Built environment unites to present urgent demands at COP summit
A coalition of more than 200 architects, consultants and built environment bodies is today demanding 鈥渂old regulations and purposeful policies鈥� from world leaders at the COP26 summit.
They say the construction and property industry stands ready but that the lack of commitment from global governments is choking progress.
The practices and organisations have united around a detailed which sets out essential actions to support the decarbonisation of existing and future buildings.
The signatories want policymakers to embed the measures into their nationally determined contributions towards the global climate effort (NDCs).
The report, which will be presented at an event in the 好色先生TVs Pavilion at COP today, is backed by architects such as Grimshaw, Mikhail Riches and Stanton Williams, contractors such as Sir Robert McAlpine and Galliford Try and property firms including CBRE Investment Management and Lendlease Europe.
RIBA president Simon Allford said: 鈥淎s a pan-industry alliance of clients, contractors, consultants and manufacturers we are today making a collective call to governments worldwide.鈥�
Without ambitious legislation to support the decarbonisation of the sector 鈥� which is responsible for almost 40% of global carbon emissions 鈥� the world will not meet the Paris Agreement reductions, he warned.
鈥淔or the benefit of humanity, we need bold regulations and purposeful policies that will secure our future.鈥� He said the report, Built for the Environment, required world leaders鈥� 鈥渋mmediate attention鈥�.
Among the coalition鈥檚 demands are:
:: Reform building codes to regulate the energy performance of both new and existing buildings.
:: Ensure building codes set minimum standards for embodied carbon, reuse of materials and natural materials and implement carbon budgets for planning authorities.
:: Hold and freely provide information on derelict and vacant building stock, to encourage adaptive reuse of existing structures.
:: Ensure building codes and planning systems require in-use monitoring and post-occupancy evaluation.
:: Update building codes and planning systems to include holistic health and wellbeing metrics, and nature-based solutions.
:: Reform public infrastructure and procurement policies to require industry leading standards and integrated social value requirements.
:: Develop financial mechanisms to drive public investment into emerging and low carbon technologies, and support green finance initiatives that focus on reducing energy use of existing buildings.
The report was written by Maria Smith, a director of Buro Happold and RIBA councillor, and Andrew Waugh, a director of Waugh Thistleton Architects who sits on the Architects Declare steering group.
Waugh said: 鈥淎rchitects Declare 鈥� a global organisation of over 6,000 practices 鈥� joined forces with the RIBA to establish a direct voice from industry to governments ahead of COP26. The Built for the Environment report is a clear message from the industry that we are ready for the urgent transformation that is needed.
鈥淲e must change the way we design, build, maintain, operate and regulate our industry. The lack of commitment from global governments is holding this transformation back. There is no choice now but for governments to act, and not by incremental improvements but wholesale change 鈥� and now!鈥�
Smith added: 鈥淭his report represents a collective capability statement from the industry, but also a call for international climate justice: from monitoring and regulating embodied carbon, to reporting and targeting emissions reductions on a consumption-basis, this report aims to give confidence to all inside and outside the built environment that a better world is possible.鈥�
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The report鈥檚 endorsers
Builders, contractors, suppliers, asset managers, property developers and investors:
Argent LLP
BAM Construct UK Ltd
Bioregional
BuildX Studio
CBRE Investment Management
Claire Gaudion Ltd
COMVIVE
d p agency Ltd
Derwent London
Dodds and Shute
Dukelease Properties Limited
Galliford Try Holdings Plc
Grosvenor
Home.Earth
ITW Construction Products Offsite
Laing O鈥橰ourke
Lendlease Europe
Optio Living
Pace Investments
Rakennusasiaintoimisto Aarre Oy
Robertson Group
Sir Robert McAlpine
SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd
Wates
Wilmott Dixon
NGOs, professional institutes, membership bodies, research, and academia:
1 Million Women
Architects Declare Aotearoa NZ
Architects Declare DK
Architects Declare Hungary
Architects Declare Ireland
Architects Declare Switzerland
Architecture 2030
Australian Architects Declare
Better 好色先生TVs Partnership
BHL 好色先生TV Health Lab
BRE
C40 Cities
Canadian / Turtle Island Architects Declare
Central Saint Martins: Spatial Practices Programme
Centre for Natural Material Innovation,
University of Cambridge
Chartered Association of 好色先生TV Engineers
Chartered Institute of 好色先生TV (CIOB)
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Good Homes Alliance CIC
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
Institution of Environmental Sciences
International Union of Architects
International WELL 好色先生TV Institute
KLC School of Design
Latvian Architects Declare
LETI
MCS Charitable Foundation
New Zealand Institute of Architects
Parsons Healthy Materials Lab
Passive House Institute New Zealand
Passivhaus Trust
Quality of Life Foundation
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
School of Architecture, Royal College of Art
School of the Natural and Built Environment, Queens University Belfast
Supply Chain Sustainability School
The Alliance for Sustainable 好色先生TV Products
The Chartered Institution of Water and
Environmental Management
The Edge
The Institution of Structural Engineers
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS)
Timber Development UK
Trees and Design Action Group
US Architects Declare
Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll)
Wood Knowledge Wales
Designers, consultants, and advisors:
5th Studio
Absolute Project Management London Limited
AEW Architects
Alexandra Steed URBAN
ALGREEN
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
aNNeKS architects aps
ARC Design Studio
Architect Benjamin Machin
architectura.be
Architectural Emporium
Architype
Archon Inmod
Ark Brut
ArtBuild
Arup
Ash Sakula
Assemble
Atelier Lira Luis Limited x Leapfrog Project
Austin-Smith:Lord
Avanto Architects Ltd
BakerBrown
Beehive Architecture
Bennetts Associates
Bio-architecture Formosana
Buckley Gray Yeoman
Buro Happold
BVN
C.F. M酶ller Architects
chapmanbdsp
Charissa Snijders Architect
Chris Dyson Architects
Christensen & Co Architects
Church Lukas
Cobe
Collective Architecture
Collective Works
COPA Design
Cundall
CW Studio
Djernes & Bell Architects
dRMM
East Archtiecture, Landscape Urban Design
EEDN
Elementa Consulting
ELGAARD Architecture
elizabethk
Elkins Architects
Energy Factor, S.A.
Entwine
Erect Architecture
ERIK arkitekter
Ethos Design and Architecture Ltd ( Ethos+)
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Fletcher Priest Architects
GAIA ecotecture
Gbolade Design Studio
Gehl
Gort Scott
Gottstein Architrcts
Government Architect NSW
Graeme North, Earth and Natural 好色先生TV Consultant
Grant Associates
Grasp Design Ltd
Gray Organschi Architecture
Grigoriou Interiors
Grimshaw
Groene Morgen
GROUPWORK
GXN
Habitarmonia
Hawkins\Brown
Haworth Tompkins
Henning Larsen Architects
Hetreed Ross Architects
HLM Architects
Hoare Lea
HTA Design LLP
Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES)
John Gilbert Architects
John Sergeant Arquitecto
Jollie Ltd
Julian Church & Associates
KC+A Architects
KR.eativ: Architects Ltd
Lateral Agency
Laura Iloniemi Architectural Press and PR
LDA Design
Levitt Bernstein
Liam Russell Architects
Madeleine Kessler Architecture
Mann Williams
Materialise Interiors
Matter bybrix
MawsonKerr
MCM Architecture Ltd
Metiu Design
Mikhail Riches
Modece Architects
Moxon Architects Ltd
Muchmore Design
muf architecture/art
NEMO architects
Nordic - Office of Architecture Denmark
Nvirohaus
One World Design Architects
Parviainen Architects Ltd
PIDCOCK
Piuarch.
Pollard Thomas Edwards
Pro Sustainability Ltd
Project Orange Architects
Publica
Ritchie Studio Ltd
rixon architecture
RKD Architects
Roderick James Architects LLP
Ruth Butler Architects
Saul D Humphrey LLP
Schmidt Hammer Lassen
Shand Shelton
Softroom
Square Gain Ltd
Stance Studio
Stanton Wiliams
Studio 12
Studio Bark
Studio Kantele
Studio Pasifika
Studio Weave
Team Green Architects
UK Project Services Ltd
Urbanlab Nordic
Utility
van Heyningen and Haward Architects
Vandkunsten Architects
VI ARK
VIA architecture
Waugh Thistleton Architects
Webb Yates Engineers
White Arkitekter
WR-AP
xsite architecture LLP
XVW architectuur
Yellow Brick Road Design
zero carbon house
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