commercial campaign, comprising 27 short films shot in 20 countries, achieved meaningful reach – earning more than three million video views and 120,000 BBC.com site visits – sparking conversation within the sector and earning multiple film awards. 

The topics covered in this series – filmed at the height of the pandemic – have only become more pressing. As we look ahead to the social, economic, and environmental challenges of the decade, now is the time for people globally to consider their own relationships with the built environment while recognising its impact on people and the planet. 

It is in this context that we are delighted to announce an extension of our work with BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions to create a new series for us. The new series will focus on that precise connection between people and buildings, examining the spaces around us with a new curiosity and creating demand for a healthier, more equitable, and greener built environment. Members of the World Green Building Council network are invited to share their stories for consideration for the project; details of how to do so are below. 

Where Building a Better Future looked across the life cycle of buildings, the new series will consider that of humans, exploring how the built environment can affect us as we live, work, play, learn, and heal. The films will feature selected case studies around the world in which the built environment has improved quality of life for people, split across three impact areas: 

• Health: Buildings that measurably improve the physical and mental health of occupants and the local community, while enhancing environmental health;
• Wellbeing and Resilience: Buildings that allow people to function at their best. These maximise comfort, productivity, and access to nature; they also promote adaptation and resilience to a changing climate and socio-economic stresses;
• Community: Built environments that protect culture, foster community and prioritise equity, strengthening society while advancing community-scale environmental priorities such as preserving biodiversity or minimising pollution.

The new series will be hosted on a dedicated BBC.com microsite, providing an immersive experience for browsers and an opportunity for more in-depth coverage spanning films, audio and multimedia stories. The series will launch at selected events in 2023. A multi-platform campaign will drive relevant audience groups from among BBC.com’s 144 million monthly browsers, as well as reaching industry audiences through the World Green Building Council, the national Green Building Councils (GBCs) and their networks.  

In the face of crises for our climate, nature, health and societies, this series will underline how buildings can be the home of positive change and celebrate the people behind solutions that are already taking effect. 

SHARE YOUR STORY

To express your interest in participating in the series, please contact Siena Morrell, Series Developer at BBC StoryWorks at siena.morrell@bbc.com with a brief (c.200-300 words) response to the following prompt by 13 January 2023:

With reference to the above themes, please provide an example of how your organisation makes the built environment a better place for people as well as the planet. 

Stories will be reviewed, and a selection will be invited to discuss engaging BBC StoryWorks’ creative teams to produce a branded piece for the series. Their researchers, producers and writers will work with selected organisations to capture the work taking place across our industry in a compelling and visually engaging way, and those organisations can also amplify the series on their own channels as facilitated by the BBC StoryWorks and World Green Building Council teams.