Three major global businesses – the engineering firm Integral Group, property giant Lendlease and product manufacturer ROCKWOOL – were yesterday announced as sponsors for a green industry campaign to help buildings gain net zero emissions status by 2050.
The Advancing Net Zero project, launched in June 2016 by the World Green Building Council, aims to ensure every building around the world, both new and existing, operates at net zero emissions by the middle of the century.
It aims to encourage Green Building Councils around the world to adopt net zero certification schemes for their market, with pilot programmes up and running by 2018. So far, 11 Green Building Councils are participating, including the USA, India and Brazil. While the UK GBC supports the scheme, it is not an official member because it does not operate a certification scheme.
Terri Wills, chief executive of the World Green Building Council, said the new corporate recruits to the campaign are a signal of the mounting business demand for green buildings. “The support of major companies such as Integral Group, Lendlease and ROCKWOOL demonstrates the huge appetite amongst businesses to design, build, invest in and operate net zero buildings,” she said in a statement. “We’ve started to pave the path towards net zero and there’s no turning back until every building gets there before 2050.”
Lendlease, Integral Group and ROCKWOOL will provide financial support for the campaign and work alongside Green Building Councils to help develop the net zero certification schemes. Advancing Net Zero is also funded by the Blackstone Ranch Institute and has been supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and ClimateWorks Foundation.
Achieving net zero emissions in the building sector by 2050 is seen as a key sector goal for achieving the Paris goals of limiting global warming by two degrees. A report from the World GBC later this spring will set out exactly what action is needed from businesses, governments, Green Building Councils and other NGOs to achieve the net zero goal.
Source: businessgreen.com
