More than half (54%) of the world’s most influential property and construction companies have not developed a climate transition plan. Just under half (44%) have failed even to set any emissions-reduction targets. Moreover, the transition plans that do exist within the sector tend to lack basic details, such as the level of finances being committed.
These are just some of the findings in the latest Buildings Benchmark from the World Benchmarking Alliance. The benchmark measures and ranks the world’s 50 most influential global property development, construction and management companies on their efforts to achieve a socially just, low-carbon transition and what companies are doing in terms of meeting the UN’s crucial Sustainable Development Goals.
Alarmingly, the results show that the world’s property development, management and construction companies remain fixed on locking in damaging emissions for generations to come – pushing us further away from our Paris Agreement goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C.
The reality is that time is running out. The latest report from the climate scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we must act now on the climate crisis or it will be too late. It also expressly states that retrofitting buildings and selecting the right construction materials are key to keeping our planet habitable for our children and grandchildren.
If we want to pull ourselves back from the brink, the buildings sector must radically overhaul its operations. In truth, it has a uniquely powerful role to play. The longevity of buildings means that companies’ choices today have a lasting impact on carbon emissions for decades to come. Indeed, contemporary design, construction and renovation decisions will determine humanity’s ability to decarbonise in time to avert climate change’s worst impacts.
Continuing to construct inefficient, high-emissions buildings is unacceptable
As things stand, there is a widespread failure to understand this responsibility. Far too many companies remain set on a course of producing high emissions by using unsustainable materials and creating buildings that lock in an ongoing demand for fossil fuels.
Too many of their buildings require unnecessarily high energy consumption when the technology and expertise exist to avoid it. This can, and must, be rectified by making better choices. It’s no exaggeration to say that everything is counting on it.
When it comes to lowering emissions, construction processes and energy efficiency are both key factors. Consequently, the construction industry must take a twofold approach to significantly upping its game. First, all building and property companies should develop zero-carbon-ready buildings and simultaneously stop building inadequate ones that will soon need either renovation or rebuilding. Continuing to construct inefficient, high-emission buildings is unacceptable.
Second, the sector must prioritise renovating and retrofitting older buildings to reduce their existing environmental impact. Unless this approach is swiftly adopted, environmentally substandard buildings will continue to create a ripple effect that ends in tenants and homeowners inadvertently emitting more of the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global warming.
Leaky housing stock
The UK has the leakiest housing stock in western Europe. As bills soar, driven by volatile international oil and gas markets, far too many people are struggling to pay their bills because so much of the heat their boilers generate rapidly escapes into the atmosphere. Insulation, more efficient windows and doors and low-carbon heating systems, such as air- or ground-source heat pumps, are the answer.
Beacons of hope within the buildings sector do exist. Our benchmark shows that the companies whose management of climate change is most aligned with a net zero future include Gecina, JLL, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Mitsui Fudosan.
All these companies are headquartered in countries that have set net zero emissions targets for no later than 2050 – namely France, the US, South Korea and Japan – highlighting the importance of national policies and regulations to speed up change and hold companies accountable for their actions.
Climate change is an existential threat to us all. We can stop the worst of it, but only with immediate action. Due to its sheer scale and the long-term impacts of its constructions, the buildings sector is vitally important. And yet, it is currently dangerously behind.
Inefficient buildings are locking in emissions for decades to come. The only way forward for the construction and property industries is rapid transformation and the prioritisation of eco-friendly materials, technology and practices. The generations to come are counting on us.
Vicky Sins is decarbonisation and energy transformation lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance
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