A coalition of leading green building organisations has unveiled a groundbreaking guide aimed at facilitating the $35 trillion investment needed by 2030 to meet global energy transition goals.
The guide, titled Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, provides practical insights on leveraging building certification standards to comply with global classifications and bond frameworks.
The initiative comes at a critical time, as buildings account for over 30 per cent of global energy use and more than a quarter of emissions.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that most existing buildings will still be standing in 2050, necessitating large-scale capital investments for sustainable retrofits.
Gillian Charlesworth, CEO of BRE, hailed the guide as “a testament to the unified international commitment to tackling climate change head-on”.
She emphasised its role in unlocking significant capital to drive essential decarbonisation efforts in the built environment.
Davina Rooney, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), highlighted the guide’s potential to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.
“The $35 trillion investment needed represents almost 10 per cent of the value of global real estate,” Rooney noted, underscoring the massive scale of required investments.
The guide integrates major building certification systems like BREEAM, Green Mark, Green Star, HQE, LEED, and NABERS, providing a robust framework for unlocking sustainable finance.
It also champions a holistic approach by incorporating health and social outcomes as critical investment metrics.
Peter Templeton, President and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), emphasised that the benefits of investing in sustainable buildings extend beyond decarbonisation, including “measurable improvements to occupant health, community resilience and ecosystem restoration”.
The international alliance behind the guide includes the UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and Alliance HQE-GBC France.
This collaboration marks a significant step towards accelerating global climate action in the built environment sector.
The full guide is now available for industry professionals, investors, and policymakers to access and implement, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient future in the global built environment.
