This section of the website is designed to help guide you through the world of green buildings

The Hero for Net Zero in UAE? The Emirates Green Building Council
Tue, 12th Nov 2019How is the building and construction sector in the UAE moving towards net zero? WorldGBC's MENA Regional Head Mohammad Asfour outlines the initiatives EmiratesGBC is undertaking to enable the nation to transition to a net zero carbon built environment.
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Australia steps up to the challenge to decarbonise
Mon, 11th Nov 2019When WorldGBC released its call to action on embodied carbon in September 2019, Australia’s leading organisations didn’t hesitate to endorse it. Twenty members of the Green Building Council of Australia backed the drastic action for the building and construction sector immediately. Find out how GBCA is driving momentum to recognise the importance of upfront and embodied carbon.
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Google joins global industry leaders to serve on the World Green Building Council’s Corporate Advisory Board
Mon, 4th Nov 2019American multinational technology company Google has joined WorldGBC's Corporate Advisory Board, a select group of companies which are global leaders on sustainability, and which serve to guide WorldGBC on its strategy and activities.
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ÖGNI Position Paper: Social Sustainability
Fri, 1st Nov 2019In cooperation with an expert group, the ÖGNI (Austrian Sustainable Building Council) has defined standards for measuring the social sustainability of buildings and identifies three focal points: Holistic view of the neighborhood, operation of buildings and flexibility.
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ÖGNI Position Paper: Benchmarks in Operation
Fri, 1st Nov 2019The ÖGNI Position Paper: Benchmarks in Operation outlines how sustainability can only be achieved through sensible, efficient building operation; and proves that sustainability and efficient operation go hand in hand.
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ÖGNI Position Paper: Smart Cities
Fri, 1st Nov 2019Although the term "Smart City" is widely used, a clear definition is still missing. This ÖGNI position paper aims to clarify ÖGNI's position on Smart Cities, make the term Smart Cities more specific for urban development stakeholders, support and guide urban developers in their attempts to implement the Smart City concept and develop a basis for the certification of Smart Cities.
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WorldGBC receives an award for leading industry change
Wed, 23rd Oct 2019WorldGBC was presented with the Barcelona Meeting Point (BM) Mediterranean Award at the Mediterranean Real Estate Forum international conference for its invaluable mission leading the transformation of the construction industry to create a healthier and more sustainable environment.
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EmiratesGBC honours winners of the 2019 MENA Green Building Awards
Thu, 17th Oct 2019The annual Awards honour excellence in green building initiatives in 16 categories including newly introduced 'Zero Building of the Year’ for advancing net zero energy in built environments. See the full list of winners here.
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Built environment stakeholders recommend integration of whole life carbon criteria into European policy
Tue, 8th Oct 2019Today a coalition of over 30 organisations working in the buildings and construction sector have signed an open letter to the European Commission outlining their view on the transformative potential that the Level(s) framework can play in mainstreaming sustainable buildings and deliver on key European environmental, economic and social goals.
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It’s not that easy being green
Tue, 1st Oct 2019WorldGBC takes a closer look at the iconic building 'Bosco Verticale' in Milan, Italy to explore the benefits of its sustainability features and how it dealt with the challenge of considering whole lifecycle emissions, both operational and embodied; the trade-offs and co-benefits, and lessons for future projects.
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Will a common vision for the global building sector make the world more sustainable?
Thu, 26th Sep 2019A roadmap for the building and construction sector in Norway to achieve a common vision of zero emissions and a full circular economy in 2050 has sparked action to address both operational and embodied carbon emissions from buildings.
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Podcast - Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront in Asia Pacific
Thu, 26th Sep 2019To celebrate World Green Building Week 2019 and the launch of WorldGBC's report Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront, AkzoNobel and WorldGBC have collaborated to produce this two-part video podcast offering a wholesome Asia Pacific and full value chain perspective on addressing embodied carbon.
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Climate champion California joins the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
Fri, 22nd Feb 2019The US state of California further solidifies its position as a climate champion by joining WorldGBC's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment – the first US State to do so.
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Ramboll brings leading sustainable design expertise to World Green Building Council's Europe Network
Thu, 21st Feb 2019Ramboll has entered into a new partnership with the World Green Building Council’s Europe Network as its first engineering partner, to collaborate on driving sustainability and innovation across Europe’s building sector.
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And the winner is... WorldGBC announces winner of annual Member Value Survey prize draw
Tue, 12th Feb 2019The first 20 Green Building Councils to complete WorldGBC’s annual Member Value Survey in 2018 were entered into a prize draw to receive $500 USD towards a leadership training course of their choice in 2019 - find out which GBC has won the prize draw.
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William McDonough’s ICEhouse constructed for fifth time at World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos
Mon, 4th Feb 2019Watch WorldGBC's exclusive interview with designer and green building thought leader William McDonough about the ICEhouse™ at the 2019 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
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World Green Building Council forms partnership with Climate and Clean Air Coalition
Mon, 28th Jan 2019WorldGBC has commenced a Partnership with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, led by UN Environment. Through this partnership, WorldGBC and its network of national Green Building Councils will offer a focus and expertise around the building and construction industry to this coalition of global leaders.
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Welcoming our new Asia Pacific Regional Head - Allan Han-Huei Teo
Fri, 18th Jan 2019WorldGBC is excited to announce our new Regional Head for the Asia Pacific Regional Network – Allan Han-Huei Teo. Find out more about Allan and how he'll be working with our 15 Green Building Councils in Asia Pacific to advance green building practices.
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WorldGBC seeks input for Better Places for People project Metrics Framework
Fri, 11th Jan 2019WorldGBC invites respondents to participate in the consultation period about the strategic update of the existing Metrics Framework for one of its global projects, Better Places for People.
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Bogotá and Sonora events kick-off the Americas Cities Climate Action project
Thu, 13th Dec 2018This week, a series of events in Bogotá, Colombia and Sonora, Mexico signalled the kick-off the WorldGBC's Cities Climate Action project in the Americas supported by the Building Efficiency Accelerator.
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Green Building Councils urge European Commission to recognise unparalleled potential of the built environment sector in delivering a climate neutral Europe
Wed, 12th Dec 2018Today, as European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete outlines the European Commission’s vision for a climate neutral Europe at COP24, over 20 countries from WorldGBC's Europe Regional Network have signed an open letter urging the European Commission to recognise the vital role of the built environment sector in delivering this vision.
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World Green Building Council launches annual report for 2017/18: Building a better future
Mon, 10th Dec 2018The World Green Building Council's Annual Report for 2017/18 outlines the major achievements of the organisation and its global network of Green Building Councils.
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COP24: WorldGBC to attend to represent the green building movement
Mon, 26th Nov 2018WorldGBC will be representing our global network of Green Building Councils at the COP24 climate talks in December 2018 and advocating for a sustainable built environment in order to meet climate goals - see the list of events where we, our member GBCs and partners will be speaking.
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Pakistan Green Building Council progresses to Established Member of WorldGBC
Wed, 14th Nov 2018The World Green Building Council is delighted to announce that Pakistan Green Building Council has progressed to Established GBC status within the WorldGBC membership tier.
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Day Zero: Can Cape Town prevent the taps from running dry?
Thu, 22nd Mar 2018This World Water Day, The Green Building Council of South Africa's Manfred Braune outlines the factors that have led to Cape Town's severe water shortage and the solution to prevent the taps from running dry on "Day Zero".
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Meet the women who are establishing green leadership in the Middle East & North Africa
Thu, 8th Mar 2018This International Women's Day 2018, WorldGBC is celebrating the women establishing green building leadership in the MENA region, challenging gender inequality in their countries while addressing the equally pressing issue of climate change.
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Make Us Greener: A Sustainable Relocation Collaboration
Thu, 1st Mar 2018Roberto Forte blogs about how Panama GBC's green office renovation collaboration project has helped improve the building's energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and improve occupants' health and wellbeing.
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Climate action: Innovations from states and regions boosting energy efficiency in buildings
Mon, 26th Feb 2018Leah Good from The Climate Group's Energy Transition Platform outlines the steps regional governments are taking across the world to drive down emissions in the buildings sector.
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12 stats on green building in 2017 you should know: CEOs give their global views
Wed, 7th Feb 2018As a final installment to our interviews with GBCs' CEOs, we asked them to share with us a statistic that showed off just how much impact they have made in their countries in 2017. We’re amazed at what they've achieved…
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What it takes to be a green building leader on the WorldGBC Board
Thu, 1st Feb 2018As WorldGBC opens nominations for its Board of Directors, current Chair Tai Lee Siang and Vice-Chair Lisa Bate reveal what drives their own enthusiasm for green building and the attributes behind a great Board member.
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We interviewed 17 CEOs committed to green building on the biggest accomplishments of 2017
Mon, 29th Jan 2018What are our Established Green Building Council CEOs' proudest accomplishments from 2017? Following on the heels of our recent blog post on their ambitions for the future, we present you their answers...
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An unexpected journey: The rise of net zero carbon buildings in the MENA region
Thu, 25th Jan 2018Our Advancing Net Zero Project Manager Kate Victoria Burrows visited Jordan this month and was delighted to see how the country is already realising the potential for low carbon operations.
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A view from the top: CEOs share their bold green building ambitions for 2018
Tue, 23rd Jan 2018We recently asked CEOs from our Established Green Building Councils (GBCs) around the world to share with us their ambitions for 2018. We’re excited to share some of their answers!
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Notes from the Network: Exploring pathways towards greater green building impact in Asia Pacific
Mon, 22nd Jan 2018French president Emmanuel Macron recently pointed out “We’re not moving quick enough. We all need to act.”. He’s right. We need to hasten the pace, and where better to appreciate this than in Manila, a city that never sleeps?
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I'm dreaming of... a net zero future
Thu, 21st Dec 2017WorldGBC's Advancing Net Zero Project Manager Victoria Kate Burrows reflects on how 2017 has been a phenomenal year for raising awareness around the urgent need for net zero carbon buildings, and the enormity of the challenge ahead.
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The nexus of green buildings, global health & the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Tue, 5th Dec 2017In the final of our Better Places for People blog series, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health's Joseph Allen and Augusta Williams discuss the role green buildings must play in promoting public health and sustainable development.
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