In case you missed it, last week we launched our latest publication, ‘Building Retrofits: Why upgrade our existing buildings’ 🏬
More than 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built. This presents a critical challenge: how to manage and adapt our existing homes, offices and cities in a way that not only reduces emissions, but reduces costs, protects communities and prepares them for the rising risks associated with a rapidly changing climate.
Updating our existing buildings (retrofitting) is essential for a climate-ready and resilient future across all regions and building types.
In our publication, we:
🟢 Explore the economic, environmental and social benefits of retrofitting existing buildings, from lowering utility bills to preserving heritage features.
🟢 Consider the key factors for delivering effective retrofit projects.
🟢 Provide real-life examples from a variety of retrofits, including shopping centres, schools, museums, skyscrapers and low-cost housing, demonstrating that successful retrofit projects are already delivering cost and energy savings worldwide.
The solutions are known, the priority now is to scale them and replicate proven approaches.
👉 Read our paper, 'Building Retrofits: Why upgrade our existing buildings', via the link in our bio to find out more.
#BuildingRetrofits #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
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Roadmaps are how global climate ambition becomes real-world action, and today, we're accelerating action further across our global network.
📣 WorldGBC is expanding our pioneering climate action roadmaps programme to Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Led by each country's Green Building Council (GBC) and co-created with government, industry, finance and civil society, these roadmaps will set out clear, practical steps to transform the built environment between now and 2050.
The momentum is clear. Where national roadmaps have already been delivered in Europe through our #BuildingLife initiative, GBCs report seeing increased policy ambition across more than 40 different policies and over €300 million of public sector innovation funding deployed into cutting emissions from the sector.
As our CEO, Cristina Gamboa, puts it: "These approaches have proven effective in aligning policy, industry and investment, accelerating progress at scale while unlocking the health, economic and resilience benefits of sustainable buildings."
Africa is expected to see the largest growth in new floor space of any region by 2050, much of it yet to be built. Getting this right isn't just an opportunty, it's essential, and by placing GBCs at the centre of delivery, these roadmaps ensure that growth is low-carbon, resilient and locally owned from the ground up.
The decisions made in the built environment today will shape emissions, energy security and quality of life for generations to come. That's why getting buildings and construction right matters so much, and why climate action roadmaps are central to how we do it.
👉 Read the full story via the link in our bio
#BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
More leading voices from the world of sustainable buildings have joined our speaker line-up for this year's WorldGBC Global Solutions Forum!
The built environment has never had more to offer on climate action, and on 22 June in London, we're bringing the global green building community together to showcase solutions that are already working and ready to scale. Joining us will be:
🎤 Faustine Delasalle, CEO of Mission Possible Partnership
🎤 James Drinkwater, Head of Built Environment Programme at Laudes Foundation
🎤 Nasra Nanda, CEO of @officialkgbs
🎤 Simon McWhirter, Chief Executive of @ukgreenbuildingcouncil
More speakers to be announced soon, joining Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, and speakers from @octopusenergy , Assemble and more.
👉 Register for the Forum today via the link in our bio
Part of @ldnclimateweek
#GlobalSolutionsForum2026 #BuildingTheTransition
We're excited to announce the first names joining us at WorldGBC's Global Solutions Forum!
On 22 June in London — right at the heart of @ldnclimateweek — we will be exploring how the built environment can scale today's progress into tomorrow's built realities with:
🎤 Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, who will be delivering the day's opening keynote.
🎤 Emma Fletcher, Innovation Director @ Octopus Energy Homes at @octopusenergy .
🎤 Brett Ormrod, Head of Sustainability, Europe at @lasallelife .
🎤 Paul Oosting, CEO of Assemble.
These are the voices shaping the future of the built environment, and this is just the beginning — more speakers to be announced soon.
👉 Register for the Forum today via the link in our bio
#GlobalSolutionsForum2026 #BuildingTheTransition
Raise your hand if you've done a deep retrofit of your home.
That was the challenge put to a room full of built environment sustainability professionals at a conference a decade ago. Barely any hands went up — and today, as we launch our new publication, 'Building Retrofits: Why upgrade our existing buildings', the question still cuts to the heart of why we haven't moved faster.
Because, as our Senior Impact Director, Stephen Richardson, argues in a new thought leadership piece marking the launch, the retrofit challenge isn't primarily a technical one. If it were, we'd have solved it by now.
80% of the buildings that will be in use by 2050 are already standing. Deep retrofits could cut their energy use and carbon emissions by 30-50%. The economic, social and environmental case is compelling — from lower bills and green jobs to improved air quality and community resilience.
So, why haven't we scaled up? Because retrofit sits at the intersection of fragmented ownership, split incentives, financing barriers, skills gaps and policy frameworks still largely designed for new builds.
Drawing on insights from across WorldGBC’s global network, our new publication shows what coordinated, systems-level action can achieve, and includes examples of proven approaches — from skyscrapers to affordable housing.
The question is no longer whether retrofit works. The solutions are known, the priority now is to scale them.
👉 Read Stephen’s full article and download the publication via the link in our bio
#BuildingRetrofits #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
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🌍 Today, on #EarthDay, we're proud to announce the launch of the Greening AI Data Centres Coalition (GADCC) — a new global coalition, of which we're a founding member, bringing together leading built environment organisations to tackle the fast-growing environmental footprint of AI data centres worldwide.
This year's Earth Day theme is 'Our Power, Our Planet', and nowhere is this more urgent than in how we power one of the world's most rapidly expanding building types. Data centres powering artificial intelligence already consume up to 2% of global electricity, and the @internationalenergyagency projects demand will more than double by 2030. Without agreed benchmarks for what truly sustainable data centres look like, rapid expansion risks undermining progress towards achieving our climate goals.
As our CEO, Cristina Gamboa, says: "By setting clear, credible standards, this Coalition will help ensure the growth of AI infrastructure supports climate goals, community resilience and long-term sustainability."
Together with @bre_group , @climatebondsinitiative , German Sustainable Building Council, GRESB, @gbcaus , @igbconline and @usgbc , we're working to cut through greenwashing and direct capital toward facilities that reduce emissions while protecting resources and local communities.
👉 Read the full announcement via the link in our bio
#Sustainability #AI #DataCentres #ClimateAction #GreenBuilding #ESG #NetZero #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
Nearly 60% of our Net Zero Carbon Buildings (NZCB) Commitment signatories have reduced their energy use intensity. But what does that actually mean — and why does it matter?
Energy use intensity (EUI) measures how much energy a building consumes relative to its size. By dividing annual energy use by a building's gross floor area, it creates a standardised benchmark that makes it possible to compare performance across portfolios, whether a business owns two buildings or two hundred.
EUI is more than just a number. It's evidence that a building is genuinely becoming more efficient — and, by lowering the energy demand on individual buildings, easing pressure on the wider energy grid.
Our latest NZCB insights and impact analysis, tracking businesses in 70+ countries, shows that signatories are making meaningful progress:
📉 58% have successfully reduced their EUI
🔽 Nine have achieved a reduction of more than 50%
✅ Despite increasing the number of buildings in their portfolios, 70% have avoided an increase in overall EUI
👉 Explore the full insights and impact of the Commitment so far via the link in our bio
#NZCBCommitment #NetZeroBuildings #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
The case for building electrification is clear. But what does it look like in practice?
In our new publication, 'Powering the Transition: Building Electrification', we've shared the rationale, methods and benefits of electrifying the built environment. Now, we're putting the spotlight on real-life examples from across our global network.
From solar-powered villages in Indonesia to electrified steel plants in Abu Dhabi, companies and communities around the world are leading the way to electrification, showing that solutions exist and now is the time to put them into action.
👉 Find out more in the full paper via the link in our bio
#CleanEnergy #Electrification #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
Scaling today's progress into tomorrow's built realities.
On Monday 22 June, we're bringing the global green building community together in London for the WorldGBC Global Solutions Forum — the flagship event of our biennial Leadership Summit, taking place as part of @ldnclimateweek 2026.
Across the built environment, the foundations for sustainable transformation are firmly in place. Goals have been set. Technologies have been proven. Climate action plans exist in more countries than ever before.
Around the world, Green Building Councils, businesses, governments and the finance community are already delivering solutions that build resilience, unlock investment and improve lives.
Now, the challenge is not whether solutions exist — it's how quickly and widely they can be adopted.
Held in partnership with @ukgreenbuildingcouncil , the Forum will showcase practical, profitable green building solutions that are already underway and ready to be scaled.
Are you ready to be part of what comes next?
👉 Register now and join us in London via the link in our bio
#GlobalSolutionsForum2026 #LCAW2026 #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
This #WorldHealthDay, the World Health Organization ( @who ) is calling on us all to stand with science. At WorldGBC, that's exactly what we do.
9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air. But there's a piece of this story that's often overlooked: our buildings are both a source of the problem, and one of our greatest tools for solving it.
Studies suggest we spend up to 90% of our time indoors. The air inside our homes, workplaces and schools is shaped by the materials around us, how our buildings are ventilated, and the fuels we use to heat and power them. Poor indoor air quality is linked to respiratory disease, cardiovascular conditions and reduced cognitive function — and the impacts fall hardest on more vulnerable communities.
The good news? We know what better looks like.
For over a decade, WorldGBC has been a leading voice in health, equity and resilience in the built environment, including our global air quality work. Our resources set out the science-led strategies that can protect and improve air quality across the full building lifecycle — from design and construction through to operation. Because healthier buildings aren't a nice-to-have. They're a public health imperative.
From ventilation and vegetation to reducing operational and embodied carbon emissions, find out how we can create a healthier built environment for everyone. 👇
🔗 Read our resources on air quality in the built environment via the link in our bio
#WorldHealthDay #StandWithScience #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
We're thrilled to announce that our CEO, Cristina Gamboa, will be joining the @financialtimes Climate & Impact Summit this June in London.
As we move deeper into 2026, the global conversation has shifted from theoretical targets to the reality of 'Inevitable Resilience'. Cristina will be on stage alongide Amina Hamidi (ABB) in a dedicated panel discussing retrofitting for impact in the built environment, addressing key questions like:
🟢 How urgent is the future-proofing of buildings against climate extremes?
🟢 What forms of climate change adaption for buildings and infrastructure can ensure they remain fit for the future?
🟢 Why are insulation, heat pumps and energy storage still underfunded despite their short payback periods?
We're pleased to be able to offer our network an exclusive discount to join the Summit in-person or digitally — register with promo code SPEAKER20 for 20% off.
📅 Panel: Decarbonising the built environment — retrofitting for impact
🕚 Thu 18 Jun | 11:40 – 12:20 BST
👉 Register via the link in our bio
#FTClimateImpact #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings
