WorldGBC’s Advancing Net Zero project grows in strength with two new GBCs

Two additional Green Building Councils (GBCs) have officially joined the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC’s) Advancing Net Zero project, bringing the total number of participating councils to 29.

Based on the Advancing Net Zero framework and best practice principles, Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) and Chile Green Building Council (ChileGBC) have identified activities within their workstreams and markets to promote the benefits of net zero buildings at the start of a crucial decade for decarbonisation efforts.

PLGBC is collaborating with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to convene relevant national stakeholders to develop a whole life decarbonisation roadmap for the Polish building and construction sector. The roadmap will clarify the actions, timelines and roles needed to achieve net zero. It will catalyse updates to relevant public policies to cover whole-life carbon and build sustained and co-ordinated capacity across businesses to prioritise actions that maximise organisational efficiencies and climate impact.

PLGBC is also an active member of the European Regional Network and therefore involved in the Build Upon2 project that helps cities lead the change towards net zero carbon by 2050 through developing strategies and solutions to scale up energy-efficient building renovation.

ChileGBC, having recently achieved Established GBC status, are keen to bring Advancing Net Zero to their market, and have already begun to host events to raise awareness on the urgency and principles of achieving net zero buildings.

They participate and act as Vice-Chair of the National Carbon Footprint Strategy for the Construction Sector of Chile, convening government ministries and NGOs to build a roadmap of actions towards the decarbonisation of the built environment. This three-year programme looks to collect information and examples of projects and policies that tackle carbon emission throughout the whole building lifecycle. It also aims to address the lack of data for embodied and operational carbon, which is needed to allow the setting of goals and protocols for measurement and verification with a life cycle approach, and at the scale of materials, buildings, infrastructure and cities.

The addition of two further GBCs participating in Advancing Net Zero emphasises the importance of this project for those at the forefront, driving net zero in the built environment, as well as the growing engagement from Green Building Councils and their markets to advance sector decarbonisation goals.

Alicja Kuczera, CEO of PLGBC said, “The decarbonisation of the built environment is the most important goal of our industry. We must all work together to achieve net zero carbon buildings. The 2015 Paris Agreement makes it clear: by 2050 we must decarbonise the global economy, and construction is one of these pillars. Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) aspires to be a precursor and leader of this change in our country, to work with all stakeholders, including the government, to decarbonise Polish buildings and the construction industry. Joining WorldGBC’s global project ‘Advancing Net Zero’ is one of the key activities in this area. Working together with the international community of green building councils will allow PLGBC to draw experience from other countries more advanced in these processes and strengthen our community’s voice on this important issue.”

María Fernanda Aguirre, CEO of ChileGBC said, “Chile Green Building Council has been performing and supporting the training of the construction industry main actors and stakeholders on different topics such as Science Based Targets initiative, TCFD, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), ecolabels and circular economy. The role of Chile GBC is, in addition to being technical, also binding in terms of our ability to convene different actors in the industry and also to agree on the public and private vision of the decarbonization of construction in Chile. And that is why the commitment of joining ‘Advancing Net Zero’ is a natural step for the work that, as a corporation, we have been doing for some time.”

Victoria Burrows, Director of Advancing Net Zero said, “We are pleased to welcome Polish and Chile Green Building Councils to the Advancing Net Zero project, to support the work they are doing to establish the building and construction sector as critical action areas to achieve local carbon emission reduction targets”.

Across WorldGBC’s network of around 70 national Green Building Councils, various global, regional and national initiatives are underway to support the uptake of net zero buildings, develop industry capacity, and advance the building and construction sector towards total decarbonisation.

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