CIWEM endorse Built for the Environment report hailing sector's 'transformative' potential

CIWEM has joined leading organisations including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in endorsing the Built for the Environment report making recommendations for ways to 'harness the built environment as a transformative force in addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency'.

Written by integrated consulting engineers and advisers Buro Happold for the RIBA and Architects Declare – a network of architectural practices committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency – it comes as figures reveal that 38 per cent of global energy related greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the built environment.

Bringing together a cross-section of research and publications submitted by the built environment sector, the report's key calls are for:

• Governments to ensure environmental targets are science-based and fair
• Governments to shift focus onto reducing absolute emissions
• Governments must both mitigate and adapt to the climate and biodiversity emergencies
• Those operating within the built environment to actively adapt practice
• Information to be openly and widely shared
• Social justice to remain at the heart of all action

Additional endorsements from charities, NGOs, and institutes include the Good Homes Alliance, Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, International WELL Building Institute, Passivhaus Trust, and Supply Chain Sustainability School.

If an organisation you represent is keen to add their endorsement to the report, you'll find details here.