COP26 saw the first-ever Built Environment Day

COP26 in Glasgow saw the first-ever Built Environment Day. Considering that one of the most shared statistics states that approximately 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to constructing and maintaining buildings, some of you might be wondering if this is too little, too late.

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Roland Hunziker, director of sustainable buildings and cities at the WBSCD, described built-environment emissions as “the sleeping giant.”

Our panel of experts in this podcast episode will look honestly at the outcome of COP27 in terms of the built environment and also look back at what has happened in the year since COP26.

They will take into account information such as what is included in this first slide, from the 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction issued this week by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) and UN Environment Programme which clearly shows an alarming, clear key message:

Compared to 2020, operational energy-related CO2 emissions have increased by around 5% compared to 2020, a rebound that now exceeds the 2019 peak.

“Only a radical transformation including all stakeholders along the value chain can help us break the trend” commented Roland Hunziker on LinkedIn about this message and slide.

Constructive Voices will speak to a panel of top experts on Monday 21st November and bring you that episode the very next day.

Below you can meet our guests and further down you can check the latest building initiatives announced at COP27 according to the BuildingtoCOP website.

Matthew Black, World Green Building Council

Matthew is Programme Coordinator for World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) global Advancing Net Zero programme. In this role, he works across the programme’s various global and regional activities and leads on the recruitment and delivery of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. He started his career in communications, previously working in Brussels for both the UN and a media company focused on sustainability, where his clients included: the UN, the EU Commission, Horizon 2020 research programmes, and a number of other international initiatives such as Cities4Forests. Matthew is based in London, UK.

Emma Nicholson, B.A, MSc, FCIOB, FIEMA, FWES, CEnv, FAPM, the Founding Director of Women in Sustainable Construction and Property

Emma is an accomplished and skilled Chartered Construction Manager and Chartered Environmentalist with Board level experience. She is currently the Principal Sustainability Project Manager, at Pick Everard, She is passionate about achieving quality projects and was nominated in 2018 for an Excellence Award in quality of project delivery of Leeds Art Gallery and Leeds Library roof restoration. Emma was a guest way back on Episode 13, How Women Can Create Sustainable Change, Especially in Light of the IPCC Report

Sumele Adelana, Senior Strategic Marketing Manager for SketchUp at Trimble

Sumele Adelana (RIBA Associate) uses her training and experience in architecture, interior architecture, and building performance design to create content that enables professionals in the AEC industry to leverage innovative technologies for better design and a more sustainable built environment. She applies this knowledge in her role as the Senior Strategic Marketing Manager at Trimble’s SketchUp and in designing residential projects in the UK. Sumele believes that architects are uniquely positioned to positively impact the day-to-day experience of people, communities, economies, and the global climate. Through her work, she advocates for architects to see occupant comfort and building performance as a distinct criterion of great design, and for all AEC professionals to go beyond minimum regulatory requirements by analysing energy and daylight early and often as part of the design process. Sumele was a also a guest on Episode 13, How Women Can Create Sustainable Change, Especially in Light of the IPCC Report

Phanos Hadjikyriakou, 2050 Materials

Phanos Hadjikyriakou is an engineer and sustainability expert focusing on democratizing sustainable construction practices in the built environment. He has a background in climate ESG assessments, and has worked with some of the biggest real estate institutions globally, helping them align their investments with a 1.5 degree world. Currently, he is one of the co-founders of 2050 Materials, a company of architects, climate experts and software engineers building tools which empower architects and contractors to find, compare and specify the most sustainable building products available.

Amrita Dasgupta Shekhar, Associate at Greengage

Amrita is an Associate at Greengage and leads their Energy and Carbon services. She has over 15 years of experience working within the public, private and not-for-profit sector providing strategic leadership and management of carbon reduction programmes. Amrita is a part of a cross industry initiative to develop UK’s first Net Zero Carbon Building Standards. She is also a part of the British Property Federation’s sustainability committee and supports their work on Net Zero. In her previous role with the Better Buildings Partnership, she worked with several Commercial Real Estate clients, to develop and deliver industry best practice relating to ESG. During this time Amrita led on the development of their Real Estate Environmental Benchmarks and managed the development of the NABERS methodology for Whole Buildings and Tenancy scheme for the UK. She has successfully led the delivery of sustainable schools in Leicester, where her involvement has spanned from visioning, contract development to design and operational support. During this time she also delivered a successful soft-landings project on engaging and training building users to manage complex building systems and deliver incremental energy reductions in performance. These schools have demonstrated a significant reduction in the performance gap between actual and predicted energy use. Amrita has significant experience of working on multi-stakeholder projects and has a multi-disciplinary approach to sustainable design and development. She has authored a number of technical and non-technical papers, guidance and toolkits on Sustainable Buildings and ESG issues in the UK as well as in international peer reviewed journals.

Update from the Building to COP website, 17th November

Let’s look back at the built environment roadmap post COP26

According to the World Green Building Council, the outcome of Glasgow’s COP26 in terms of built environment was as follows:

Accelerating deep collaboration: 26 built environment climate action initiatives announced at COP26

Marking a climate breakthrough for the built environment, a coalition of business and government groups announce 26 climate action initiatives at Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at COP26, including:

• $1.2 trillion real estate assets under management are now a part of Race to Zero. As a front runner initiative in the Race to Zero, 44 businesses including developers, designers and asset managers representing $85 billion annual turnover sign World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment to accelerate action to tackle whole life carbon emissions from the built environment by 2030.Responsible for almost 40 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, the built environment is fast becoming a driving force behind global climate change mitigation efforts.
• 1049 cities and local governments have joined Race to Zero. Representing 722 million people, this collective action has the potential to reduce global emissions by 1.4 gigatons annually by 2030. C40 Cities has launched a new Clean Construction Action Coalition of cities and construction sector companies today to connect and accelerate the just and fair change we need.
• Since 2015, 136 countries have included buildings in their Nationally Determined Contributions, an increase of around 55 percent; and 12 countries have made building decarbonisation commitments since 2018 — UK, Morocco, Mexico, France, Germany, Switzerland, Jordan, Chile, Kenya, Turkey, UAE, and Argentina.This is a significant step in the right direction to decarbonise economies as 65 per cent of population growth by 2030 will occur in countries that have NDCs that mention building energy efficiency and/or building codes to improve energy Performance.
• Representing nearly 300 million people, 75 RegionsAdapt members commit to joining the Race to Resilience; 33 cities join Cities Race to Resilience, aiming to 200 cities next year.

Why cities, regions and the built environment matter Buildings are responsible for almost 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions and 50 per cent of all extracted materials. By 2050, 1.6 billion urban dwellers will be regularly exposed to extremely high temperatures and over 800 million people living in more than 570 cities will be vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding. By 2060:

• The world’s building stock will double and almost 70 per cent of the global population is projected to live in urban areas.
• Global material use is expected to more than double and a third of this rise is attributable to materials used in the building and construction system.

The built environment’s demand on natural resources accelerates climate change, and inefficient, unhealthy buildings negatively impact human health and wellbeing. However, efficient buildings are one of the biggest investment opportunities worth an estimated $24.7 trillion by 2030. Despite this, less than $3 of every $100 spent on new construction goes to efficient buildings. While around a third of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) make reference to actions on buildings, many of them fall short of the level of ambition to drive the required — and achievable — performance levels. And some countries that expect growth over the coming decades do not have energy codes. This will result in buildings being built today that do not meet the necessary standards for today’s or future climates. Built environment is vital to halving emissions by 2030 A collaboration between the UN High Level Climate Champions, the COP26 Presidency and the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the #BuildingToCOP26 Coalition, Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at COP26 brings together national, regional and city level leaders, alongside the private sector, to deliver deep collaboration that can accelerate climate action over the next decade. To mark this dedicated day, 26 game-changing built environment climate initiatives were announced. The announcements send a clear signal to policymakers and the private sector that the built environment is vital to halving emissions by 2030 and limiting global heating to 1.5℃:

• The built environment must be prioritised as a critical climate solution- Almost 40 percent of global emissions come from buildings and construction through their lifecycle, and buildings are responsible for almost 35 percent of final energy demand.
• We need faster and bolder government action, solutions and pathways to help drive change. Cities, regions and private sector frontrunners are already raising ambitions and accelerating progress but to fully realise the sector’s ambitions, they need an enabling regulatory framework and access to financing.
• We must rapidly accelerate deep cross-sectoral collaboration. This is critical for achieving the needed market transformation towards a zero-emission, efficient, and resilient built environment at scale and at pace.