The launch of the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment in 2018 sent a strong signal that we must incorporate: green design, green construction methods and green operations within the built environment.  This will reduce energy wastage and reliance on fossil fuels that are causing irreversible damage to our planet.
Achieving these goals will be incredibly challenging and require innovations and systemic changes from within the industry; many have not been invented or even conceived yet.  But it is essential in order to secure our livelihoods for generations to come. The construction sector must drive this change.
Designers and contractors must demonstrate green benefits alongside profits. Developers and end users need a deeper understanding of the green construction methods to understand the cost-benefit analysis.
New and existing innovations must match the end users living and working demands.  The solutions offered must meet these demands while meeting the decarbonisation goals.  This must be considered throughout the whole building process from planning to whole life cycle usage.
The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment) challenges companies, cities, states and regions to reach Net Zero operating emissions in their portfolios by 2030 and to advocate for all buildings to be Net Zero in operation by 2050.
By setting ambitious ‘absolute’ targets, the Commitment aims to maximise the chances of limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees however, ideally this would be below 2 degrees or more. This can be done by drastically reducing operating emissions from buildings.
“Net Zero” buildings already exist and can be found in every corner of the world and in every building type.  Applying the philosophy of net zero reduces: wastage, optimises performance, increases efficiency and improves comfort.
The Commitment gives organisations the tools to develop globally ambitious yet locally relevant, flexible and universally viable solutions for their portfolio to both reduce energy demand and achieve net zero carbon emissions.
To find out more about World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment click here.