Smart, green buildings can help construct net zero future

afr.com:

Soaring energy costs have focused the minds of the nation’s captains of industry on the urgent need to decarbonise their bricks-and-mortar empires, new research has revealed.

With 40 per cent of global emissions coming from buildings, our corporate built environment presents low-hanging fruit to combat climate change, while also reducing costs by driving down energy consumption.

40 per cent of global emissions comes from our buildings. 

Global power giant Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Index, 2023 report shows that using renewables on site and driving energy efficiency for the nation’s offices, factories, warehouses and other commercial properties is front of mind for the vast majority of the nation’s corporate leaders, with nearly three-quarters saying they have a strategy in place to invest in energy efficiency.

Schneider Electric’s research found that:

“The switch to more sustainably efficient buildings has begun, it won’t be achieved overnight, but it is a crucial step to take, particularly for businesses actively trying to achieve their own emissions goals,” says Louise Monger, vice president, digital buildings at Schneider Electric.

“The way Australia designs, constructs, operates and maintains buildings must change rapidly to meet net zero targets.

“Buildings are contributing up to 40 per cent of global emissions, meaning they are a major contributor to the current climate crisis we are trying to tackle. We need to rethink the way we are designing and operating our buildings, and start planning green, smart buildings today, if we are to have any hope of reaching our 2050 net zero target.”

Monger says rising energy costs are a major factor driving Australians and others around the world, to pivot towards