WorldGBC - Global Update (Dec 2019)

 

Dear GBCs and Partners
 
Welcome to the December edition of the Global Update. I’m delighted to be writing to you today to share our latest annual report. Looking back on my first year as CEO, I have been inspired by your leadership and support and, in particular, the power of bringing people together to solve problems and achieve results.
 
This year, our global and regional projects and campaigns, as well as our CEO and regional networks, have continued to deliver stronger, more targeted and coordinated action in response to the climate emergency. Science and data have unequivocally set out the role and potential of the building and construction sector to support the transition to net zero.
 
And I have no doubt that we, as a global network are uniquely positioned to scale up all the necessary solutions to transform the built environment across the world, towards building a better future. I am very excited about collaborating with you to deliver our strategy 2020-22, as we continue to focus on our collective and our shared objectives. Click here to read WorldGBCs Annual Report 2018/19.
 
Thank you for your ongoing support and active involvement and I look forward to working with all of you in 2020. In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy and peaceful holiday season.
 
Best wishes
 
Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council

Time for Action: COP25 update
 

Closing after two weeks on Sunday 15 December, the COP25 climate talks concluded without the satisfaction of meaningful progress or stated ambition. Most of the key decisions have been postponed until COP26 in November 2020 in Glasgow, UK, which is set to be a "landmark COP". WorldGBC has already commenced negotiations with UNFCCC's COP26 associates to deliver on the 2020 "net zero carbon" COP26 and increased ambition. Despite a lack of progress at COP25, WorldGBC was pleased to participate with GBC España at a number of events to advance the green building agenda - see here. Additionally, a number of key pieces of research were published during COP25, including the 2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, with input from across our global network. Additionally, WorldGBC was pleased to contribute to the buildings section in new UK government report Accelerating the Low Carbon Transition. We will keep you updated on progress as plans for COP26 develop in 2020 in collaboration with UKGBC. Our WorldGBC network is ready to play a key role and rise to the challenge to step up the ambition needed to combat the climate emergency. For more information, contact Sarah Millar - [email protected]

2020-22 strategy: Scaling up green building
 

In 2020, WorldGBC will commence a new three-year strategy to scale up impact and growth across our network. With our member GBCs driving forward the implementation of sustainability strategies for the built environment, including our flagship projects on net zero carbon buildings, and health and wellbeing, and with the support of leading philanthropic, corporate and NGO partners, the WorldGBC strategy will focus on the following: delivering value through GBC membership; scaling up our work on the impact areas of climate action, health and wellbeing, and resources and circularity, which will become the themes for all our activities; and leveraging our five regional networks. WorldGBC recognises our role first and foremost as a membership organisation. We are confident that our new strategy will deliver tangible member benefits, and accelerate the transition that is required across our sector to achieve our global network’s shared goal of securing a sustainable built environment. To learn more about WorldGBC's 2020-22 strategy, please consult this document. Additionally, to see what WorldGBC has in store for 2020, please see our calendar of activities here. For more information about WorldGBC's strategy, contact Dominika Czerwinska - [email protected]

Regional Spotlight: Asia Pacific
 

In November the Advancing Net Zero (ANZ) team completed three successful workshops across the Asia Pacific region in order to expand the reach of the project and introduce a new swathe of companies and businesses to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment as part of the ANZ in Asia Pacific initiative. We conducted workshops in India, China and Hong Kong in collaboration with colleagues from the local Green Building Councils, with the session in Hong Kong live streamed for other Asia Pacific Network GBCs to attend. More workshops will follow in early 2020 in Japan and Singapore. In other regional news, we are delighted to welcome Korea Green Building Council (Korea GBC) back to our global network. Korea GBC has progressed from an Emerging GBC to Established GBC status, as approved by WorldGBC's Board of Directors in December 2019. For more information, contact Allan Han-Huei Teo - [email protected]

BUILD UPON European Leaders' Summit
 

Earlier this month, as part of the BUILD UPON2 project, WorldGBC convened 150 senior business and government leaders from across Europe to discuss their commitments to tackling built environment emissions. The summit saw experts present solutions for scaling up deep renovation across Europe's existing building stock towards net zero, and was an opportunity to explore key aspects of getting to net zero carbon - with cutting edge solutions and knowhow from across Europe presented. Alongside the summit, we announced that the cities of Valladolid, Spain and Helsinki, Finland joined the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, alongside a number of leading companies. These cities were the first to be recruited directly from our network as a result of relationships with the local GBCs. To see photos from the summit, click here. For more information, contact James Drinkwater - [email protected]

Have you seen our new case study library?
 

In November, we were excited to launch our new case study library showcasing a selection of the world’s most cutting-edge sustainable buildings. Each case study demonstrates enhanced performance in relation to health benefits or achieve net zero operational carbon, as verified by established certification schemes, rating tools or other third-party verification. We wish to thank those of you who encouraged your members to submit their case studies and showcase leadership from your markets, and we are pleased to profile GBC rating tools as a way to verify high performance buildings in operation. This will be a "living" library, and submissions can be made through the website here, for evaluation against the qualification criteria. Explore the map here to find examples from across the globe! For more information, contact Matthew Black - [email protected]

Beat air pollution and plant a sensor with us!
 

With air pollution recognised as the number one environmental threat to human health globally by the World Health Organisation, it's time to take action and combat air pollution. But we need to know the quality of our air to be able to improve it. Plant a Sensor is a global air quality monitoring campaign, aiming to increase global coverage of sensors inside and outside of buildings, run by the World Green Building Council and our valued partners. Global air quality monitor roll out will help us tackle the estimated 7 million deaths annually attributed to air pollution, as well as the substantial contribution towards global warming and environmental damage. The participant manual for the Plant a Sensor air quality monitoring campaign (beta version) is now available via WorldGBC's website. We look forward to working with you on our campaign to improve global air quality. For more information, contact Catriona Brady - [email protected]

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