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Business group sets route map for nine billion to live well in 2050

8/2/2010

Standards, smart technology and contracts are all crucial to our future, say global business leaders.

Global green building standards need to be in place within 20 years for a sustainable future, says a new report from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

The report says mandatory standards for buildings' thermal integrity and heating systems need to be set across the 30 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in a decade. It says such standards need to be global by 2030.

The WBCSD report, Vision 2050: The new agenda for business, sets out how the global population of some nine billion, which is forecast for 2050, can live well and within the resources of the planet, and considers business challenges and opportunities. The report was compiled by 29 leading global businesses with input from 200 more.

WBCSD estimates that the net cost for transformation of the global building stock to reduce its carbon footprint in line with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations for climate stabilisation by 2050 is around 7 per cent of annual construction costs.

The report's route to sustainable living in 2050 includes:

• designing new and refurbished buildings to use information and communication technology such as sensors, automated shading, and load and pricing information, which help buildings operate at an optimal level of energy use.
• new tax incentives and subsidies for energy efficiency investments with longer payback periods
• business and contractual terms that involve designers, contractors, utilities and end users early as part of an integrated team
• a system integrator profession to support retrofitting of homes, who will assess the energy-efficiency requirements and develop a whole house plan, select appropriate contractors, and manage the retrofit process.

WBCSD president Bjorn Stigson said: "The world already has the knowledge, science, technologies, skills and financial resources needed to achieve Vision 2050. However, concerted global action in the next decade will be required to bring these capabilities and resources together, putting the world on the path to sustainability".