The United Nations international climate negotiations (known as the Conference of the Parties (COP)) are held each year to review and revise ambition on mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts.
2021’s COP26 in Glasgow, the United Kingdom, is one of the most influential of these gatherings as it is the first time that countries will officially present how they will increase the ambition of their roadmaps to achieve the stated goal of the Paris Climate Agreement: to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2°C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing the means to limit increase to 1.5°C.
Green Building Principles: The Action Plan for Net-Zero Carbon Buildings offers a set of 10 principles to help companies deliver net zero carbon buildings and meet key climate commitments.
Developed with JLL, the Principles and Action Plan outlined in the "Green Building Principles:
The Action Plan for Net-Zero
Carbon Buildings, INSIGHT REPORT
OCTOBER 2021", aim also offer implementation strategies to decarbonize buildings at a portfolio level. This Action Plan draws on existing recommendations and signposts to an array of current targets to deliver this set of Principles at a global level while allowing for adaption to local contexts.
The Green Building Principles outline the key steps that a company needs to take to deliver on its net-zero carbon commitment.
According to the Plan the ten prinviples are comprised as follows:
1. Calculate a robust carbon footprint of your portfolio in the most recent representative year to inform targets.
A carbon footprint is a calculation or estimation of the
carbon emissions associated with a business and can
be broken down into Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Simply put, Scope 1 emissions are generated by a
company’s direct combustion of fuel (e.g. natural
gas), Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from
purchased energy (e.g. electricity), and Scope 3 are
all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s
value chain. For most companies, the vast majority of
their carbon footprint is Scope 3. While all emissions
should be measured and reduced by a company, for
the purposes of this guidance, only the Scope 1-3
emissions of real estate assets should be covered;
in other words, the whole life carbon of all buildings
2. Set a target year for achieving net-zero carbon by 2050 at the latest, and an interim target for reducing at least 50% of these emissions by 2030.
The Race to Zero
requires signatories to set targets to achieve net-zero
carbon by 2050 at the very latest, with an interim
target to halve emissions, ideally by 2030. Net-zero carbon targets should cover emissions
from all material sources across Scope 1, 2 and
3.
3. Measure and record embodied carbon of new developments and major refurbishments.
Embodied carbon
in new developments and major refurbishments
refers to the carbon emissions that are produced
primarily before a building becomes operational
and when it is decommissioned. Emissions are
typically generated by activities such as extraction
of raw materials, transport to facilities, construction
of a building, refurbishment and demolition and
waste management at end-of-life. These emissions
constitute a significant proportion of all emissions
from the built environment. Around 38% of global
emissions come from the building and construction
sectors. Of this 38%, 10% come from embodied
carbon. These emissions are estimated to account
for close 50% of the entire carbon footprint of new
construction between now and 2050.
4. Maximize emissions reductions for all new developments and major refurbishments in the pipeline to ensure delivery of net-zero carbon (operational and embodied) by the selected final target year.
The first step
to reducing embodied carbon is to understand
the different elements of a building and its typical
lifetime. Elements such as the foundation, structure,
and façade will last considerably longer than the
services, interior and other elements. Therefore,
careful design and selection of materials will ensure
durability and adaptability to future circumstances.
5. Drive energy optimization across both existing assets and new developments.
Energy optimization
is the implementation of both design and operational
measures to ensure that a building is using the
minimum energy required for the functions it needs
to perform. The ambition of energy optimization
measures varies. At the lowest level, maintenance
measures can be implemented, such as renewing
insulation of hot water pipework, increasing the
frequency of filter replacement in air distribution
systems, or adjusting start/stop times of plants. At an
intermediate level, both proactive energy monitoring
and retro-commissioning of buildings can take place.
These interventions could include the installation of
sub-metering, recalibration of temperature sensors, or
rebalancing heating/cooling systems. At the highest
level, companies could invest in capital projects such
as the installation of a hybrid of fan coil units or of
hybrid variable refrigerant flow systems. In tandem
with energy-efficient technology, it is important to
ensure that building services are electric, enabling
them to benefit from renewable energy generation.
6. Maximize supply of on-site renewable energy.
Even after all energy efficiency measures are
implemented, there will still be a need for energy to
power buildings. To comply with net-zero carbon,
a company should ensure this energy comes from
renewable sources. According to the International
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), renewable
energy includes all forms of energy produced from
renewable sources in a sustainable manner, including
bioenergy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean
energy, solar energy, and wind energy.
Companies should first look to identify how much
electricity they can generate themselves from
renewable sources.
7. Ensure 100% off-site energy is procured from renewable-backed sources, where available.
For many companies, it will be unlikely that their
entire energy demand can be met from onsite renewable sources. Therefore, identifying
renewable sources from which energy can be
procured is the next step. There are many types
of renewable energy procurement contracts
available and not all of them guarantee the same
quality of renewable energy. Therefore, this
Action Plan develops a hierarchy of renewable
energy procurement options.
8. Engage with stakeholders with whom you
have influence in your value chain to reduce
Scope 3 emissions.
Emissions classified as Scope 3 are the emissions
that a company indirectly impacts in its value chain.
These emissions often comprise the most significant
portion of emissions for a company, especially
for building owners and developers. It is therefore
important to identify ways to reduce these emissions,
and this Action Plan suggests that stakeholders
reduce them anywhere that they have influence and
can engage with those who influence them directly.
9. Procure high-quality carbon offsets to compensate for residual emissions.
Carbon offsetting is the
idea that the carbon emissions generated through
an activity can be compensated for by financially
supporting a project elsewhere that prevents or
removes the equivalent amount of carbon from
the atmosphere. . It is
very likely that – even if a company undertakes all
efforts on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and
embodied carbon – they will still have emissions
that they cannot avoid. Companies are allowed
to use carbon offsetting to compensate for these
emissions. Companies should demonstrate that
they have made serious efforts to reduce their
emissions by the previously outlined means first
before they proceed to procure carbon offsets.
10. Engage with stakeholders to identify joint endeavours and equitably share costs and benefits of interventions.
While green buildings are increasingly recognized by
the market as being more valuable, delivering net-zero
carbon is a financial commitment. It goes above
the current standard energy management plans
that most companies have in place. One of the first
questions companies will often ask is “Who pays?”
This question is often asked by building owners
and investors since the benefits of energy efficiency
optimization and renewable energy supply are often
gained by the occupiers. This split incentive in the
industry is well known, and historically, attempts to
share cost burdens across this divide have not been
successful.
