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Action plan to make net-zero buildings the norm
Report outlines a 12-step action plan to move the market towards delivering net-zero buildings at the scale and pace required to meet global climate targets.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released a report which suggests that net-zero buildings can become the norm.
Supported by global sustainable development consultancy Arup, “Achieving net-zero buildings: An action plan for market transition” sets out to show property owners and policymakers how to take action to meet emissions targets.
Net-zero buildings
According to WBCSD, the built environment sector is responsible for more than a third (37 per cent) of energy-related carbon emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector, making the transition to net-zero buildings a crucial response to climate change. The report authors warn that reducing these emissions is essential to reaching the cuts needed for to hold global average temperature rises well under 1.5°C in line with the Paris Accord.
The report outlines a 12-step action plan for governments and industry to move the market towards delivering net-zero buildings at the scale and pace required to meet global climate targets.
It also underlines how a lack of a clear, universal definition of net-zero buildings and a lack of national policies is holding back progress and constraining private sector investment in building transformation.
“We are on the cusp of a large-scale transition, but property owners and developers are held back by a lack of understanding about what makes a net zero building in reality”
The report lays out how governments and the industry must work together to make net zero buildings the norm. It is intended for the full built environment value chain: business, national and regional policymakers, NGOs, industry bodies, the property sector, and academia. The 12-step action plan is intended to apply to corporations as well as inform regional and national policy.
It calls for a fundamental shift from compliance-based regulatory frameworks – which only focus on influencing the design and construction of buildings – to performance-based standards, which aim to reduce the operational energy consumption of buildings in use, as well as their design and construction.
Accompanying the action plan are 16 case studies from around the world, highlighting practical pathways for achieving net-zero emissions across various building types and sectors.
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Key recommendations for achieving net-zero buildings are:
- Definition: establishing a consistent understanding of what constitutes a net-zero building
- Transparency: ensuring that building performance is clearly communicated, whether through voluntary disclosure or regulatory policies, to demonstrate alignment with net-zero emissions thresholds
- Performance floor: implementing mandatory minimum operational energy performance requirements to drive change across the market
- Incentives: aligning certifications and incentives around a consistent definition of net-zero in order to enhance the financial and market value of net-zero buildings, encouraging widespread adoption.
Roland Hunziker, director, built environment at WBCSD, said: “We can change what we expect from buildings, and net-zero needs to become the expectation. Based on examples from around the world, we illustrate the practical actions that organisations and regulators can take to incentivise the achievement of truly net-zero buildings.”
By presenting an actionable blueprint for the large-scale transition to net-zero buildings, alongside real-world case studies, the report provides both a roadmap and confidence that this transition is not only possible, but already underway.
“We can change what we expect from buildings, and net-zero needs to become the expectation”
“We need net zero buildings to rapidly move from a novelty to the norm. We are on the cusp of a large-scale transition, but property owners and developers are held back by a lack of understanding about what makes a net zero building in reality,” said Stephen Hill, associate director at Arup. “This new report shows how to unlock the change that is desperately needed across the entire supply chain if we are to hit global emissions targets.”
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global community of some 240 of the world’s leading businesses driving systems transformation for a better world in which more than nine billion people can live well, within planetary boundaries, by mid-century.
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How can performance-based standards improve operational energy efficiency in buildings?What role do incentives play in accelerating net-zero building adoption?How does a universal net-zero building definition influence market investment?Which policy shifts are essential for scaling net-zero building construction?How can transparency in building performance drive emissions reductions?climate actionClimate change/ResilienceCommercial buildingsEnergy & EnvironmenthousingMunicipal buildingsnet zeroResidential buildingsresilienceurban space
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