Building sector steps up to reduce energy use in buildings by 50% by 2030
World Business Council for Sustainable DevelopmentEleven leading companies from the buildings sector have come together with the support of WBCSD to develop a plan to reduce by 50% the projected energy use in buildings by 2030.
- AkzoNobel, Arcadis, ENGIE, Infosys, LafargeHolcim, Rexel, Schneider Electric, SGS, Siemens, Skanska and United Technologies are the participating companies.
- The program is part of WBCSD’s Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative (LCTPi) that brings together over 150 businesses and 70 partners to accelerate the development, deployment and scale up of game-changing low carbon technologies.
Paris, December 3, 2015 – Today, 11 leading companies launched an action plan to cut projected energy use in buildings in half by 2030 through energy efficiency approaches that offer favorable economic returns.
This major announcement comes at the Lima Paris Action Agenda thematic session on Buildings, which has launched a Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction to catalyze collaboration among organizations to put the building and construction sector on the “below 2°C path.”
The fragmentation of the complex building value chain is a significant barrier to the improvement of energy efficiency in buildings solutions at scale. The 11 companies joining LCTPi on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (LCTPi-EEB) will bring together stakeholders* in local markets to develop a common understanding of these market barriers and initiate actions that tackle them.
Commenting on the launch of the action plan, President and CEO of the WBCSD, Peter Bakker said: “The LCTPi-EEB proposes a clear way forward to multiply local action plans on energy efficiency in buildings across the globe. Partnerships are key to scaling up energy efficiency projects. Alliances such as the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction will be critical for channeling collaborative action among local and global players in the buildings space.”
The program is building on the WBCSD Energy Efficiency in Buildings 2.0 project, co-chaired by LafargeHolcim and United Technologies Corp. Since 2013, the project has piloted 10 initiatives to deliver local action plans for overcoming market barriers to energy efficiency in buildings in four core areas; awareness and leadership, workforce capacity (training and skills), financing, and policy and regulation.
Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim said: “The LCTPi plan has an ambitious goal to reduce projected energy use in buildings by 50% by 2030. Delivering this will involve a concerted effort by all global partners to drive and scale up local action plans that address (national) barriers to energy efficiency in buildings.”
In 2016, LCTPi-EEB companies will continue collaboration to drive additional private sector-led projects that enhance energy efficiency. They will also transfer best practices to regional and global LCTPi partners who share ambitions to take a local engagement approach forward at scale.
J. Michael McQuade, Senior Vice President, Science and Technology at United Technologies, said: “LCTPi is addressing a global imperative to eliminate unnecessary energy use and carbon emissions in buildings, the largest sector of energy consumption in our economies. We have the technology today to make buildings more energy efficient, offer substantial environmental benefits and economic returns, and provide more efficient workplaces. By raising awareness of these benefits, we can drive changes that will deliver tremendous results for building occupants while also sharply lowering our carbon footprint.”
Today, the EEB 2.0 project is also launching its Energy Efficiency Toolkit for Buildings, a corporate guide for investing in an organization’s building portfolio. The toolkit includes examples from EDF, Infosys, Novartis, SGS, Skanska and Sonae Sierra.
Commenting on the launch of the Energy Efficiency Toolkit for Buildings, Jennifer Clark, Senior Vice President Green & Corporate Community Investment at Skanska said: “This Toolkit provides a variety of corporate approaches towards achieving energy efficient building portfolios, which assist in developing the approach that best fits organizations”
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For more information, please contact:
Felicity Glennie-Holmes
WBCSD Director Communication
+41 (0)79 933 3665
Notes to Editors
About WBCSD & the Low Carbon Technology Partnerships Initiative (LCTPi)
The Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative (LCTPi) is led by WBCSD. Supported by the French Presidency of COP21, LCTPi was launched at COP20 in partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
LCTPi is a collaborative platform that brings together WBCSD’s Action2020 Business Solutions, SDSN’s Deep Decarbonisation Pathways and IEA’s Technology Roadmaps to:
- Accelerate the diffusion of existing technologies by removing technological, market and social barriers and introducing required policy and financial instruments
- Develop Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) on the Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment (RDD&D) of potentially game changing new technologies
LCTPi gathers over 150 global businesses and 70 partners to accelerate the development, deployment and scale up of low-carbon technologies.
About Peter Bakker, President & CEO of WBCSD
Peter Bakker is the President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Mr. Bakker is a distinguished business leader who until June 2011, was the CEO of TNT NV, the Netherlands-based holding company of TNT Express and Royal TNT Post. Under his leadership TNT rose to the forefront of Corporate Responsibility via a ground-breaking partnership with the UN World Food Program and ambitious CO2 reduction targets from its Planet Me initiative, holding multiple-year top-ranking positions in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Mr. Bakker is the recipient of Clinton Global Citizen Award (2009); SAM Sustainability Leadership Award (2010); and has been an Ambassador Against Hunger for the UN World Food Programme since 2011. In addition he is the Chairman of War Child Netherlands.
About LafargeHolcim
With a well-balanced presence in 90 countries and a focus on cement, aggregates and concrete, LafargeHolcim (SIX Swiss Exchange, Euronext Paris: LHN) is the world leader in the building materials industry. The Group has 115,000 employees around the world and combined net sales of CHF 32 billion (EUR 26 billion) in 2014. LafargeHolcim is the industry benchmark in R&D and serves from the individual homebuilder to the largest and most complex project with the widest range of value-adding products, innovative services and comprehensive building solutions. With a commitment to drive sustainable solutions for better building and infrastructure and to contribute to a higher quality of life, the Group is best positioned to meet the challenges of increasing urbanization.
About Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim
Eric Olsen, 51 years old, American and French citizen, is Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Holcim since July 2015. He was formerly Executive Vice President Operations of Lafarge and a member of its Executive Committee.
He joined the Lafarge Group in 1999 first as Senior Vice President for Strategy and Development of Lafarge North America. Since 2001, he served as both President, North-East Cement region and Senior Vice President, Purchasing. Since 2004, Eric Olsen served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President for Lafarge North America, a NYSE traded company. From 2007 to 2012, he served as Executive Vice President, Organisation and Human Resources of Lafarge Group.
Prior to Lafarge, Eric Olsen started his career in the field of M&A at Deloitte & Touche, Banque Paribas and was a partner of Trinity Associates. He is a business graduate from the University of Colorado, Certified Public Accountant (Chicago, USA), and holds a Master of Business Administration from HEC international business school in Paris. Eric Olsen is presently a Board Member of Cimpress N.V.
About United Technologies
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), based in Farmington, Connecticut, is the world’s largest provider of building systems and services. Its businesses include Otis, UTC Climate, Controls & Security, Pratt & Whitney, and UTC Aerospace Systems
About J. Michael McQuade, United Technologies Senior Vice President, Science and Technology
J. Michael McQuade is Senior Vice President for Science & Technology at United Technologies Corp. His responsibilities include providing strategic oversight and guidance for research, engineering and development activities throughout the business units of the corporation and at the United Technologies Research Center, focused on a broad range of high-technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industries.
About Skanska
Skanska is one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups with expertise in construction, development of commercial and residential premises, and public-private partnership projects. Based on its global green experience, Skanska aims to be the client’s first choice for Green Projects. The Group currently has 58,000 employees in selected home markets in Europe and the US. In 2014, Skanska’s sales totaled SEK 145 billion.
About Jennifer Clark, Senior Vice President Green & Corporate Community Investment of Skanska
Jennifer Clark has been Senior Vice President, Green and Corporate Community Investment at Skanska AB since April 2015. She joined Skanska in 1999 in the UK driving green and community investment into the business. Prior to working for Skanska, Jennifer worked in major global construction projects including the new airport in Hong Kong, Chek, Lap Kok and the Channel Tunnel in Kent, England. She also has experience working for regulatory authorities and consultants to get a broad perspective of the construction industry.
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