November 2022, Arup joins WorldGBC´s CAB at the UN Climate Summit, COP27, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt

Pictured: Elizabeth Wangeci Chege, WorldGBC Board Member & Chair Africa Regional Network; Cristina Gamboa, WorldGBC CEO; Nigel Tonks, UKIMEA Sustainable Development Director and Sponsor of Arup’s Global Net Zero Carbon Buildings Working Group; Jo da Silva, Global Director of Sustainable Development, Arup.

 

Following on from shared advocacy successes at the UN Climate Summit COP27, Arup joins World Green Building Council´s (WorldGBC) Corporate Advisory Board. The firm will be represented on the board by Nigel Tonks, UKIMEA Sustainable Development Director and Sponsor of Arup’s Global Net Zero Carbon Buildings Working Group. By joining this select group of global businesses delivering systemic, transformational change in the built environment, Arup is committing to providing strategic guidance and insights to the WorldGBC global network. 

As partners, Arup and WorldGBC embark on a journey of collaboration to accelerate and achieve the needed transition to a decarbonised and resilient future. Arup’s built environment expertise and leadership in climate action, urban resilience, circular economy and regeneration aligns with the ambitions and impact goals shared by the WorldGBC global network. 

In 2021, Arup signed WorldGBC’s updated Net Zero Carbon Buildings commitment, promising sector-leading action on whole life carbon (WLC) emissions. At COP27 the firm showed its progress so far, announcing it had built an international dataset of WLC emissions for buildings; calculating emissions for almost 1,000 projects across 30 countries. This has allowed Arup to estimate the ‘carbon handprint’ of its building design work. It has quantified the scale of emissions arising from its global portfolio of building design projects as being approximately 350 times greater than its organisational carbon footprint. This baseline ‘carbon handprint’ data will be crucial in enabling Arup experts working with clients to reach better decisions about reducing operational and embodied building emissions.

Jo da Silva, Global Director of Sustainable Development, Arup, said:

“Arup is intent on contributing to industry-wide action needed to decarbonise the global building design, property and construction sectors. We’re equally committed to building greater resilience in the built environment to the impacts of climate change, which are now being felt almost everywhere. We recognise that deep collaboration is needed to develop guidance, standards and data that will scale solutions and accelerate action. We are delighted to join WorldGBC’s Corporate Advisory Board, and look forward to sharing our insights and expertise, including our deep technical knowledge of whole life carbon and urban resilience.”

Cristina Gamboa, CEO, WorldGBC, said:

“We are thrilled to welcome Arup to the World Green Building Council’s Corporate Advisory Board. Through their demonstration of leadership towards sustainable building and construction practices, we know that they will bring a wealth of expertise that will be a huge asset to our global network. We know that deep collaboration and knowledge sharing is key if we are to halve energy-related emissions from buildings by 2030 and create thriving, resilient communities. I look forward to our new journey with Arup, and the collective impact we will have to deliver sustainable and decarbonised built environments for everyone, everywhere”.

Arup 

Dedicated to sustainable development, Arup is a collective of designers, consultants and experts working globally. Founded to be humane and excellent, they collaborate with their clients and partners using imagination, technology, and rigour to shape a better world.

To find out more about Arup, visit: https://www.arup.com