Buildings Initiatives

The Breakthrough Agenda landscape maps offer an in-depth analysis of each initiative, how it interacts with a corresponding Breakthrough, and what actions it is taking to progress sectoral transitions. These initiatives for Buildings include:

  • 2030 Breakthroughs: Built Environment Outcome
  • Advancing Net Zero/ANZ (WorldGBC)
  • Building Capacity for Sustainable and Resilient Buildings (ICC)
  • Building Net Zero: Mobilising Policy Action (GBPN)
  • BuildingLife (WorldGBC)
  • Built by Nature Fund (BuiltbyNature)
  • Built Environment Pathway (WBCSD)
  • Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor/CRREM (Institute for Real Estate Economics/IIÖ)
  • CEM-Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative / IDDI (UNIDO)
  • CEM-Mission Innovation
  • GBPN Network (GBPN)
  • Global Building Data Initiative/GBDI (GLOBE)
  • Global repository of Efficient Solutions in the Built Environment sector
    (Solar Impulse Foundation)
  • Healthy Buildings Healthy Lives (GBPN)
  • Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
  • Market Transformation Action Agenda (WCBSD)
  • Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (WorldGBC)
  • Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings/PEEB (AFD/GIZ)
  • Programme on Decarbonising Buildings in Cities and Regions (OECD)*
  • Race to Resilience
  • Race to Zero
  • Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda
  • Sustainable Finance (WorldGBC) 

Endorsing countries:

Armenia, Austria, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia.

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WBCSD Built Environment Pathway

Decarbonizing the built environment is key to attaining global climate goals as it represents 40% of total energy-related CO2 emissions and 40% of global resource use. WBCSD works with its member companies to help them collaborate along the full value chain to achieve their own climate targets and support decarbonization across the built environment lifecycle (material production, construction, operation, end of life) by 2050. WBCSD and its members also collectively develop definitions and measurement of what it means for the built environment to become circular, nature-positive and more equitable. Through the Market Transformation Action Agenda, WBCSD works with many stakeholders and partners in the built environment to overcome the fragmentation and provide a shared direction to drive the collective transformation.

Knowledge capability & skills

Knowledge capability & skills

Ensuring widespread availability of the technical and administrative capability and skills needed to implement policy / deploy clean solutions.

Long-term vision & action plans

Long-term vision & action plans

Putting in place strategies and targets and developing actions plans to provide longer-term confidence in and clear direction on the transition.

Standards & certification

Standards & certification

Developing and applying standards and certification processes, supported by accurate, verifiable data, to enable the differentiation of low emission products and services and to facilitate their use.

The Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB)

The Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) aims to transform the building sector by promoting sustainable building design and construction. PEEB combines financing for energy efficiency in large-scale projects with technical assistance through policy advice. PEEB mobilizes innovative financing solutions for large building projects, such as hospitals or schools, but also large national green building programmes. The programme supports its partner countries to make policies, standards and NDCs more ambitious and effective to channel investments towards green buildings. Capacity-building for professionals and decision-makers in the buildings sector prepares the ground for investments.

Demand creation & management

Demand creation & management

Stimulating markets for clean solutions via procurement, smartly matching supply and demand and mitigating inefficient use via resource efficiency policies.

Finance & investment

Finance & investment

Ensuring the availability of finance and capability / confidence of investors to support the widespread scale-up of clean solutions.

Knowledge capability & skills

Knowledge capability & skills

Ensuring widespread availability of the technical and administrative capability and skills needed to implement policy / deploy clean solutions.

Market structures

Market structures

Using policy and regulation to structure markets in partnership with business, supporting the large-scale, rapid adoption of clean solutions.

Sustainable Finance

WorldGBC’s with the support of 28 Green Building Councils is dedicated to unlocking impactful finance flows into the transition towards a sustainable built environment.

Finance & investment

Finance & investment

Ensuring the availability of finance and capability / confidence of investors to support the widespread scale-up of clean solutions.

Landscape co-ordination

Landscape co-ordination

Fostering collaboration and reducing duplication across the landscape of initiatives.

Standards & certification

Standards & certification

Developing and applying standards and certification processes, supported by accurate, verifiable data, to enable the differentiation of low emission products and services and to facilitate their use.

Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda

Launched at COP27, the Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda (SSAA) is a comprehensive, shared agenda to rally global action around 30 adaptation outcomes that are needed to address the adaptation gap and achieve a resilient world by 2030. The agenda is a vehicle to rally both state and non-state actors. An implementation report is due to be launched at COP28.

The agenda is outcome-focussed, people-focussed and is framed around five key systems, one of which is ‘Human Settlements’. The five Human Settlement objectives include, providing better homes, early warning systems, finance for nature-based solutions and reducing open-waste burning.

The outcomes align stakeholders behind simple, common goals. The outcomes provide a framing to shift leaders beyond discussions about direction, towards action and implementation.

Long-term vision & action plans

Long-term vision & action plans

Putting in place strategies and targets and developing actions plans to provide longer-term confidence in and clear direction on the transition.

Race to Zero

Race to Zero is a global campaign rallying 13,000+ non-state actors to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030. These organisations commit and take action towards cutting emissions across their scopes 1, 2 and 3.

As of October 2023, this included 20% of major real estate asset managers and owners. Their commitment to cut emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 includes the embodied and operational emissions of the $1.4T AuM thereby driving demand for low-carbon buildings.

The Race To Zero campaign provides businesses with a credible UN-backed net zero commitment, a platform for connecting leaders towards driving change, and capacity building support to aid implementation.

Demand creation & management

Demand creation & management

Stimulating markets for clean solutions via procurement, smartly matching supply and demand and mitigating inefficient use via resource efficiency policies.

Race to Resilience

The Race to Resilience campaign aims to catalyse a step-change in global ambition for climate resilience, aiming to strengthen the resilience of 4 billion people in vulnerable communities by the year 2030. The Campaign was launched by the UN Climate Action High-level Champions in January 2021 at the Climate Adaptation Summit, alongside the State-driven Adaptation Action Coalition.

Long-term vision & action plans

Long-term vision & action plans

Putting in place strategies and targets and developing actions plans to provide longer-term confidence in and clear direction on the transition.