Climate Commitments
Business is increasingly stepping up and joining the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the face of the climate crisis. Governments and individuals have a vital role to play, but organisations also hold great power and influence to drive the policy and behavioral change that underpins and accelerates climate action at a global scale.
What is a climate commitment?
A climate commitment is a declaration or goal set by an organisation to reduce their impact on the climate. Targets may include a variety of greenhouse gas emission categories across different activities (e.g. operations, value chain, or products) and may include a combination of approaches to achieve them – for example emissions abatement, compensation, or neutralisation (SBTi Corporate Net Zero Standard) – depending on the level of rigor and ambition pursued. We encourage UKGBC members to not only publicly disclose emissions reduction targets, but also to describe the steps they will take to transition to net zero, including plans to promote climate justice and enhance resilience, nature, and biodiversity.
UKGBC and Climate Commitments
UKGBC’s goal is to encourage, facilitate, and accelerate the built environment’s transition to net zero. We ask our members to join us on this mission by taking action to halve global emissions by 2030 and to deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world by 2050 at the latest. In early 2021, UKGBC became the first official Accelerator of the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign and introduced new requirements of membership:
- All UKGBC members must, at minimum, commit at the head-of-organisational level to take action that contributes towards the global effort needed to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 at the latest. All members are strongly encouraged to align their commitment with the Race to Zero criteria, and to formally join the campaign through one of its Partner initiatives.
- UKGBC Gold Leaf members are required to demonstrate their ambition and commitment by formally joining the Race to Zero campaign and aligning their activities with its criteria.
At UKGBC we see our role as a supporter, facilitator and accelerator of their journeys. We do this by distilling relevant guidance and educational resources, and by giving members the opportunity to share insights and embrace opportunities for collaboration with their peers.
Get Involved
Race To Zero
WorldGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment
Blogs
What’s a carbon handprint? Understanding your organisation’s positive impact
It’s net zero, naturally
To Persuade – how can your organisation amplify the impact of its climate action?
Working Together to go Beyond Tackling Carbon
Solutions and Innovation
