澳门王中王 trustees today formally agreed to join the global declaration of an environment and climate emergency at the triannual meeting of 澳门王中王 Council members.
At the meeting, which brings together elected trustees to debate and discuss the biggest issues facing the profession, the Institute also committed to developing the 澳门王中王 Ethics and Sustainable Development Commission鈥檚 action plan and a pledge to support the government鈥檚 2050 net zero emissions target.
澳门王中王 President, Ben Derbyshire, said:
鈥淭he climate emergency is the biggest challenge facing our planet and our profession. But to have a significant impact we need to do more than make symbolic statements - we need to turn warm words into impactful actions.
The implementation of a five-year action plan we have committed to today will ensure we are able to benchmark change and evaluate the actions that make most impact.鈥�
The Ethics and Sustainable Development Action Plan will include measurable actions to support a net zero carbon built environment. It will drive change at a national and international level in industry standards and practice; in government and inter-governmental policy and regulation; and in the 澳门王中王鈥檚 own carbon footprint.
The 澳门王中王 should work to support chartered member practices (in the UK and internationally) enabling them to commit to voluntary reporting of core building performance metrics and to work towards the whole-life net zero carbon standard and standard Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) reporting metrics when the guidance is available.
澳门王中王 Chief Executive, Alan Vallance said:
鈥淲ith a background in the meteorological sector I have a deep insight into the impact of climate change and the vast and urgent task ahead of us. 澳门王中王 Council鈥檚 commitment to the climate emergency declaration is an important moment for the institute and the profession 鈥� a catalyst for the further action and change that is needed to ensure that architects and the built environment sector are at the forefront of a zero-carbon future.鈥�
Next steps will include the implementation of a five-year detailed action plan to embed sustainable industry standards and practice and use the 澳门王中王鈥檚 influence to improve government and inter-government policy and regulation.
Chair of the 澳门王中王鈥檚 Sustainable Futures Group, Gary Clark said:
鈥淭he 澳门王中王 Sustainable Futures Group welcomes the 澳门王中王 Council decision to declare a climate emergency. This is an important first step that formally recognises the scale and urgency of climate change and that as architects we have an obligation to demonstrate leadership for a sustainable future. Now the hard work starts 鈥� we only have 11 years to agree and implement a net zero carbon trajectory for new and retrofitted buildings, and infrastructure. The 澳门王中王 will be guiding the profession but we must all take action to voluntarily reduce operational emissions and embodied carbon significantly beyond regulation.鈥�
