The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) welcomes seven new and existing signatories to the updated Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment: CannonDesign, Deutsche Bank, GI Quo Vadis, Grab, Lamington Group, QIC Real Estate (QICRE), and Schneider Electric.
Today (May 25), WorldGBC announces seven companies as signatories to its Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment) whole life carbon requirements, including major multinational and Advancing Net Zero programme partner, Schneider Electric and Germany's leading bank, Deutsche Bank. These industry leaders are taking ambitious action to combat climate change by committing to decarbonise both their operational and embodied emissions.
The Commitment now has a total of 169 signatories, which includes 135 businesses and organisations, 28 cities, and six states and regions.
The businesses and organisations signed up to the Commitment now account for approximately 7.2 million (tCO2e) of portfolio emissions annually, nearly 20,000 assets and more than $415 billion annual turnover.
These businesses are displaying industry leadership in the built environment, committing to reduce 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.
Find out more about the signatories and the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
Cristina Gamboa, CEO of the World Green Building Council:
"I'm delighted to announce the latest group of signatories to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. We welcome Schneider Electric, a world leader in building services and technologies and Deutsche Bank, a significant asset owner taking responsibility for their portfolio and beyond. These companies are displaying industry leadership to decarbonise their assets further and faster, contributing to accelerated industry transformation in the #RaceToZero.
This progress in climate leadership comes as we celebrate 20 years of WorldGBC. We are eager to celebrate the remarkable work being done by our Green Building Councils and we welcome you to join us for our in-person event in London on 28 June 2022 WorldGBC+20: Global Solutions Forum."
The seven companies joining the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
CannonDesign is a global solutions firm that was listed on Fast Company's 2019 World Changing Companies list. This innovative company has more than 1200 employees worldwide who are dedicated to the ambitious climate targets set out by the business. CannonDesign has committed to reducing its embodied carbon in half by 2022, 80% by 2025, and 100% by 2030. The business will continue to advocate for industry transformation toward net zero by leading by example. CannonDesign's Living-Centered Design allows the business to address not just human needs, but the increasingly complex interdependencies that exist across all life. Read their Commitment Profile here.
Deutsche Bank provides retail and private banking, corporate and transaction banking, lending, asset and wealth management products and services as well as focused investment banking to private individuals, small and medium-sized companies, corporations, governments and institutional investors. Deutsche Bank is the leading bank in Germany with strong European roots and a global network. Deutsche Bank's mission is to contribute to an environmentally sound, socially inclusive and well-governed world while assisting its clients and partners to do the same. Deutsche Bank has been carbon neutral for its own operations since 2012 and it will continue to improve energy efficiency to reduce overall consumption and maximise embodied carbon reductions where applicable. Read their Commitment Profile here.
GI Quo Vadis is a mission driven real estate company that was founded in 1993. The company has a vision of uniting communities through the preservation and restoration of historically significant buildings. GI Quo Vadis leases out 1.5M SF of property to small and medium-sized businesses to aid in the creation of employment opportunities. GI Quo Vadis is a Certified B Corporation and is accountable for meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance. Companies like GI Quo Vadis are accelerating a global shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Read their Commitment Profile here.
Grab is Southeast Asia's leading super app and operates across deliveries, mobility and digital financial sectors in 480 cities across eight countries. Grab is forging the way forward for a sustainable future and has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040. The business has committed to only occupying net zero carbon premises by 2030 and to measure and publicly disclose energy consumption as well as Scopes 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions within their control. Grab's mission is to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone. The company strives to serve a triple bottom line: to simultaneously deliver financial performance for its shareholders and have a positive social and environmental impact in Southeast Asia. Read their Commitment Profile here.
Lamington Group is a family-owned real estate investment, development and operational business founded in 1967. In 2019, the business shifted when Managing Director, Robert Goodwin saw the impact that climate change has had in South Africa. Sustainability is now integral to the culture and decision making of all employees involved in the sustainability campaign. The business has committed to being net zero by 2030 with all new developments that will be built to whole life net zero standards - both operational and embodied carbon. Lamington Group's vision is to create places that support people and the planet to thrive. Read their Commitment Profile here.
QIC Real Estate (QICRE) is a specialist division of QIC, which was created in 1991 by the Queensland Government. The company has grown into one of the world's leading diversified investment firms. By responsibly investing, holding and developing assets over generational horizons, QICRE is able to design, execute and deliver town centres that evolve alongside their growing communities and extend far beyond traditional retail. The company has committed to achieving net zero operational carbon emissions for its core managed portfolio by 2028, maximising the reduction of embodied carbon in new developments and major renovations, and compensating for any residual upfront embodied carbon emissions by 2030. The company will continue to demonstrate leadership through its core business activities and advocate for a net zero future by engaging its clients and supply chain. Read their Commitment Profile here.
Schneider Electric is a multinational company that provides energy and digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability. The company powers digital transformation by integrating world-leading processes and energy technologies across the entire lifecycle. This enables integrated company management for homes, buildings, data centres, infrastructure, and industries. The company has 983 buildings in their portfolio and of these, 150 are operationally net zero buildings. Schneider Electric has set itself a target of being carbon neutral in operations by 2025 and are engaging with its suppliers toward a net zero supply chain by 2050. Schneider Electric will continue to act as an advocate for building energy efficiency, climate action and industry transformation. Read their Commitment Profile here.
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.
The Commitment is recognised as a frontrunner initiative, and therefore signatories as frontrunners in the Race to Zero. Commitment signatories are going further and faster to tackle operational and embodied emissions from their real estate assets, stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary for the entire sector to reach 2050 goals. For eligible signatories, the Commitment acts as a pathway to membership of the global EP100 initiative from the Climate Group, bringing together energy-smart companies doing more with less energy, in order to lower emissions and improve their productivity.
Eric Corey Freed, Principal, Director of Sustainability, CannonDesign:
"Ideally, all buildings across society should be net zero carbon today. We're not there yet, but we need to make it happen rapidly. Becoming a signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment is a no brainer. CannonDesign is committed to leading the charge toward a net zero carbon built environment through the buildings we design and our leadership. As an industry, we are behind when it comes to combating climate change, but we are not powerless. We are excited to be part of this team and to amplify our efforts to slash carbon emissions and shape the built environment for both people and the planet."
Jörg Eigendorf, Global Head of Sustainability, Deutsche Bank:
"At Deutsche Bank, we are embedding sustainability into our policies, products & processes. As part of our long-standing commitment to sustainability, we strive to minimise the environmental impact of our own business operations, including offices & business travel. We have been carbon neutral since 2012 & have kept reducing the absolute amount of carbon emissions since then. We have extended our efforts to reduce our supply chain's environmental impact & reduce the emissions associated with the goods & services we purchase. Signing the WorldGBC's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment reinforces our commitment to positive climate action."
Natalie Voland, President & Chief Vision Officer, GI Quo Vadis:
"It is the role of business to solve problems, so we are excited to join the WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment to work with global leaders to achieve our climate mitigation targets in the built environment. GI Quo Vadis is proud to play a trailblazing role in blending best practices in the market and leading academic research to adapt market models to use business as a force of good to do our part to reduce carbon in our portfolio and inspire others to follow suit."
Cheryl Goh, Group Head of Marketing and Sustainability, Grab (Grab Holdings Inc.):
"At Grab, we understand the importance of looking at every aspect of our business and doing whatever we can to reduce and mitigate our environmental footprint. We are already powering all of Grab's corporate offices across 12 countries with 100% renewable energy mostly generated in Southeast Asia, contributing to the region in which we operate.
Being a part of EP100 and becoming a signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings commitment formalise our intention to continue optimising for energy efficiency, keeping our offices running on renewable energy and extending this to other premises that we operate in globally."
Robert Godwin, Managing Director, Lamington Group:
"Lamington Group is proud to be a signatory of the WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. We've committed to be net zero by 2030 with a detailed roadmap, which is an action plan to reduce the carbon emissions of the current and future portfolio. We've acted on these commitments by opening the world's first whole life net zero carbon hotel - room2 Chiswick, measuring, reducing and offsetting any residual carbon emissions from the whole life cycle of the building."
Xavier Denoly, Senior Vice President Sustainable Development, Schneider Electric:
"The science is clear. So is the strategy. Over 120 countries are now committing to Net Zero 2050 goals. It is no longer a "nice to have" but a "must-have" in order to remain compliant and competitive.
In its 2020 Survey of Sustainability Reporting, KPMG found that 80% of companies worldwide now report on sustainability. During that time, Schneider Electric established itself as a leading expert in sustainability and decarbonisation.
We ourselves are recognised for our best practices in sustainability, earning the #1 position from Corporate Knights in 2021. As a company, we have committed to be carbon neutral by 2025 and net zero in our operations by 2030, far surpassing the traditional 2050 target.
We support the solid vision of the WorldGBC, which is showing the pathway for buildings to not only reach carbon neutrality but also to provide significant co-benefits for people and the economy."
Contact
Kirsty Portelli, Marketing and Communications Officer
Contact information: kportelli@worldgbc.org
Notes
The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment comes from Advancing Net Zero, WorldGBC's global project to accelerate uptake of net zero carbon buildings to 100% by 2050. The project works with the global Green Building Council network to develop tools and resources, including net zero carbon buildings certification schemes and training programmes.
The Commitment has been partly funded by We Mean Business, along with Laudes Foundation, IKEA Foundation and the European Climate Foundation as part of the #BuildingLife project.
The Commitment was launched in September 2018 at the Global Climate Action Summit. It promotes and inspires leadership action on an advanced trajectory from business, governments and NGOs, to scale up responses to net zero carbon buildings through corporate and policy action.
The Commitment is recognised as a frontrunner initiative and signatories as frontrunners in the Race to Zero, Commitment signatories are going further and faster to tackle operational emissions from their real estate assets, stimulating the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary for the entire sector to reach 2050 goals.
See the full profiles of company signatories and what they are committing to here: https://www.worldgbc.org/commitment-signatories
About WorldGBC
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) catalyses the uptake of sustainable buildings for everyone, everywhere.
Transforming the building and construction sector across three strategic areas climate action, health & wellbeing, and resources & circularity we are a global action network comprised of around 70 Green Building Councils around the globe.
As members of the UN Global Compact, we work with businesses, organisations and governments to drive the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Through a systems change approach, our network is leading the industry towards a net zero carbon, healthy, equitable and resilient built environment.
Find out more: www.worldgbc.org
About EP100
EP100 is a global initiative by the Climate Group, bringing together a growing group of energy-smart companies committed to doing more with less to improve their energy productivity. Members are driving tech innovation and reducing emissions while making substantial cost savings and improving competitiveness - inspiring others to follow their lead. EP100 is delivered in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy and in association with the World Green Building Council's Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. #EP100
Signatories of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment also include leading state and regional governments in the Under2 Coalition, of which the Climate Group is Secretariat.
