On World Environment Day, the World Green Building Council has announced that we’re among 95 signatories to be part of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment), which aims to see 100 percent uptake of net zero carbon buildings by 2050.
We’re among the new companies and organisations committed to ensuring that all buildings they own, occupy and/or develop will operate at net zero carbon by 2030, or earlier. We outlined our approach to this in our new social impact strategy, launched last month.
Our CEO, Jonathan Murphy, said: “We want our portfolio to be part of the solution, so a key part of our social impact strategy is about continuing to push the boundaries for both our existing primary care buildings and for our future NHS schemes – helping to meet the net zero carbon goals and to deliver on our role to future generations through vital community infrastructure.”
Sixty-two of the 96 Commitment participants are businesses and organisations, and collectively their action alone will reduce more than 3.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
The 2020 Advancing Net Zero Status Reportincludes the full list of Commitment signatories, updates on key progress that has been made by companies, action from Green Building Councils including the launch of new net zero building certification schemes, and design and investor community insights.
“Buildings are our planet’s largest consumers of energy,” said CEO of the World Green Building Council, Cristina Gamboa. “Measures to reduce consumption and energy waste in buildings offer the fastest way to unlock carbon savings, but they are often overlooked and deprioritised.” She continued, “As we overcome the immediate and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must prioritise resilience. Net zero building can benefit people, economies and the planet and must form a part of the bold and decisive action necessary to tackle the climate emergency."
Read more on how we’re making a difference.