Avison Young backs global effort to reduce embodied carbon

Avison Young has formally endorsed the World Green Building Council (WGBC) report entitled Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront as one of more than 80 signatories. This endorsement coincides with the 10th annual World Green Building Week and comes in the wake of the Global Climate Strike (held September 20) demanding climate action to target net zero.

The report sets out a bold new vision for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can have 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve 100% net zero emissions by 2050. In order to achieve these targets, the industry must act together, with owners, occupiers, developers, investors, architects and consultants all leading the charge on change.

There are signs that the industry is taking the global call to action seriously as well. On Friday, the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) published the BBP Members Climate Commitment, a pledge by 23 owners – who, collectively, have more than £300 billion of assets under management (in excess of 11,000 buildings) – to reach net zero by 2050 and, in 2020, publish their pathways to reach that goal.

A fundamental part of the carbon reduction strategy is reducing (and, eventually, negating) the impact of embodied carbon, which the WGBC defines as carbon emitted during the construction process and material manufacturing; hence, Avison Young endorsed the WGBC report. Another key part of the strategy is to reduce upfront carbon, which the report refers to as carbon released before the built asset is used.

It is clear that a radical change in industry co-ordination and co-operation is needed to ensure the required market transformation to mainstream net zero, and that the real estate industry cannot act in isolation. Promoting cross-sector collaboration is crucial, particularly as governments look to embed targets into policy and other regulatory frameworks. Innovative approaches are necessary to engage and deliver across industries – and deliver tangible results that, as a minimum, impact and satisfy the required standards.

The result of all of this is a clear mandate for the real estate industry to take action and bring its sustainability agenda to the forefront of operations. Avison Young is well-positioned as an industry leader in sustainability consulting to assist our clients in both putting together net-zero-carbon pathways and delivering on them. We see this service as good business sense and an investment in assets as well as the planet, ensuring that all of our buildings are better for everyone whilst protecting the future for our planet. The recent industry focus on climate issues clearly shows that those organisations that don’t keep up risk falling behind and losing value over time.

To discuss how Avison Young can help your business lead the change and what services we can offer, please do get in touch.

You can read the WGBC Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront report here.

(Tom Malcolm Green is a Graduate Surveyor based in Avison Young’s London-Gresham Street office. He is a member of the company’s U.K. sustainability team.)