Washington DC Building Energy Performance Standards include an existing building policy that sets a minimum threshold of operational energy performance that all buildings over 50,000sqft will need to meet by 2026.

South Africa becomes the first African country to make Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) mandatory for private sector, non-residential buildings

To encourage building owners achieving better energy performance beyond the statutory requirements, in Hong Kong the voluntary Energy Efficiency Registration Scheme for Buildings (EERSB) serves to recognize buildings that outperform the statutory requirements under the BEEO.

In August 2022, the city of Chicago, US, announced a five-year agreement with Constellation Energy to purchase 100% renewable energy for all city-owned facilities and operations by 2025.

In London, UK the Mayors Retrofit Accelerator supports a range of organisations to implement retrofit projects through a programme delivery unit and an existing framework of energy service companies to guarantee energy and cost savings.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) completed the first pilot project as part of the Building Retrofit Programme with the aim of raising energy efficiency on eight government buildings in the emirate in early 2020. The Abu Dhabi Building Retrofit Programme is one of the nine programmes under the Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management and Energy Rationalisation Strategy 2030 to reduce overall electricity consumption by 22 per cent and water consumption by 32 per cent in the emirate by 2030.

Based in Kenya, Africa Logistics Properties (ALP) has become the first African business to join the WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings commitment to decarbonise its portfolio.

Charter Hall Group has signed a significant Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with global renewable energy giant ENGIE Australia & New Zealand, to supply 100 per cent electricity from renewable sources across the Group’s property portfolios, over seven years.

As a financial institution with over 1600 assets, Deutsche Bank joined the latest wave of firms signing up to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. Eric Corey Freed, Principal and Sustainability Director, said: “Ideally, all buildings across society should be net zero carbon today. We’re not there yet, but we need to make it happen rapidly. Becoming a signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment is a no brainer.”

Under the Building and Construction Authority GreenGov.SG initiative, the Government of Singapore will require all new and existing buildings (upon major retrofit) to achieve Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy standards or equivalent, where feasible.

In 2020 in the US, the city of Los Angeles ordered that all new municipally-owned buildings or major retrofit be designed to reach carbon neutrality by 2030, including maximising energy efficiency, smart design, on-site renewables and electrification.

In Medellin, Columbia, the city has established a sustainable construction database to track permitted buildings, floor area and CO2 equivalent emissions. Retrofits of a number of municipal buildings have led to average energy savings of 22%; with actions including energy audits, envelope upgrades and system replacements, the city also obtained green building certifications.

In London UK, Great Portland Estates utilise an internalised carbon price to transform behaviour and drive innovation in the race to net zero. Covering both embodied carbon and operational emissions, this internal carbon price feeds into an internal fund which supports the deep retrofit of existing assets. (BBP)

Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure secures $1.2bn Impact-Linked Financing for projects which must meet one or more of three impact-linked criteria.

In December last year IDB Invest announced an investment of up to $10 million in the first zero carbon affordable housing fund for the Latin America and Caribbean Region.

“An Affordable and Sustainable Energy System for Sub-Saharan Africa” (Energy Sub-Saharan Africa) is a 4-year (2019-2023) programme funded by the European Union that is designed to support the aspirations of selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to improve their energy data management and long-term energy planning.

In 2021, the CleanPowerSF program by the city of San Fransicsco, US, adopted an integrated resource plan for procurement and delivery of 100% renewable electricity citywide by 2025. (C40)

In Denmark, Copenhagen’s ambitious Climate Action Plan will ensure that the city is supplied by 100% carbon neutral electricity and heat in 2025, making all buildings net zero carbon in operation. (C40)

The federal government in Canada has committed to developing a net-zero emissions model building code for provincial/territorial adoption by 2024.

Applicable to new builds from 2022, France’s RE2020 regulations aim to reduce the climate impact of new buildings by integrating mandatory energy efficiency requirements and whole-life carbon considerations.

France, working with GlobalABC and the Moroccan government, is committed to championing the development of a country level Buildings Breakthrough as part of the Breakthrough Agenda.