The final yr has seen unprecedented authorities funds, personal sector engagement and public consciousness across the sustainable constructing motion. On Dec. 5, at COP28 in Dubai, 28 international locations representing a 3rd of the worldwide inhabitants launched a brand new initiative known as the Buildings Breakthrough that “goals to strengthen worldwide collaboration to decarbonize the constructing sector and make clear applied sciences and sustainable options essentially the most reasonably priced, accessible and enticing possibility in all areas by 2030.”
Formidable packages akin to this present the chance to transform all of our progress thus far right into a constructing industry-wide coordinated effort on decarbonization. Sharing assets, finest practices and classes discovered will permit us to align and speed up our shared aspirations for sustainable outcomes within the new yr.
To that finish I’ve compiled among the finest guides on constructing decarbonization. This checklist was crowdsourced on LinkedIn along with my very own analysis. This assortment just isn’t a best-of; it’s a concise checklist of what I discovered to be essentially the most worthwhile. In the end every firm’s sustainable constructing journey is exclusive and these guides are supposed as a primer that will help you get began.
A 101 information for industrial constructing house owners and managers
CBRE’s Decarbonizing Industrial Actual Property
CBRE hits a steadiness between being concise and complete on this information. It’s like an eloquent guide supplying you with a free crash course on holistic constructing decarbonization. It’s targeted on “making your carbon-reduction technique a actuality,” with sensible recommendation on helpful steps, the place to begin and studying extra. My solely warning is that I wouldn’t take the framing round phases to suggest a inflexible sequence; we have to tackle as many phases concurrently as potential.
A 201 roadmap for sustainable constructing coverage makers
Constructing Decarbonization Roadmap: Produced for the US Local weather Alliance
Insurance policies are sticky; as soon as they’re in place they have an inclination to remain in place. However the insurance policies wanted to realize sustainable constructing outcomes shift regularly, and new coverage instruments are being applied to drive the adjustments wanted immediately. An excellent instance is constructing efficiency requirements, akin to NYC’s Native Legislation 97, that are quickly being adopted throughout the U.S. This report does an ideal job of overlaying all of the related laws at play within the sustainable constructing area. Whereas it’s supposed for a coverage viewers, that is additionally a worthwhile skim for a company viewers.
A 301 information for constructing professionals
The Constructing Decarbonization Follow Information
Launched by the William J. Worthen Basis in August, this information already has virtually 5,000 downloads. Divided into seven volumes for particular constructing varieties and decarbonization points, it’s one of the crucial complete and in-depth guides I’ve seen in my 15-year profession as a sustainable constructing guide. Collectively funded by large gamers together with Google and Microsoft, it’s prone to be the go-to useful resource for constructing professionals engaged on sustainability in 2024.
Don’t reinvent your personal constructing decarbonization wheel
To complement the three assets above, beneath is an extended checklist of extra guides, toolkits, roadmaps and stories on this subject. Many are particular to a constructing typology, or area which makes them much more worthwhile to these working in that area.
The ULI Blueprint for Inexperienced Actual Property: The City Land Institute’s Greenprint Middle for Constructing Efficiency features a who’s who of the worldwide actual property {industry} engaged on bettering the environmental efficiency of buildings. This information compiles the invaluable knowledge of their membership, employees and {industry} consultants.
Framework for Greenhouse Gasoline Emissions Discount Planning: Constructing Portfolios: Created by the US Division of Power (DOE) Higher Local weather Problem Staff, it is a nice information on portfolio degree decarbonization.
Decarbonization Roadmap Information For Faculty Constructing Choice Makers: This roadmap for college decarbonization gives templates, assets, visualization and easy-to-follow steps. Created by the New Constructing Institute (NBI), which gives a wealthy bigger suite of wonderful content material.
Information: Greatest Practices for Reaching Zero Over Time for Constructing Portfolios: This information is a particular method to current constructing decarbonization that “units industrial constructing portfolios on a financially viable path to realize internet zero vitality.” Created by RMI, it’s one in all a full assortment of RMI’s glorious assets.
Decarbonization Roadmap for Multifamily Inexpensive Housing: It is a finest practices guide on decarbonizing New York Metropolis’s multifamily reasonably priced housing inventory. Created by the Constructing Power Change, that is what a neighborhood information on a particular kind of constructing ought to seem like.
Challenges and Alternatives for Residence Decarbonization: This report focuses on the distinctive problem of decarbonizing housing. Created by Berkeley Labs, it unlocks the housing {industry}’s must speed up decarbonization.
AIA-CLF Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Architects: Tackling the carbon emitted through the manufacturing of constructing supplies is central to constructing {industry} conversations proper now. This toolkit by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is particularly for architects engaged on this problem. Take a look at the Carbon Management Discussion board’s (CLF) web site for an entire lot extra on this topic.