EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Energy Efficiency in Buildings: business realities and opportunities

Energy Efficiency in Buildings: business realities and opportunities

Introduction

Buildings are responsible for at least 40% of energy use in most countries. The absolute figure is rising fast, as construction booms, especially in countries such as China and India. Research in this field is important as buildings can make a major contribution to tackling climate change and energy use.

Description

Ten companies headquartered in six countries have investigated and synthesised a data set. This set reflects more than 100 billion square metres of building floor space and two-thirds of the world’s energy demand. The result is a detailed view of the current state of energy demand in the building sector than has previously been compiled. It concludes that all participants can immediately drive down world energy demand and reduce carbon emissions using technologies and knowledge available today.

Background information

This report summarizes the first year’s work of the Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) project – a project by World Business Council for Sustainability Development and co-chaired by LAFARGE and United Technologies Corporation. It presents a picture of the challenge of energy use in buildings and a preliminary, high-level approach to addressing that challenge. The next phase of the project will develop those ideas.

Methodology

LAFARGE and United Technologies Corporation chair the EEB Project and 8 companies make up the Core Group. They adopted a multi-faceted approach to understanding and analyzing the issues, including several hearings and meetings with experts. This included commissioning a perception study to identify the attitudes, knowledge and understanding among professionals and opinion leaders, as well as the readiness to adopt moresustainable practices. The project focused initially on “vertical” issues: energy, materials, equipment, and the broad topic of finance, development and operation. Then it developed ideas and material in the four areas of policy, innovation, finance and behavior.

Outreach to stakeholders in the building industry such as business leaders, government officials and non-governmental organizations is an important feature of this project. The first major event took place in Beijing in March 2007. The China Forum was organized jointly with the International Energy Agency. More than 150 people took part over two days of workshops and plenary sessions, helping us to understand building energy efficiency issues specific to China. A second Forum took place in Brussels in July 2007, concentrating on how to drive investments in energy efficiency in existing buildings.

Conclusions

Complexity and segmentation: The building industry and the market are highly complex. Different approaches will be needed for different segments and sub-sectors. Each sub-sector (e.g., offices, hospitals, retail, apartments, detached houses) may have its own particular characteristics, and the project will develop sector-specific analyses in the next phase. At this stage the conclusions are concerned with the building market as a whole.
Key elements to achieving zero net energy: use less energy; make more energy (locally); and share surplus energy.
Risks and opportunities: There are market and operational risks for businesses and there are opportunities. There will be substantial market demand for energy efficiency, but the timing and the value proposition are uncertain. Businesses that enter the energy efficient building market early could achieve first-mover advantages.
Barriers: lack of information; lack of leaderschip; lack of know-how
Levers for change: adopt a holistic approach; make energy in buildings more valued; educate and motivate.

The challenge in the first phase was to understand the impediments. In the next phase the project will explore ways to overcome them and develop a roadmap with practical measures that businesses can implement.

Contact info

World Business Council for Sustainable Development
4, chemin de Conches
1231 Conches-Geneva
Phone: +41 (22) 839 3100
Fax: +41 (22) 839 3131
info@wbcsd.org
http://www.wbcsd.org/
Christian Kornevall (Project Director), tel. +41 (22) 839 3102

Publication date

/10/2007

Researcher

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Links

Click here for more information on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Download the full report "Energy Efficiency in Buildings: business realities and opportunities (PDF, Eng, 1.73 Mb)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Keywords

Environmental sustainability