From 11 to 15 September 2023 for the World Green Building Week, the WGBC are calling on the global building and construction sector to accelerate the transition to secure an energy efficient, regenerative, and just future for all.
Led by a network of over 75 national Green Building Councils (GBCs) and their 46,000 members, the week-long campaign will show how through systems change thinking and leveraging local solutions, we can transition to sustainable built environments.
Throughout the week, the WGBC’s network will host events across the world. They will share examples of #BuildingTheTransition online across three areas: the energy transition, regenerative transition and just transition.
This year’s campaign will also lead into the UN’s 2023 SDG Summit (18–19 September) and therefore pinpoint 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that are essential to catalyse a sustainable built environment.
In 2023, against the backdrop of the world’s first Global Stocktake, global attention is shifting to the solutions that must be scaled to tackle the tipping point in climate change, humanitarian challenges and economic uncertainties.
The transition required to regenerate and repair our planet will see systemic transformation across all sectors.
As the largest contributing sector to energy-related carbon emissions (37% globally), the built environment must be a key agent of change in the transition to a decarbonised and sustainable society.
In the run up to COP28 in Dubai UAE, and as the UNFCCC works to bring transitions forward on the climate agenda, the green building network has an opportunity to spotlight how built environments are a key part of the transition to a sustainable future.
The WGBC have classified the three transitions essential to accelerate a sustainable built environment to be: the energy transition, the regenerative transition, and the just transition.
The energy transition is about more than switching to renewable energy – it’s about accelerating the uptake of built environments that are all-electric, reducing energy demand, storing and sharing clean energy, and producing more energy than they use is also key.
It’s investing in clean technologies, driving economies of scale, and deep retrofitting existing buildings to be exceptionally energy efficient.
The regenerative transition means not just protecting biodiversity but prioritising its restoration, embracing nature-based solutions, and creating a thriving circular economy across the entire building value chain.
The just transition helps address that the people who have contributed the least to environmental degradation are suffering the biggest consequences.
Advancing a just transition in the built environment means a committed solidarity to protect human rights – from financial flows, to supply chains, to geopolitics – and provide opportunities for skills to thrive.
