SBCI - The Year Ahead

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Here's what is on our agenda for our four focus areas this year:

Focus Area 1: Benchmarking
Key Issues:
There is a lack of global benchmarks for defining the performance of sustainable buildings and therefore what characteristics distinguish them from unsustainable buildings. Many countries have no strategic basis for policy development, assessing improvements in environmental performance, calculating the economic costs and benefits or establishing a business-case for sustainable buildings.

1. Coordination of the Benchmarking Think tank has been taken on by the Secretariat;
2. A teleconference is planned for the 11th February, to be followed by a working meeting in Paris in the first week of March.
3. A report describing the state of play in benchmarking internationally is underway and will be tabled at the April round-table meetings. SBCI has been discussing collaborating on this first report with the UNEP Finance initiative Property Working Group who also needs this information.
4. One-and-a-half days have been provided in the program for the Saint Lucia meetings for the benchmarking Think Tank to finalise the work-program and process for remainder of 2008.
5. We aim for two reports in 2008 - A Status Report based on a global review of benchmarking systems and benchmarks (April), and A Progress Report with recommendations for global benchmarking (December).

Potential project proposals for the 2008-2009 work programme:

1. The Sustainable Building & Construction Reporting project proposal is in preparation. The two approaches currently being considered are National reporting using industry-wide indicators and/or a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sector Supplement. The first can either be implemented as a relatively short-term consultancy, or as a longer term capacity-building exercise with policy makers. The GRI would involve organisations reporting on an agreed template of indicators. The costs and benefits of each are currently being analysed against SBCI's four focus areas.

Focus Area 2: Policy
Key Issues:
Barriers to the mainstreaming of sustainable buildings and construction such as market failures, first-costs, and lack of awareness of potential benefits are often overcome by public policies and programmes. Despite the large number of policy options questions such as "how to choose the right policy? And which are most effective?" often emerge. Inability to answer these questions can stall progress in widely implementing sustainable buildings and construction.

1. The report Assessment of Policy Tools for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Buildings has become the source document for further work by the Central European University under an established memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for policy 'building blocks', "Quick-Scan" Tool and Pilot Projects. A proposal for funding pilot projects using this tool, in collaboration with the Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Building has been submitted to the Finnish Government. Possible project sites include South Africa, Kenya, Brazil or Vietnam.

Potential project proposals for the 2008-2009 work programme:

1. Energy efficiency and employment in the building sector in cooperation with the BIT (Bureau International du Travail) in Geneva. UNEP SBCI has been invited to be associated. This study is conducted by the economic division of ADEME.
2. Assessment of barriers to sustainable building & construction in developing countries (possible pilot project in North-African countries assisted by SBCI Member Resilience).

Focus Area 3: Climate Change:
Key Issues:
Creating and operating buildings accounts for about 40% of global energy consumption and up to one-third of greenhouse emissions annually - yet with wide spread adoption of energy efficiency measures - up to 30% of base-line building-related CO2 emissions projected for 2020 could be avoided at no cost or with cost savings to the sector. This potential is not being realized due to the fragmented nature of the sector and climate change policy in many countries. In addition the Kyoto Protocol and Cleaner Development Mechanisms are failing to support industry initiatives in energy efficient buildings.

1. SBCI CDM report: The final version is on process and will be soon published. Comments have been sent to the attention of RISOE and the UNEP SBCI Editor. Selected Think Tank members will be mobilised for a review of the final version.
2. Climate Change Think Tank: Besides the report publication and dissemination action the Think Tank will be reorganised to increase member participation. New members will be called for. The terms of reference for the Think Tank will also be redrafted and distributed to the board for comments.
3. A 2hr session on Buildings and the CDM is to be prepared will be held during the April meetings in Saint Lucia.

Potential project proposals for the 2008-2009 work programme:

1. A "Field guide" for procurement of sustainable buildings and construction. This will also contribute to the Sustainable U.N. project (see below).
2. A guide to taking a life-cycle approach to buildings and construction with UNEP-Life Cycle Initiative (focussing on building sector climate change issues)
3. Updating and re-issuing the Buildings and Climate Change report with a special section on issues in key developing countries.

Focus Area 4: Developing Countries
Key Issues:
The sustainable building agenda is today often seen as a concern only for developed countries. However, many key priorities for poorer countries, such as public health, safety, affordable shelter, are intrinsically linked with the way buildings are built and used. SBCI therefore seeks to strengthen this agenda in developing countries through studies, projects and case studies.

1. With UNEP Regional Office for Asia Pacific, publishing a set of two "White papers": Knowledge Base for Eco-cities, towns and villages in the Asia Pacific and; Strategies for Education, Awareness and Capacity Building for the Design, Construction and Maintenance of Eco-Cities and Villages in the Asia Pacific. (Peter Graham was lead author of this prior to commencing at UNEP).
2. We are in discussions with the Brazilian Council for Sustainable Construction (CBCS) and the Confederacao Nacional da Industria Unidade de Competitividade Industrial (CNI) about possible events and projects in Brazil;
3. We are supporting an initiative of Plastedil in Burkina Faso - see December 07 Latest News on this website
4. The Indian organisation "The Energy Research Institute" www.teri.org has joined the Benchmarking Think Tank
5. The South African Construction Industry Development Board has joined SBCI and have written a letter of support for the Policy-tool pilot project funding application (refer above).
6. An outreach event is planned for Beijing, China in April (refer above)

Potential project proposals for the 2008-2009 work programme:

1. Linking with the UNESCO Chair's network of research-centres to focus on developing sustainable buildings & construction in countries

Cross-Cutting Activities
Sustainable United Nations (S.U.N.) Project.

1. Niclas Svenningsen has been appointed manager of a new U.N.E.P. initiative called "Sustainable U.N. (SUN)". The S.U.N. project is established to provide technical guidance and support to improving the U.N.'s own facilities and procedures and develop tools for non-UN organisations. SBCI is a member of the S.U.N. team and will provide input on sustainable building-related matters from time to time.

CIB TG70/SBCI/CTBUH - Sustainable Design of Tall Buildings

Design Guidelines for Sustainable Tall Buildings will be developed through Task Group meetings that will take place in conjunction with selected international conferences, through a campaign of awareness raising workshops / road shows and through a large designated international conference of cooperating leading organisations in the world. SBCI is represented by Dr. Werner Jager, Head of Technology Hydro Building Systems & Managing Director Buildtec.