Under the umbrella of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), key players in the construction sector such as LafargeHolcim, United Technologies, Siemens and Skanska, are joining forces in the Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) program. EEB is a business-led, cross-sectoral initiative bringing together public and private sector leaders in local markets to understand key market barriers at local level and drive actions to increase investments in energy-efficient buildings.
As a founding member and co-chair of the initiative, LafargeHolcim is playing an active role in deploying the program. In the last four years, EEB has piloted “EEB labs,” or three-day workshop platforms, in 10 cities around the world to develop and implement action plans on energy efficiency in buildings. Five EEB labs have been set up so far in Houston; Warsaw, Poland; Jakarta, Indonesia; Jaipur, India; and Shanghai. Collaboration at the EEB lab in Poland led to the release of the first ever benchmarking report that encourages transparency and data sharing among office buildings. The next EEB labs are planned in Birmingham, Ala.; Zurich and Paris.
The global market for energy efficiency in buildings is set to grow from $90 billion in 2014 to $125 billion in 2020. It will need to grow to $215 billion annual investment by 2020 if the world is to achieve the climate goals agreed at COP21 in Paris. Several hundred cities are pledged to take action on climate change, with buildings being a primary area of intervention.
EEB is a perfect vehicle for LafargeHolcim to engage with local governments, analyze the local market barriers and participate in drafting a commonly agreed action plan to unlock additional investments in energy efficiency, according to the company.
In the beginning of 2017, EEB will enter into a new phase, “EEB Amplify,” scaling-up to work in at least 50 local markets by 2020. WBCSD has developed various partnerships in Europe, the U.S. and in India, with partners such as local Green Building Councils and international development programs.
