Agreement reached on carbon footprinting global language

The world’s leading green building organisations have reached agreement on a common global language for the measurement of the carbon footprint of buildings just weeks ahead of COP15 in Copenhagen.

The ‘common carbon metric’ will be used by leading green building rating tools and made available to all. The metric is recognised by the UNEP Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative, and will be presented to decision-makers at the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Copenhagen in December.

Tony Arnel, Chair of the World Green Building Council, says, "The significance of this agreement should not be underestimated. The coming together of so many leading green building organisations is unprecedented. Buildings account for a third of global carbon emissions and, as the IPCC has demonstrated, provide by far the most cost-effective carbon reduction potential."

Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, Paul King, echoes the sentiments, stating, "We have reached a landmark agreement – to begin to speak one international language to describe the carbon footprint of buildings, in a robust and consistent way. The coming together of the world’s leading rating tools and other organisations... is a real and timely breakthrough. It demonstrates the importance of the World Green Building Council and its member Councils, which have played a key role in facilitating this. From a UK-GBC point of view, I am particularly pleased that BREEAM will be working in partnership with other rating tools owned and operated by Green Building Councils around the world, to embed this common language of carbon metrics in its tools here in the UK."

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