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Background

A sectorial initiative coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The mandate of UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) is to encourage decision makers in industry and government to develop and implement policies, strategies and practices that are cleaner, safer and make efficient use of natural resources. The buildings and construction sector is one of the key sectors for sustainable development, both in terms of the important benefits it contributes to society and the considerable negative impacts it may cause if appropriate considerations are not given to the entire life span of buildings. This Sustainable Buildings and Construction Initiative (SBCI), hosted by UNEP, aims at realizing the full benefit from sustainable development to society and to the sector itself.

Sustainable development, a strategic necessity for the buildings and construction sector

The construction, use and demolition of buildings generate substantial social and economic benefits to society, but may also have serious negative impacts, in particular on the environment. This sector typically provides 5 to 10% of employment at the national level and normally generates 5 to 15% of the GDP. It builds the foundations for sustainable development, including housing, mobility, water and sanitary infrastructures, and provides the context for social interactions as well as economic development at the micro-level. Numerous studies have also proven the relationship between buildings and public health.

At the same time, the built environment accounts for a large share of energy use (with associated greenhouse gas emissions), waste generation or use of natural resources. Areas of key concern also include production of construction materials, use and recycling, consumption of hazardous products, integration of buildings with other infrastructure and social systems, water use and discharge, etc.

This situation has not passed unnoticed, and the sector is increasingly under pressure from authorities and the public to address environmental and social issues. In response to these demands, it has embarked on projects and partnerships in several countries to improve sustainability performance. A number of tools and rating systems have been created in order to assess and compare the environmental performance of buildings, such as LEED, developed in the United States, BREEAM, in England or HQE, in France. These initiatives have already had impact on how buildings are designed, constructed and maintained. For example, activities of the United States Green Building Council have contributed to support the expansion of the green building market in the USA to an estimated US$ 33 billion in 2004. Nevertheless, most of the time, such initiatives have a narrow focus, and sustainable development in the building and construction sector is still hampered by limited coordination and cooperation between different stakeholders throughout a building's life span. Even stakeholders working in the same phase of a building project, such as architects, contractors and building material providers, do not always have a clear understanding of how to cooperate to optimize the function of the building, but instead are focusing on short-term economic factors. Thus, there is considerable potential for improving the long-term performance of buildings by taking into account long-term benefits and costs.

In order to tap this potential, it is necessary to create the conditions and incentives that would encourage stakeholders in the sector to jointly and more actively pursue sustainable building and construction in a life cycle perspective. Such conditions could range from governmental policies, or economic incentives, to rating systems and coordination with key partners, such as the financing and insurance sector. The voluntary methods and guidelines, generated by some of the initiatives referred to above, therefore need to be complemented by a worldwide recognized reference gathering stakeholders from all parts of the building process to jointly promote sustainable building and construction practices. This is the purpose of UNEP's Sustainable Buildings and Construction Initiative.

SBCI will addressing the issue of energy efficiency and CO₂ emissions from buildings

The first challenge SBCI will propose its members to address is that of «energy efficiency and CO2 emissions from buildings». By working on the development of baselines for the sector on this issue, the SBCI will contribute to developing a common and well-understood approach, which will, through the implementation of pilot projects and interactions with the other stakeholders (public, governmental, financial and international), aim at influencing the way the sector is contributing to sustainable development.

Our vision for sustainability in the building and construction sector

Our objective is to promote and support sustainable practices in the sector :

• Buildings are routinely designed, constructed and maintained to be optimized over their entire life span.
• Legislation and building standards include sustainability considerations and requirements.
• Environmental aspects are normally considered in any project and include short-term as well as long-term aspects.
• Policies and incentives provided by the Government support sustainable building and construction practices.
• Investors, insurance companies, property developers and buyers/tenants of buildings are aware of sustainability considerations and take an active role in encouraging such practices.