Lendlease accelerates a net zero built environment through WorldGBC partnership

An international leader in the built environment, Lendlease, has agreed to partner with the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) on its Advancing Net Zero climate action programme.

Lendlease has signed up to support the programme’s goal of decarbonising the sector by 2050. An aim that requires an unprecedented transformation in the way that buildings are designed, built, operated and deconstructed.

Over the next forty years, the world’s building stock is expected to double. Advancing Net Zero aims to support work that will mean new buildings achieve the highest performance standards in sustainability, and where existing buildings are retrofitted to net zero standards. The programme works with Green Building Councils to:

• develop tools and resources
• promote the urgency and achieve ability of net zero carbon buildings,
• and strengthen industry capacity to deliver them.

The building and construction sector is a major contributor to global energy use, carbon emissions and resource consumption. As a result, it has an enormous and untapped potential to contribute to the fight against climate change and promote economic recovery.

The WorldGBC is committed to promoting the sector’s ambition, action and ongoing advocacy for bolder and more ambitious regulation, and bringing these solutions into public discussion in the lead up to COP26 in November 2021. This includes encouraging major businesses from across the sector to join the Race to Zero — such as Lendlease have, in recognition of their global target of becoming a 1.5°C aligned company in their Roadmap to Absolute Zero Carbon.

Lendlease is also a signatory to WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (the Commitment), which recognises leadership action from businesses, organisations, cities, states and regions in delivering net zero operational buildings across their own portfolios by 2030, and to advocate for all buildings to operate at net zero by 2050.

Leadership action taken by the Commitment signatories is helping stimulate the innovative approaches, solutions and business models necessary to achieve total decarbonisation by 2050, in line with WorldGBC’s whole life carbon vision.

Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council: “By partnering with Advancing Net Zero, Lendlease is amplifying WorldGBC’s efforts to drive a more sustainable built environment. Their partnership helps promote and increase the industry’s role in tackling the climate emergency in two ways — by extending collective impact beyond operational carbon into embodied carbon, and outlining the actions and policies needed to create systemic change.

“Lendlease’s support and actions as Commitment signatories and joining the Race to Zero demonstrates industry’ willingness to meet their obligations towards responsible business operations, and preparedness for the bolder and more ambitious regulation we hope to see from policymakers.”

Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate and investment group with core expertise in shaping cities and creating strong and connected communities. Lendlease has been named the world’s most sustainable property fund five times in the annual GRESB real estate assessment.

Lendlease Europe and four individual Lendlease REITs / funds in Australia are signatories to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. Lendlease is committed to only owning, occupying and developing net zero carbon operational assets across the business by 2025, and reaching absolute zero carbon by 2040 without the use of offsets.

Cate Harris, Group Head of Sustainability, Lendlease: “We have set ambitious and industry-leading emissions targets to achieve net zero carbon scopes 1 and 2 by 2025 and absolute zero carbon scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2040 and so we welcome the opportunity to also pledge our support to the World Green Building Council’s Advancing Net Zero climate action programme, to help bring others in our sector on this journey.

“There’s never been a more important time for our industry to come together to set ambitious carbon targets and collaborate to drive meaningful action. With the built environment contributing around 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions we have an important responsibility to act.

“Sustainability has always been a part of how we do business at Lendlease and we see both the need and the opportunity to play a pivotal role in helping transform our sector.”