Signing the Paris Proof sustainability commitment with the Dutch Green Building Council
Our Netherlands business has signed the Paris Proof sustainability commitment with the Dutch Green Building Council. Joining nearly 100 businesses in the Netherlands, the commitment targets a two-thirds reduction in energy consumption in the built environment and reaffirms the principles of the 2015 Paris Agreement from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21).
By making this commitment, our Netherlands business will contribute to the acceleration of local sustainability targets, alongside the promotion of more sustainable real estate in the country, in our roles as building tenants and consultants in the built environment.
As building tenants, we will measure our actual energy consumption and track energy efficiency in the buildings where our offices are located. In our role as consultants, providing programme, project and cost management services for new-build construction and renovation projects, we will calculate material-related CO2 emissions for our clients during the design phase and test against the annual targets of the CO2 budget set by the Dutch government.
Under the Paris Proof commitment, our Netherlands business commits to:
- Being transparent about the energy efficiency and CO2 emitted in our office buildings, as well as reporting on our achievements to be more sustainable.
- Finding solutions for our clients to contribute towards making their buildings more sustainable and ‘Paris Proof’.
- Promoting the tenets of the Paris Proof commitment in the real estate sector and encouraging the entire supply chain to contribute to making Paris Proof possible in our industry.
One of the tools we have developed to calculate the currency of carbon in buildings is our Embodied Carbon Calculator, which our cost and commercial management teams use to support our clients on plotting robust, measurable route-maps to net zero for their assets.
Marc Hopman, Director, Real Estate, the Netherlands, said:
The Paris Proof commitment reaffirms the international climate goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and as consultants in the built environment, it is our responsibility to provide sustainable solutions for our clients that help address these challenges.
"With our expertise in carbon accounting, we are transforming projects to be energy efficient, which will contribute to a resilient and low-carbon future."
Annemarie van Doorn, Director, Dutch Green Building Council, said:
Signing the Paris Proof Commitment demonstrates awareness of the urgency to take action now against the far-reaching impact of climate change. It is great to see more and more organisations in the market signing the commitment with participation across the entire supply chain. Together we can achieve so much more than on our own.
About the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC)
The DGBC, together with its partners, is working on a future-proofed and sustainably built environment. Expertise, tools and products are readily available to realise climate ambitions. With their knowledge and innovations platform, impactful programmes are created based on four central themes: Circularity, Climate Adaptation, Paris Proof and Health.
