WorldGBC - Global Update (Oct 2019)

Dear GBCs and Partners
 
Welcome to the October edition of the Global Update newsletter.
 
Another successful World Green Building Week has taken place, and for 2019 that meant raising greater awareness of the carbon emissions from all stages of a building’s lifecycle, and encouraging new practices and new ways of thinking to work towards eliminating carbon emissions from buildings.
 
This year, over 100 events took place across 55 countries with our global network all putting their own spin on the Building Life theme. From hosting international conferences to training workshops, webinars, seminars, green building tours, podcasts, Facebook Live and much more, we were so inspired by your energy and active support for World Green Building Week.
 
The WorldGBC advocacy team spent the week in New York City alongside the UN Climate Action Summit and Climate Week NYC. We launched our groundbreaking new report Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront at a high level executive breakfast at the Empire State Building co-hosted by USGBC and Skanska. We also co-hosted an event with the Urban Green Council on activating local solutions to global climate targets at the Canadian Consulate, and we announced that the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment has now reached 63 signatories, with a number of businesses recruited by our member Green Buildings Councils.
 
While in New York, we held a strategic planning session with leaders from the Established GBC CEO Network, WorldGBC Board and Corporate Advisory Board. The session was centred around high-level discussions of the three focus areas for our future WorldGBC strategy: climate action, health & wellbeing, and resource & circularity. These experts from our network shared their own expertise to help shape our future pathways for global impact, including developing roadmaps to 2023 for key areas of the strategy. We greatly value the expertise and input shared amongst the network members and wish to thank all participants for attending the session. Follow up information will be circulated to the attendees in the coming weeks.
 
Best wishes
 
Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council

During World Green Building Week 2019 we published our groundbreaking new call to action report on embodied carbon, "Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront: Coordinated action for the building and construction sector to tackle embodied carbon." The report outlines actions for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can reach 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve 100% net zero emissions buildings by 2050, in line with WorldGBC’s Advancing Net Zero global project. The report is critical to create a conversation around the value and importance of embodied carbon, with the aim of creating and stimulating market demand for transparency, improvements, and verification of embodied carbon reductions. To download the report, click here. You can also watch this video outlining our vision and key calls to action from the report. For more information, contact Victoria Burrows – [email protected]

Taking place in Santiago, Chile from 2-13 December, this year's COP25 event is set to be the 'investment COP' and will be informed by the outcomes of the UN Climate Action Summit held in New York in September 2019, as well as three Regional Climate Weeks: Africa Climate Week held in March, Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week held in August, and Asia-Pacific Climate Week held in September. WorldGBC is working to ensure green building is on the agenda and will be convening a side event: Turning Climate Ambition into Investment Opportunity. The event will bring together key stakeholders and leaders from the building, construction and finance sector to refine collaboration and together strategise on pathways to achieving climate solutions for a sustainable built environment. WorldGBC will send out a Save The Date with more information later this week. For more information, contact Juanita Alvarez – [email protected]

At WorldGBC's Board meeting in September, it was decided that WorldGBC would structure a new high-level event which we have named the WorldGBC Leadership Summit. With this new initiative, we are discontinuing Congress as we innovate in a new way to connect and serve our members. The Summit will convene the CEO Network, WorldGBC Board, Corporate Advisory Board and key partners for sessions focused on collaboration across our networks around pathways for the transformation of the buildings and construction sector towards sustainability and acceleration of its decarbonisation. It will be co-hosted by an Established GBC and we expect the first Leadership Summit to take place alongside another conference/event in September, October or November 2020. Prospective and Emerging GBCs can apply to attend this event. The Request for Proposals for co-hosting the WorldGBC Leadership Summit 2020 was sent to Established GBCs last week. Please express your interest within the next two weeks and share your proposal by 18 November. For more information, contact Alexis Dangel – [email protected]

WorldGBC had a presence at September's UN Climate Action Summit (UNCAS) in New York at the launch of Zero Carbon Buildings For All, a new multi-partner global initiative endorsed by the UN Secretary General and supported by key financial institutions including African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation and others. The initiative aims to secure commitments primarily from national governments to develop and implement policies to drive decarbonisation of buildings, and for financial and industry partners to provide expert input and commit $1 trillion of market action by 2030. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chair of the Global Environment Facility has already pledged $2 million in new support for the initiative. WorldGBC is a partner of the initiative to continue delivering opportunity for our Green Building Councils driving this market transformation. Recruitment to WorldGBC's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment is recognised as a pathway for implementation. To find out more, contact Victoria Burrows – [email protected]

At a time of crucial climate focus, how is the construction industry taking united leadership action to reduce embodied carbon emissions? Volvo Construction Equipment's Niklas Nillroth discusses the path to a more sustainable future in reducing embodied carbon together. Norway GBC's Hege Schøyen Dillner debates whether a common vision for the global building sector will make the world more sustainable here, and explains how a 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. And here WorldGBC takes a closer look at the iconic 'Bosco Verticale' to explore the benefits of its sustainability features and how it dealt with the challenge of considering whole lifecycle emissions; the trade-offs and co-benefits, and lessons for future projects. If you would like to contribute a blog, email Georgie Eldridge – [email protected]

WorldGBC has extended the deadline to submit case studies of exemplary green buildings to feature in our upcoming case study library to Friday 18 October. The case study library will be a resource to showcase the ‘best in class’ buildings globally that demonstrate enhanced performance in relation to health benefits and net zero operational carbon; as verified by established certification schemes, rating tools or other verification systems. We invite all member GBCs and partners to submit case studies, with additional input for those participating in WorldGBC’s global projects Advancing Net Zero and Better Places for People and we welcome GBCs to invite their members to participate. The first round of case study submissions can be made through the interactive form here. Following the launch at the end of 2019, applications for further case studies will re-open. For more information, contact Catriona Brady – [email protected] or Victoria Burrows – [email protected]