MAKING THE BUILDING SECTOR CLIMATE FRIENDLY

THE PROBLEM

The building sector accounts for up to 30 per cent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes up to 40 per cent of all energy. It also provides the greatest potential for significantly cutting emissions, at low cost, in both developed and developing countries.
Collectively the building sector is responsible for about 40 per cent of global resource consumption, including 12 per cent of all fresh-water use, and produces up to 40 per cent of our solid waste. The sector is estimated to be worth 10 per cent of global GDP (USD7.5 trillion) and employs 111 million people. With urbanization increasing in the world’s most populous countries, building sustainably is essential to achieving climate mitigation and sustainable development.

THE SOLUTION

UNEP launched the Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI) in 2006 to promote sustainable building and construction practices. The initiative has nearly 50 partners and collaborators representing all segments of the building sector, including contractors and developers, designers and engineers, local and national authorities, real estate companies, Green Building councils, professional associations and other non-governmental organizations. UNEP-SBCI draws on UNEP’s capacity to provide a global platform for collective action, utilizing its network and partnerships to develop reports, tools, and methodologies to promote sustainable building policies and practices.
Tools developed by UNEP-SBCI include:

• the Common Carbon Metric (CCM), a protocol for measuring energy consumption and calculating greenhouse gas emissions from building operations that is intended to meet international Measurable, Reportable, and Verifiable (MRV) standards
• the Quick Scan Policy Tool, developed in conjunction with the Central European University as an online platform for policymakers to assess their policy environment and develop policy packages to strengthen sustainable building practices in their jurisdictions.
• “State of Play” reports on sustainable buildings in India, France, several countries in Southeast Asia and more data-intensive “Baseline Emission and Reduction Potential” reports for South Africa and Mexico, with more reports in progress for the United States and Colombia.

THE IMPACTS

The work of UNEP-SBCI, including the initiative’s tools and strategies is informing policy-making worldwide. The Common Carbon Metric (CCM) has become the basis for a new international standard to measure the climate impact of building operations currently being developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). This effort will result in a better understanding of energy consumption and GHG emissions from buildings, and provide a globally applicable methodology for measurement and reporting. UNEP has incorporated the CCM in a project proposal to assist governments in Asia to develop Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) for the building sector.

SUPPORT

Private sector companies, government and local authorities, non-governmental organizations and research institutions organizations, including the Central European University, the Gulf Organization for Research and Development in Qatar, the Institute for Industrial Sciences at the University of Tokyo, the T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Center for a Sustainable Built Environment at New York University; Governments of Norway and Finland.

WEBSITE

• www.unep.org/sbci

SUCCESS STORY

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water has adopted the CCM tool for the building component of its Low Carbon Cities Framework and Assessment System (LCCF), applying it to buildings in Cyberjaya and with future plans to apply it in four other townships in Malaysia. The CCM assists in establishing a baseline so that the effectiveness of retrofits and policy interventions can be effectively measured.

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