The Climate Group’s EP100 initiative with the Alliance to Save Energy is to welcome new business members committed to making their buildings net zero carbon by 2030.
Majid Al Futtaim, a pioneer in shopping mall, retail and leisure destinations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Integral Group, a global engineering company, will be amongst the first signatories of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, opened by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) at the WorldGBC Congress Canada in Toronto.
The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment is being rolled out globally as part of EP100 to radically increase global action on energy efficiency and decarbonisation in buildings. It will be officially launched at the Global Climate Action Summit in September, and is open to subnational governments as well as business.
It is estimated that globally, almost 40% of energy related greenhouse gas emissions currently come from buildings – equal to the total emissions of China and the European Union combined. Improving energy efficiency will dramatically reduce the world’s energy needs, enabling a much faster transition to renewable energy.
“We are excited to be working with The World Green Building Council to grow EP100,” said Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group.
“The building and construction sector has a key role to play in reducing global energy demand and accelerating the clean economy, and we congratulate Majid Al Futtaim and Integral Group on their commitments to running and designing energy-smart buildings.
“And it doesn’t stop there. Business action must go hand in hand with progress from policy makers – that’s why we’re encouraging members of the Under2 Coalition of subnational governments to sign up to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment as well.”
Terri Wills, CEO, World Green Building Council, said, “Our vision is ambitious, but we know that the building industry has the knowledge, the technologies and the capability to deliver. The Commitment will help to create unprecedented demand for green design and construction, stimulating the market to deliver net zero carbon buildings at scale.
“Our new partnership with We Mean Business, The Climate Group and the EP100 campaign will position the performance of buildings as an essential component of an organisation’s strategy towards decarbonisation, with far reaching benefits.”
Smarter energy in the Middle East
Majid Al Futtaim will be the first company to join EP100 from the Middle East. It has committed to eliminating operational carbon emissions from all its buildings across 13 countries by 2030, as part of its Net Positive corporate strategy. By requiring renewable energy leases for mall retail units, Majid Al Futtaim will also play an enabling role in helping other companies to achieve 100% renewable electricity targets.
“We have a responsibility to our customers and our shareholders to take decisive action in greening our shared spaces,” said Ibrahim N Al-Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al Futtaim, acknowledging the huge challenges around water scarcity and energy consumption in the Middle East.
He added, “That’s why we are proud to be the first signatory to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment and we are confident that where we lead, others will follow.”
Designing out energy waste
Integral Group is a global engineering firm specialising in the delivery of net zero buildings. As well as designing out energy waste, the company has committed to Zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2020 across its own 15 global office locations, and actively works to remove technical, financial and perceptual barriers to wider uptake.
Kevin Hydes, CEO, Integral Group, said, “We believe that there are two key ingredients to designing net zero buildings: positive people and simple engineering. We have been able to design over 65 net zero projects so we know it can be done. Signing up to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment is a natural next step for us in our drive to build high performance buildings.”
Growing the EP100 membership
Companies signing up to the new Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment pledge to eliminate carbon emissions from their entire portfolio of buildings by 2030, report on their progress in reducing both energy demand and carbon emissions, and influence their suppliers and partners to follow suit.
It is one of two new EP100 commitments being introduced this month. The Climate Group is also encouraging businesses with commercial buildings or industrial manufacturing space to implement a smart energy management system (EnMS) within 10 years.
Doubling energy productivity (the economic output from every unit of energy consumed) within 25 years remains as the founding EP100 commitment, and to date 15 leading businesses have signed up to demonstrate this highest level of leadership.
By setting ambitious targets and integrating energy efficiency into business strategy, leading companies are driving clean tech innovation while delivering on emissions reduction goals – inspiring others to follow their lead.
Click here to find out more about all three EP100 commitment pathways.