The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has announced new and existing signatories to the updated Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, including the GPT Group. The industry leaders are taking ambitious action to combat climate change by committing to decarbonise both operational and embodied emissions from their building portfolios.
Santiago de Cali (Cali) in Colombia has become a new city signatory to the Commitment and C40’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Accelerator, committing to implementing policies and regulations to accelerate the uptake of net zero buildings.
The commitment now has a total of 172 signatories, which includes 137 businesses and organisations, 29 cities, and six states and regions.
The businesses and organisations signed up to the commitment now account for approximately 7.3 million (tCO2e) of portfolio emissions annually, nearly 20,000 assets and more than $427 billion annual turnover.
Business signatories are displaying industry leadership in the built environment, committing to sustareduce and compensate all operational emissions for assets over which they have direct control. As part of the updated commitment, they will also maximise embodied carbon emissions reductions for new developments and major renovations by 2030, compensating for any remaining residual upfront embodied carbon emissions as part of a whole lifecycle approach.
As a city signatory, Cali is committed to enacting regulations and/or planning policy within jurisdictional control to ensure new buildings operate at net zero operational carbon by 2030 and all buildings by 2050.
Cali’s administration demonstrates high ambition to create significant impact, and unequivocally generate momentum within the wider community, showing other governments and organisations the climate leadership being undertaken to secure our future on the planet.
Cali joins 28 other cities around the world that have made this commitment including Medellín, another city in Colombia, that has also committed to taking these ambitious actions.
Cristina Gamboa, CEO of the World Green Building Council said she was delighted to announce the latest group of signatories to WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, each showing industry leadership.
“The GPT Group are already delivering on their commitment, achieving upfront embodied carbon neutrality on a recent development.
“Cali is implementing local policy and regulations to deliver on the Colombian National Roadmap to Net Zero Carbon Buildings.
“Together, these signatories represent the diverse cohort of leaders participating in and accelerating change through the commitment. It is more crucial than ever that industry leaders and policymakers step up and take accelerated action within their local region and markets, paving the way forward and encouraging mainstream uptake of net zero buildings.
As the leading initiative focused on climate action in the built environment, the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment continues to grow exponentially, complementing initiatives such as the Race to Zero, Science Based Targets and The Climate Pledge. The commitment’s signatories take action to reduce and compensate for all portfolio operational carbon emissions by 2030 or earlier, and maximise reductions of embodied carbon in new developments or major renovations, compensating for any residual emissions. Signatories demonstrate annual progress via reporting and verification protocols.
