06.07.2011 UNEP-SBCI Partners are invited to the International Green Building Conference 2011 in Singapore

The biennial International Green Building Conference 2011 (IGBC 2011) will be held from 13 to 16 September in Singapore. Themed "Build Green. Act Now." IGBC 2011 is a showcase event of the Singapore Green Building Week 2011, which is hosted by the Building and Construction Authority, Singapore. It encompasses a series of regional events on sustainable development solutions that engage policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners.

The conference will build on its previous success by continuing to focus on hot topics such as tropical architecture and green building case studies. In addition, it will examine new topics with emphasis on sustainable construction, buildings of the future as well as sustainable operations and maintenance. Participants will have ample opportunities to interact through the various workshops and networking events. The conference will also be held alongside the Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia exhibition, which features eco-friendly, energy efficient building materials, design and architecture for the future of sustainable environments. One of the highlights of the Week is the specially designed Green Mark Tours, where participants will visit and learn about the operations of exemplary green buildings in Singapore.

Register for the International Green Building Conference 2011 today! Partners of UNEP-SBCI will get to enjoy 10% off the Conference Fee (Category A).

www.sgbw.com.sg

27.05.2011 2011 UNEP-SBCI AGM & Symposium are a Resounding Success

The 2011 UNEP-SBCI Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Symposium on Sustainable Buildings were held in Leverkusen, Germany on 23-24 May 2011. Over 120 participants attended the Symposium and both events were a resounding success. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Bayer MaterialScience AG for graciously hosting the AGM & Symposium.

• To review the outcomes from the AGM click here

• To download the Symposium presentations, click here

29.04.11 New Partners in 2011

We would like to welcome eight new Partners to the UNEP-SBCI.

• B+H Architects, Canada
  
  
• City of Montréal
  
  
• European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois), Belgium
  
  
• Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
  


• SECOVI SP, Brazil
  
  
• SOMFY, France
  
  
• SSRCx, USA
  


• TAKAOKA S.A., Brazil
  

Thanks to all our Partners for their on-going support!

15.03.11 Outcomes: UNEP-SBCI/ UNFCCC/ World Bank expert workshop, 14 March 2011.

Since its inception, UNEP-SBCI has participated in the UNFCCC process to try and raise awareness of the role of buildings in achieving climate change mitigation targets. At the joint UNEP-SBCI/ UNFCCC and World Bank workshop, in March 2011, technical experts and high level representatives met to discuss the role of buildings in international climate change mitigation action, and especially in the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto protocol.

The discussion included: role of buildings in the CDM, the opportunity of promoting building energy efficiency through NAMAs, the possibility for the UNEP-SBCI’s Common Carbon Metric (CCM) to help shape future CDM methodology, as well as the challenges and opportunities of building energy modelling in measuring, verifying and reporting greenhouse gas reductions under UNFCCC flexible mechanisms.

Important issues for further work were identified in the workshop, providing the basis for a continued and reinforced collaboration. The UNFCCC secretariat, recognizing the critical role buildings play, is truly giving the building sector high priority and their full attention. Further, UNEP-SBCI’s CCM was recognized for its potential to provide capacity building and base-lining and participants identified specific needs and requirements for the future development of building-specific NAMA and CDM methodologies.

UNEP-SBCI is now working jointly with the World Bank, the UNFCCC and other technical experts to identify and plan for further cooperation and collaboration as we work to transform this challenge into an opportunity over the coming year.

Read the full report

31.03.11 A new report from UNEP-SBCI addressing Education Policy for Sustainable Buildings

The Guidelines for Education Policy for Sustainable Built Environments provide a synthesis of sustainability education for key stakeholders in the built environment. It sets out a suite of policy priorities, learning aims, strategies and case-study curricula that can provide a basis for education and capacity building supporting design, construction and management of sustainable buildings and settlements.

15.03.11 Groundbreaking report released by Oxford Economics and Global Construction Perspectives.

The Oxford Economics and Global Construction Perspectives have just released a major report on a global forecast for the construction industry over the next decade to 2020. The report highlights trends and values in the sector for the next decade, with specific interest given to the fastest growing construction markets of China and India, but also Indonesia and Russia.

The report reinforces the role of emerging markets in driving the market, and provides an analysis of impacts of the economic crisis on the built environment in developed countries.

Download the Executive Summary

Find out more about the report

25.02.11. UNEP Building for the Future: New headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Presenting the new office facility of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi, Kenya, Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, said: “the design and construction of new buildings – and the refitting of existing ones – represents one of the key, low cost ways of combating climate change while reducing electricity bills and dependence on fossil fuels.”

UNEP followed this idea to construct a smart and sustainable building, including bioclimatic orientation, natural ventilation, energy generation through solar panels, efficient lighting, water saving appliances, and environmentally-friendly materials. The design and construction was done in collaboration with local experts, that provided a unique perspective on locally-appropriate techniques, while taking into consideration the requests of future occupants.

Download the building presentation booklet !

UNEP Green Economy Report: Buildings Chapter released

The UNEP-led GreenEconomy Initiative was launched in October 2008 to assist governments and other decision-makers in shaping and focusing policies, investments, and public spending towards low-carbon and environmentally-friendly sectors, such as clean technologies, renewable energies, green buildings and construction and sustainable transport.

The overall objective of this initiative is to make the case to significantly increase investment in the environment as a means of promoting sustainable economic growth, decent job creation and poverty reduction, while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions, extracting and using fewer natural resources and creating less waste.

A key output is the Green Economy Report , which explains core principles and concepts for the transition to a green economy, covering eleven sectors such as transport, buildings, industry and water.

UNEP-SBCI Members and Partners were involved in developing the Buildings’ chapter: read the advance copy of the “Buildings” chapter online !

One chapter of the report also focuses on cities, positioned as the platform for delivering environmental sustainability and economic growth. Read the “Cities” chapter !
UNEP thanks all UNEP-SBCI Partners involved in writing, contributing to or reviewing this ground-breaking report!

UNEP-SBCI brings together UNFCCC and the World Bank in an expert workshop in March 2011

It will be a milestone moment for UNEP-SBCI this March as 30 technical experts in building energy efficiency and veteran Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) practitioners from across the globe meet for the first time at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

After months of collaborating with the World Bank and the UNFCCC, UNEP-SBCI has pulled together an ambitious agenda that deals with the challenges faced by building energy efficiency projects in the CDM and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) program. Niclas Svenningsen with UNEP-SBCI will be leading the day’s discussions and presentations as experts cover building energy modelling, the Common Carbon Metric, as well as opportunities for building energy efficiency in the development of NAMAs. Program participants from Mexico, China and India will provide reports from the field, presenting the challenges they have faced and the successes achieved with the UNFCCC flexible mechanisms for buildings.

We are looking forward to a very productive workshop and are excited to see how UNEP-SBCI’s efforts such as the Common Carbon Metric and the experience of our initiative can help shape future policy and methodological tools at the UNFCCC!

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to include UNEP-SBCI work

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a trade organization which includes 21 member countries over four continents, will hold two weeks of Senior Officials Meetings in Washington in early March. As part of these senior-level meetings, APEC will host a two-day workshop 3-4 March 2011 on “Green Buildings and Green Growth: The Enabling Role of Standards and Trade.” Niclas Svenningsen, Head of the Sustainable United Nations Unit, and Edward Anggadjaja, from the Building Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore (a UNEP-SBCI Partner), have been invited to present the work of UNEP-SBCI, sustainable building policies in Singapore, and joint UNEP-SBCI/BCA sustainable buildings initiatives in Southeast Asia.

World Best Practices Magazine highlights UNEP-SBCI

In their most recent issue, UNEP-SBCI Partner the World Best Practices Magazine published a special report on UNEP-SBCI as well as a summary of the Fall 2010 Symposium held in Shanghai.

Download the PDF (Chinese and English).

The magazine also includes information about the Sixth Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS VI), to be held 7-8 April in New York at the UN Headquarters and UN Millennium Plaza Hotel. UNEP-SBCI will be represented at this forum, which will focus on the theme: Building Low Carbon Cities: A Response to Climate Change. Find out more about GFHS VI.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón praises Broad Group’s Pavilion

On December 10, 2010, Mexican President Felipe Calderón spoke at the BROAD Pavilion during the UNFCCC 16th Conference of Parties in Cancun. The Pavilion, built in eight days for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, and the venue for UNEP-SBCI’s Fall 2010 Symposium, was transported and reassembled in Cancun by UNEP-SBCI Partner the BROAD Group as a demonstration to COP16 delegates.

The president brought forward the different qualities of the pavilion (ease of construction, earthquake proofing, energy efficiency…) and emphasized the environmental and economic benefits of sustainable building. The president was very positively impressed by the performance of the pavilion, and extremely happy to announce that the building would serve as a learning opportunity for students at the University of Technology in Cancun. Finally, he stressed the importance of building partnerships to allow for innovative technology transfer and of greater international collaboration to reach an agreement in international negotiations and effectively combat climate change.

Read the President’s speech.

UNEP-SBCI at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16), 29 Nov. 2010- 10 Dec.2010

UNEP-SBCI was represented at three side-events at the UNFCCC 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) in Cancun in November-December 2010.

• Sustainable Building Practices in Affordable Mass Housing: Latin America and other developing countries, 1st December 2010.

This side-event, organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Center for Built Environment India (CBE), focused on sustainable practices for social housing program.

The event brought together Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Director of TERI, Mr. Juan Pablo Bonilla, Chief of Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Unit at IDB, Ms. Mara Murillo, Deputy Director UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), and Ms. Mili Majumdar and Ms. Priyanka Kochhar, TERI. Each organization presented their work on sustainable social housing in their region, specifically in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. UNEP’s Sustainable Social Housing Initiative (SUSHI) was presented in this side-event.

• The Building Sector: Reducing climate change impacts through non-legislative action, 4 December 2010.

This side-event, organized by Yale University Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI), focused on defining new priorities based on scientific knowledge to reduce the buildings sector energy use, including action from the business sector, defining metrics, and identifying key policies and tools for sustainable buildings. Ms. Sylvie Lemmet, Director of UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE), presented the UNEP-SBCI’s Common Carbon Metric and potential for collaboration with Yale’s work on metrics for measurement of GHG emissions from buildings. Speakers included Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC and Director of TERI, Dr. Ajay Mathur- Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency of the Government of India, Dr. Peter Hennicke of the Wuppertal Institute, and Dr. Michelle Addington, Professor at the Yale University.

• Sharing best practices for affordable and sustainable housing, December 6.

Ms. Mara Murillo, Deputy Director of UNEP ROLAC, presented UNEP’s building initiatives (UNEP-SBCI, SUSHI, SPoD) in this side-event organized by UNEP-SBCI Partner CEMEX and the Mexico Green Building Council.

UNEP-SBCI in Climate Action

UNEP-SBCI participated in the publication “Climate Action”, released at COP16. Ms. Maria Atkinson, Chair of UNEP-SBCI Board, provided an article presenting the message of the initiative’s partners, and the work being developed by UNEP-SBCI to provide the measurement and reporting tools to measure buildings energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. These tools are a pre-requisite to unlock buildings potential for climate change mitigation, through greater recognition in international agreements and in financing mechanisms including CDM, NAMAs, or national schemes.

Read the article page 34!

World Forum Lille 2010, France: The Responsible Company

On 24 November 2010, UNEP-SBCI Coordinator Curt Garrigan attended the 2010 World Forum Lille, focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR). In the plenary session, Mr. Paul King, CEO of the UK Green Building Council, stressed the importance of sustainable buildings globally, as well as to individual companies’ CSR strategy. Mr. Garrigan presented the work of UNEP-SBCI and moderated the afternoon session “Sustainable Buildings: how to minimize the environmental footprint of your buildings and optimize their impacts on society”. Panelists were Mr. Claude Lenglet, Scientific Director of the French property development company Rabot Dutilleul, Mr. Julio Santamaria, Sustainable Development Manager of UNEP-SBCI Partner CEMEX, and Mr. Paul King, UKGBC.

About the World Forum!

7th International Green Habitat Forum, by China Merchants Group.

On November 2, 2010, Peter Graham travelled to Chengdu, China, to present UNEP-SBCI at the 7th International Green Habitat Forum. In this conference, the regional director of China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development repeatedly cited the UNEP-SBCI Buildings and Climate Change Summary for Decision Makers as a reference for definition of policy priorities. Several partner organizations expressed interest in further developing UNEP-SBCI activities in China.

One of the highlights of the Forum was the visit to a school in Chengdu that had collapsed during the earthquakes in 2008. The school had been re-built by famous Japanese architect Shiguru Ban using his card-board tube construction technique. Developers are still looking for funds and volunteers to complete the work. For more information, please contact the Secretariat.

Read more about the forum

Business for Environment (B4E) Climate Summit 2010: Call to Action

In October 2010, the Business for Environment (B4E) special Climate Summit brought together business leaders from influential Mexican and global companies in the lead to the Cancun Climate Talks (COP16). Companies acknowledged the role of business to address climate change and call for concrete and focused policy decisions to unlock the potential for a green economy. UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said, “Many businesses including those at the B4E Summit are signaling leadership and seizing the opportunities of the climate change challenge. (…) Governments at the UN climate convention meeting in Cancun and beyond have a responsibility to support these aims and actions by signaling their determination to set the kinds of national and global policy frameworks able to accelerate and sustain these transformations”.

The summit resulted in the publication of a business Call to Action including specific requirements for the building sector, closely based on the UNEP-SBCI 2009 Call to Action. Businesses are calling for governments to provide policy measures, instruments, and tools to establish baselines, set benchmarks, improve energy efficiency and achieve deep GHG reductions.

Access the statement.

More information on the B4E summit.

Sustainable buildings recognized at MCED6 as key issue for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific (27 Sept. - 2 Oct.2010).

The 6th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific (MCED6) was convened in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the objective to set out the course for sustainable development and sustainable development under the “Green Growth” umbrella in Asia and the Pacific for 2011-2015. The conference was attended by some 500 participants including ministers for environment and development from over 40 countries.

As part of MCED6, UNEP-SBCI joined forces with the United Nations Development Programme, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to organize the International Energy Efficiency Forum. Recommendations from this forum were presented to the high-level segment of MCED6 where the Implementation Plan for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific 2010-2015 was adopted.

The Plan identifies the sustainable and eco-efficient approaches to sustainable housing, with innovative financing measures also enabling pro-poor housing programmes, as essential elements for sustainable development in the region. The Plan is underpinned by a Ministerial Declaration where countries commit to implement the Plan and to develop measures and programs in support thereof.

Access the Ministerial Declaration.

Access the Implementation Plan.

Bridging the Energy Gap on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (bigEE), Wuppertal Institute

UNEP-SBCI is part of the Advisory Board of the bigEE project: Bridging the Information Gap on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. This project, led by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, aims at raising awareness and providing information on the benefits of increased energy efficiency in new and existing buildings. The advisory board includes representatives of the International Energy Agency, WBCSD, Central European University, the Low-Carbon Eco-City Research Center of CSUS (China), Prayas Energy Group (India), LBNL (USA), TopTen (Switzerland) and UNEP-SBCI.

More information.

SB10/SB11 conferences, by CIB, iiSBE and UNEP

There is still time to attend one of the last two SB10 conferences, jointly organized by CIB, iiSBE and UNEP. SB10 Western Europe - Toward 0-Impact Buildings and Environments: The Euregion Facing a Second Transition, will be held on 11-13 October 2010 in Maastricht, Hasselt, Liège and Aachen. SB10 São Paulo - Instrumenting Change will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, on 8-9 November 2010.

Find out more about the SB10/SB11 conference series!

UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010

On 23-25 June 2010, in New York, USA, UNEP-SBCI will participate in the 2010 UN Global Compact Leaders Summit- Building a New Era of Sustainability. The UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010 will provide the platform for organizations to convene, collaborate and commit to building a new era of sustainability – an era where environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are deeply integrated into business based on both material and ethical rationales. At the Summit, leaders will collectively tackle priority areas that are central to corporate leadership today and essential for the transformation to sustainable markets and the achievement of societal goals.

A highlight of the Summit will be the announcement of new partnerships between business and the UN in support of UN goals, especially the MDGs. A total of 15 UN partnerships have been profiled, including partnerships to help eradicate poverty, hunger, promote gender equality and empower women, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and for environmental sustainability. UNEP-SBCI is part of these 15 partnerships, and will be especially highlighted as an innovative and successful UN-business partnership. Find out more!

UNEP-SBCI Annual General Meeting and Symposium 2010

The UNEP-SBCI Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on 18 May 2010 in Paris, France. At the AGM, UNEP-SBCI Partners adopted a new structure and logo for the initiative, as well as the work plan and budget for the upcoming year. The 2010-2011 Board of Directors was elected, and new UNEP-SBCI Committees were launched. Find out more!
The Symposium on Sustainable Buildings took place on 19-20 May 2010, including an expert panel on sustainable buildings, the launch of the pilot of the Common Carbon Metric, and a tour of the FIRST Tower at La Défense, Paris, France. Learn more about the Symposium!

UNEP-SBCI thanks Sustainable Building Alliance for hosting the very successful AGM and Symposium! Thank you also to the China Merchants Property Development Co.Ltd for a memorable 2010 partnership dinner!

Ten Sustainable Buildings conferences - This year

Ten SB conferences will take place this year as part of the SB-series sponsored by iiSBE, CIB and UNEP on a three-year cycle. The first of the 2010 regional events took place during 20-24 February on the campus of Hanyang University in Seoul. The conference chairs were Dr. Sungwoo Shin, Dean of Engineering, and Jang-Yeol Sohn, President of the Korea Institute of Architects.

In addition to a selection of 140+ high-quality refereed technical papers, several keynote speakers of interest made presentations, including Mahjoub Elnimeiri of IIT in Chicago, S.K. Ghosh, a U.S. consultant, Jay Golden from Arizona State University, Shuzo Mrakami, CEO of BRI in Japan, Ken Yeang, architect (Malaysia and UK), Ronald Rovers from Zuyd University in Netherlands, Noguchi Takafumi, Tokyo University ,Toshiharu Ikaga, Keio University, Raymond Cole, UBC in Canada, and Nils Larsson, Executive Director of iiSBE.
More information here

Happy New Year!

The SBCI Secretariat wishes you a very happy 2010!

UNEP-SBCI at COP 15 in Copenhagen

The Common Carbon Metric for measuring energy use and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from building operations was officially launched at COP15 in Copenhagen on 11 December 2009. The event was hosted in the EU Pavilion by the Ministry of the Environment of Finland and the Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Buildings and Construction and organized in cooperation with UNEP-SBCI, UNEP FI and ADEME. It was well attended by representatives from delegations and observer organizations, including several senior level representatives.

... "No government – let it be in an industrialized or in a developing country – can leave buildings out of its policy toolbox if it wants to save energy and reach serious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets", stated the Minister of Housing of Finland, Mr. Jan Vapaavuori, who opened the meeting. UNEP DTIE's Director, Sylvie Lemmet, then presented the new UNEP SBCI report "Buildings and Climate Change - Summary for Decision Makers" highlighting the opportunities for drastic emission reductions in the building sector and outlining a step-by-step approach to harnessing these opportunities. She also called upon the negotiators at COP15 to make the building sector count in the outcome of negotiations, and to put in place an agreement that will support emission reduction in the building sector at international, national and local levels.

Professor Diana Urge-Vorsatz, lead author for the buildings chapter in the 4th IPCC report, presented new research showing that the emission reduction potential in buildings is in fact much higher than was presented in the IPCC report. Every new building we build and every building we renovate have the promise to make or break a low carbon footprint for decades to come - this is an opportunity we simply cannot afford to lose, she said. Mr Hewson Baltzell, of UNEP's Finance Inititiatives presented the overwhelmingly positive business case for emission reductions from buildings, using the landmark building Empire State Building in new York as an example.

The chairman for SBCI's think tank on climate change, Mr. Stéphane Pouffary of ADEME, introduced the Common Carbon Metric, highlighting the importance of now finally having one common tool - a common language - in place to provide an internationally coherent and consistent method for measuring the climate footprint of buildings. A big thank you was given to all the many organizations and experts who have contributed to establishing this metric. Finally, Ms. Priyanka Kochhar from TERI in New Delhi presented the situation in India, confirming that the opportunity for emission reduction in buildings is also recognized and pursued in Indian policy making.

The participants to the event had several questions and comments, which were welcoming the Common Carbon Metrics as an important step forward. The event was followed by a press conference at the main media center in COP15.

The event is the fifth time UNEP-SBCI and partners formally organize side events as part of the UNFCCC negotiation process. In COP15, as in previous meetings, the side event is complemented with bilateral discussions and informal information meetings with delegations.

• Webcast and presentations from the Side Event can be accessed at: http://www.se2009.eu/1.26268


• Press Release from UNEP can be accessed at: >> Click Here


• Press Conference can be viewed at: >> Click Here


• Relevant reports, including the Common Carbon Metric and the Buildings and Climate Change report can be accessed at: http://www.unep.org/sbci

Please send us links to views of the event such as: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2125

Portugal SB10: Sustainable Building Affordable to All

The international conference Portugal SB10 will take place in Vilamoura, Algarve (Portugal), from 17 to 19 March 2009. SB10 is coorganized by iiSBE Portugal and Universidade do Minho, Instituto Superior Técnico. This event is part of the international Sustainable Building conference series which will lead to the worldwide conference of iiSBE, CIB and UNEP in 2011.

This conference will be focused on Low Cost Effective Solutions for Sustainable Construction.

It is supported by CIB, UNEP and iiSBE, and will account with the participation of a set of internationally recognized keynote speakers, such as Charles Kibert, Raymond Cole, Nils Larsson, Thomas Lützkendorf, Kaarin Taipale and Ronals Rovers.

For more details about the conference please visit: http://www.iisbeportugal.org/portugalsb10/

Or contact the Portugal SB10 Secretariat: sb10@iisbeportugal.org

Special announcement: International Green Building Conference, 28-30 October 2009, Singapore

In line with the Singapore government’s commitment to create a better, greener living environment, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is organizing the inaugural International Green Building Conference (IGBC) 2009 in Singapore on 28-30 October 2009.

Themed “Build Green, The Future is Now” and held back to back with the UNEP-SBCI Round Tables and the BEX Asia exhibition, IGBC 2009 will focus on green issues concerning the industry, with an emphasis on green building technologies and green building designs. IGBC 2009 is the anchor event of the Singapore Green Building Week, which happens from 26 October – 1 November 2009.  The Singapore Green Building Week will also feature the official opening of Singapore’s first Zero Energy Building - one of the first of its kinds in the world. Participants of IGBC will have the opportunity to visit outstanding green buildings including the Zero Energy Building, as part of the BCA Green Mark Tours.  For more information on IGBC 2009, please visit www.igbc.com.sg.

We are pleased to inform you that UNEP-SBCI members are eligible for a special discount of 30% off the conference rates!  BCA would also like to invite you to sign up early to enjoy an additional early bird discount of 10% if you register for IGBC 2009 before 31 August 2009. Please proceed tohttp://www.igbc.com.sg/registration_form.phpto register now.

Annual Meetings & Symposium on Buildings & Climate Change, Washington D.C.

UNEP SBCI Partners the US Green Building Council played host to our Annual meetings in Washington DC from 15 – 17 April. Over eighty invited leaders of the building sector worked for two days to refine a ‘Call to Action on Buildings and Climate Change’, a statement that will bring the common voice of the building sector to the delegations negotiating a new global protocol to tackle climate change.

The statement sets out commitments to action that private sector, public authority, municipal, education and research and NGO stakeholders are taking to reduce building-related greenhouse gas emissions. It also asks national delegations to promote the importance of the building sector in the climate negotiations, and include the need for including mechanisms to support the building sector in delivering its potential of significant emission reductions. In particular the call asks all national delegations to the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 15, to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009 to:

1. Include an agenda item at COP15 the need to emphasize the building sector as a top priority that is fundamental to achieving significant greenhouse gas emission reductions.
2. Support the inclusion of measures in the new global climate-change treaty that encourage investments in both new building and building renovation projects that reduce or eliminate emissions.
3. Include in the technology transfer framework/measures, support to capacity building to enable and increase energy efficiency in existing and new buildings.
4. Support the reform of the CDM by encouraging investment in reducing the energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions from building operations.
5. Mandate that the UNFCCC establish working groups to develop specific measures for the building sector prior to the commencement of the next commitment period.
6. Encourage Governments to conduct an inventory of emissions from the national building stock and set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in existing and new buildings.

On behalf of the partners of UNEP SBCI we would like to thank the US GBC for hosting an excellent event. Special thanks to Tom Hicks, Sabrina Morelli and the USGBC Team. Also thanks to Amy Fraenkel and Clayton Adams of the UNEP Regional Office for North America for their support. Finally thank you to our speakers and contributors throughout the event.

INTRODUCING UNEP SBCI's New Board for 2009-2010

Chair: Birgitte Holter – Hydro Building Systems
Vice Chair: Zhang Yue, CEO BROAD Air-Conditioning
Past-Chair: Ike Van der Putte, FIDIC

New Board Members:

Maria Atkinson – Global Head of Sustainability, Lend Lease Corporation
Constant Van Aerschot – Director Construction Trends, Lafarge
Marcelo Takaeoka – President, Brazilian Sustainable Building Council

UNEP thanks the board for their commitment to SBCI and look forward to working with you in this important year.

OFFICIAL SUBMISSION to UNFCCC on Buildings & Climate Change

On 24th April our official UNEP SBCI submission to UNFCCC's Additional Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) was officially dispatched.  This submission functions as a place holder for texts to be developed under the Copenhagen Agreement in relation to the building sector. It is directly aligned with the draft Call for Action and essentially builds on the work of SBCI over the past three years.  The importance of UNEP SBCI making thus submission is explained in the words of UNEP’s senior advisor  on environmental law and conventions, Dr Kilaparti Ramakrishna, as follows:

"The reason for sending a text at all is that not a SINGLE suggestion (on the Bali Action Plan) from the Parties, including agencies and observers, covered the building sector."

I believe that we can take pride in having, with this submission, put in place a very important building block for the continued negotiations and for the continued work of SBCI.  Many thanks to all of you for your help and continued support.

Niclas Svenningsen, SBCI Secretariat

STAFF CHANGES @ SBCI

WELCOME – Donna McIntire
Donna McIntire joins us from the US Department of State where she was managing the greening of US Embassies globally. She will focus on the Buildings and Climate Change agenda, but will assume overall management of SBCI from 30th May. Donna’s international experience and demonstrated commitment to sustainable buildings will add important capacity to SBCI.

Peter Graham will also be moving from the role of SBCI Coordinator, in order to take responsibility for delivering SBCI’s technical content and output. In particular he will be continuing the development of the SBC Index and performance guidelines for sustainable buildings, and the Buildings and Climate Change summary for decision-makers and country base-line emissions reports due to be released in September. He will be based at the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia from early July.

The Year Ahead

• New Staff:
  SBCI gains a new full-time senior staff member next year to bring added capacity to the Buildings and Climate Change focus area and to work with the Sustainable U.N. team on the greening of the U.N. We have also secured new project funding (SUSHI) for sustainable buildings guidelines and demonstration projects in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Bangkok, Thailand. We are also gaining greater profile through our work on buildings and climate change and CDM.
  
• SBC Round Tables in India:
  SBCI will hold a round-table on sustainable buildings & construction in India as a side-event of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on 4/2/09. This also follows the Marrakech Task Force round tables on 2-3 Feb and therefore allows us to link closely to the Marrakech process. The meeting will also be used to initiate two new reports from India commissioned by SBCI - one a 'State of Sustainable Buildings' report and another on base-line GHG emissions and mitigation potentials from the Indian Building sector - these reports will contribute to the climate change, benchmarking and policy focus areas.
  
• SBCI included in new International Standard on Social Responsibility:
  SBCI and the Sustainable U.N. program have been included as an example of cross-sectoral initiatives for social responsibility under the new International Standard: ISO/CD 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility. This is important because it will assist our partners in reporting on their CSR activities in line with the International Standard.
  
• SBCI's next meetings will be held in Washington DC April 15-17 2009 hosted by SBCI partner the US Green Building Council.

UNEP SBCI Madrid Round Tables on Sustainable Buildings & Construction

Hosted by the City of Madrid December 2-4, the round-tables were very successful in moving our work programme forward. SBCI would like to thank SBCI member the City of Madrid for their excellent coordination and support for the event. A full meeting report can be downloaded on this website. The major outcomes from the meeting were:

1. Launch of the report: The Kyoto Protocol, The Cleaner Development Mechanism and the Building & Construction Sector
   Launched both in Madrid at our SBCI round-table meetings and at the Poznan Conference of the Parties 'COP' 14, the report is already receiving a lot of media attention. News coverage of the release of the SBCI CDM & Buildings report at last count found about 1900 references, linking to about 120 publications and news services from all continents, almost all of them quoting more or less directly from the UNEP press release and/or the press conference & side event in Poznan. You will be able to download the report from our web-site very soon.
2. New COP 15 Action Plan for the Climate Change Think Tank
   The re-convened Climate Change Think Tank is now working on the ambitious and essential task of reaching out to all of the country delegations currently negotiating the post-Kyoto climate agreement.  No country will meet its existing commitments, let alone new ones without supporting the building sector. As we know sustainable buildings are fundamental to dealing with climate change and contributing to sustainable development. The next UNEP SBCI meetings hosted by US GBC in Washington DC 15-17 April 09 will be a crucial chance for the Building Sector to speak with one voice on the need for special strategies to be included in the next global greenhouse emissions framework.
3. Review of Key reports on Benchmarking and workshop on key performance indicators for sustainable buildings as contributions to the SBC Index
   The UNEPs SBCI Benchmarking Think Tank process has produced its first draft reports - knowledge-base thanks to BRE, CSTB and UNEP FI and case-studies thanks to Carnegie Mellon University (we asked for a minimum of 25 and received more than 100!). The outcomes of the Delphi study by CSIRO with the first outline of the SBC Index framework will be out for comment at the end of January.
4. Policy Think Tank to be launched
   Review of proposals for, and agreement on the formation of a policy working think tank to oversee the implementation of the policy quick-scan tool and provide strategic advice on sustainable building policies for developing countries has been reached. We hope to build a strong link to the Marrakech Task Force on SBC and partners such as the World Green Building Council and CiDB through this think tank;
5. Policy ‘Quick-Scan Tool’ for GHG emission reductions in the building sector is in final phases and has been launched on-line for comments. This will be a core component of the 'SPoD' projects next year.
6. Cities & Sustainable Building round-table convened jointly with the Urban Environment Unit and UN HABITAT represented by Chief of HABITAT Shelter branch Mohamed El Sioufi. The meeting drew approximately 100 participants from cities and the building sector in Spain and internationally. We are working on the meeting outcomes now as a working paper on a possible cities and sustainable buildings focus area.

UNEP SBCI DELIVERING 'SUSHI' - Sustainable Urban Housing Initiative

The Sustainable Social Housing Initiative (SUSHI) - will bring sustainable building practices to social housing programmes in Bankok, Thailand abd Sao Paulo, Brazil. SUSHI will develop and verify an approach for how to ensure that social housing programmes include design criteria and construction practices that support sustainable building principles

Main project outputs will be:

• Methodology and tools for identifying and implementing opportunities for enhancing sustainable features in social housing programs. including a template for action plans and tools for analysis of local technology supply, market demand and policy impact.
• Inclusion of sustainable building features in 2-4 sustainable housing projects (project test cases) with quantified assessment of life cycle impact on resource efficiency
• Local capacity building in bangkok and Sao Paulo for disseminating the sustainable buildings approach to other projects/locations

UNFCCC to Prioritize Building Sector at COP 14 |

At a June side event in Bonn, Germany, the UNFCCC secretariats requested UNEP-SBCI’s to assist in reviewing how to put the building sector on the agenda at the upcoming Conference of the Parties 14 in Poznan, Poland in December 2008. [...]

Latin American Ministers Resolve to Promote Sustainable Building |

Latin American and Caribbean environmental ministers resolved to promote sustainable building practices in their region during a forum in January. [...]

Mission Briefs: Beijing |

UNEP Sustainable Consumption and Production chief Arab Hoballah met with Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss UNEP’s contribution to the post-earthquake recovery efforts June 12-13. [...]

Mission Briefs: Athens

UNEP-SBCI coordinator Peter Graham gave a presentation on SBCI to the European Insulation Manufacturer's Association general assembly in Athens, Greece May 30. Peter’s opportunity to present was timely because SBCI is seeking to attract partners from the insulation industry.

Peter’s talk on benchmarking and policy tools was well received, particularly by representatives of the European Commission. Also interested by the presentation were members of the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, an organization that has already expressed interest in joining SBCI.

The European Insulation Manufacturer’s Association has been effective in lobbying for common energy efficiency standards for buildings in Europe. Their general assembly has hosted the IEA and WBCSD as presenters in previous years.

Mission Briefs: Mexico

Peter Graham gave a presentation on SBCI at a forum for sustainable housing for the National Housing Commission of Mexico CONAVI on June 17 – 19 in Mexico City.

During the visit, Mexican agencies CONAVI, Mexico Green Building Council and UNEP Mexico Office agreed to form a network to coordinate a baseline report of building sector greenhouse emissions and targets. This regional snapshot will be included in the second edition of UNEP-SBCI report Buildings and Climate Change, due for publication early next year.

Mexico City, represented by the Secretary for Sustainable Development, expressed interest in SBCI partnership, as did some regional construction and material manufacturing firms.

UNEP-SBCI may also receive a Mexican case study on the Kyoto Protocol CDM and possible Govt. support for our post-Kyoto advocacy. Our thanks to CONAVI for sponsoring UNEP-SBCI’s participation at the event. We look forward to developing a strong working relationship with them this year.

Country Report: India |

Population and economic growth in India have placed great stress on the country’s environment and resources. Increasing energy consumption in various industrial sectors (including the building sector) continues to drive India’s energy consumption toward surpassing that of China. The residential and commercial sector consumes more than 25% of the total electrical supply usage of the country and major portion of this is utilized in the buildings. Securing GDP growth while achieving higher energy efficiency is key to solving current major problems in India.

SBCI Annual Meetings Succeed in Martinique

SBCI's Annual Think Tank Round Tables, Outreach to Latin America and Caribbean Countries, and Annual General Meeting concluded successfully in Martinique on April 12th. The major outcomes of the SBCI meetings were:

• Strengthening of UNEP-SBCI's advocacy for the building sector in negotiations for the post-Kyoto climate change protocols;
• Further development of tools for policy development to reduce greenhouse emissions from the building sector;
• Further development of methodology and process for providing a benchmarking system for measuring progress toward sustainable buildings and construction;
• Agreement on the SBCI work-program for 2008-09 and the election of a new board of directors;
• Bringing key regional stakeholders together to report on opportunities for sustainable buildings and construction to help Caribbean and Latin American countries address regional challenges such as affordable and sustainable housing, resistance to natural disasters, and sustainable economic development.

A full meeting report is now being prepared and will be forwarded to you as soon as it is complete. We intend these outcomes to be catalysts for developing and refining more specific projects and programmes which will promote sustainable buildings and construction both in the Caribbean and Latin American Region and Globally.

Our sincere appreciation and thanks to the Regional Council of Martinique, Group Monplaisir, and the Government of Saint Lucia for their support and contribution to the events. Thanks also to all presenters and moderators for their efforts and to all partners who made the often long trip to participate.

SBCI - The Year Ahead |

Here's what is on our agenda for our four focus areas this year [...]

Briefing: Policies for Energy Efficient Buildings in China |

China has the biggest construction volume in the world. More than ninety percent of new buildings are considered to be high life-cycle energy buildings. [...]

SBCI Meetings with the Federal Association of the Italian Regions (ITACA) |

Niclas Svenningsen visited the Italian SBCI partner ITACA (in late November) to meet with a number of senior local officials [...]

'Construction Counts for Climate' Side-Event at Bali COP 13 |

On 7 December SBCI in cooperation with the Marrakech Task Force and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, held an official side event at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC in Bali. [...]

EnerGAIA - Montpellier |

The EnerGAIA conference in Montpellier, hosted by the Region of Languedoc-Roussillon provided a forum for sharing experiences with energy efficiency and integrating renewable energies in Europe in general and the Mediterranean region in particular. [...]

ArcelorMittal Site Visit in Luxembourg |

On the 11th December Peter Graham was invited to join a site visit of the facilities of SBCI member, ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg. He was joined by SBCI Chairman Thierry Braine-Bonnaire. The visit commenced at the ArcelorMittal (AM) Belval steel plant, a site they have occupied for more than a century. The plant produces a huge quantity of steel long products using an electric furnace process. This enables the use of 100% recycled steel as raw material. [...]

Report from Burkina Faso |

UNEP SBCI partners Plasterdil, represented by M. Jean Louis CHARDENET and Architect Amelie Essesse are assisting the development of a sustainable building project in the West African country Burkina Faso. The project involves the design and construction of a Municipal Library and “Mediatheca” in the township of Pô using an innovative composite wall system that combines reinforced polystyrene wall panels with rammed earth construction.

Policy tools report launched |

SBCI, in partnership with the Central European University in Budapest, has undertaken a worldwide review of lessons learned from the application of different types of governmental policy tools supporting energy efficiency in buildings. The study entitled, Assessment of policy instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, looked at some 80 case studies from 52 countries and evaluated the different policy tools based on their effectiveness in terms of reduction of CO2 emissions, their cost effectiveness and associated success factors. The review is a unique comparison of experiences from all parts of the world in developed and developing countries alike. The report was launched by Niclas Svenningsen at the regional conference on Sustainable Buildings SB07 Prague in September.