Few people know, but buildings are the largest consumers of energy in the global economy, contributing more than 30% of final energy use and approximately 30% of global emissions. In Brazil, according to Eletrobrás, buildings are responsible for 45% of energy consumption.
Although they are less visible consumers of energy (and emitters of CO2) if we compare with similar sectors in energy use, such as transportation and industry, buildings play an important role in any corporate strategy that has climate change as an agenda.
A possible solution
O World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) identified the Energy Efficiency in Buildings as one of the key business solutions needed to address the challenge of climate change.
The project Action 2020 identified priority areas—based on scientific facts and social trends—for companies to take action. A "Must-Have" was defined for each area, where companies must work to achieve solutions by 2020. The Energy Efficiency in Buildings project will contribute to the Climate Change Must-Have. This means that to limit global temperature rise to 2OC above pre-industrial levels, industrial and energy systems must undergo structural transformations to ensure that emissions do not exceed three trillion tons of CO2. Achieving this goal means reducing total CO emissions2 of buildings by 80% compared to current levels by 2050 (International Energy Agency). The WBCSD Building Energy Efficiency project aims to work with member companies and external partners to dramatically reduce building energy consumption and achieve this extremely ambitious and urgent goal.
Energy Efficiency in Buildings Around the World
The first phase of the project began in 2006 and aimed to investigate the role of the buildings sector in the context of global energy efficiency in six countries or regions that together account for two-thirds of global energy demand, including developed and developing countries and a wide variety of climate zones. These countries are: Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, and the United States. This phase included studies and research, meetings, workshops, and forums, and stakeholder perceptions of sustainable buildings in the aforementioned regions.
In its second phase, the project now seeks to implement actions that will remove barriers to energy efficiency projects in buildings, whether commercial, residential, industrial, or public. Through events called "laboratories" in the regions identified in the first phase, a report containing concrete actions is prepared with the support of an academic institution—also responsible for preparing a preliminary study presenting an overview of the building situation in terms of consumption by type, public policies available to promote energy efficiency projects, available financing mechanisms, and the level of understanding among stakeholders regarding the benefits of more energy-efficient buildings—and a technical committee composed of leading institutions, companies, and professionals. This document is prepared after a three-day event that involves numerous interviews with key figures in the building sector and discussions with the technical committee and other key project partners to seek suggested solutions that will ultimately lead to energy savings in buildings.
Labs have already been conducted in San Francisco, Houston, Shanghai, Poland, and Bangalore, India. In April (14-16), Rio de Janeiro will host the project's first lab in Brazil. Organized by Lafarge and supported by CEBDS, an in-depth analysis of the energy situation of the city's buildings will be conducted through a study conducted by the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and through interactions with various stakeholders involved in the topic (from construction companies and architects to occupants and managers of various building types). A robust technical committee includes representatives from CEBDS member companies, certifying and financial institutions, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, the United Nations, the Ministry of the Environment, Eletrobrás, Inmetro, and others.
We invite all CEBDS member companies to participate in the plenary session that will take place on April 16th in the BNDES auditorium in the Ventura Building in downtown Rio. We will help Rio and other Brazilian cities realize the benefits of constructing and operating buildings that avoid wasting energy (and water), generating the same amount of energy they consume (in an ideal world) and contributing to the important global goals of reducing CO2 emissions.2.
