Potocnik made his case at the opening of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) event in Brussels this week, where prominent figures promoting more environmentally friendly office space and other developments gathered.
“Greening our building stock provides unparalleled opportunities, not only to cost-effectively reduce carbon emissions but also to reduce our use of extracted materials and water,” the commissioner said.
The Brussels event is designed partly as a showcase for the WorldGBC’s European Network initiative, which aims to encourage companies across Europe to collaborate more effectively and regularly when innovating in the context of sustainable development.
The UK Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) chief executive, Paul King, said: “The new WorldGBC Europe Network provides a unique vehicle for businesses to work together across the region to improve the sustainability of Europe’s built environment.
“There is a great opportunity for industry to work proactively with governments to unlock the considerable business benefits that can arise from radically rethinking our building practices.”
Several other delegates at the event stressed that pressure on raw materials use within the construction industry is currently at unprecedented levels, sharply focusing attention on resource efficiency.
Meanwhile, the environmental benefits of sustainable office buildings were highlighted, and the scale of the carbon-cutting challenges faced by European countries and the rest of the world was reiterated.
Editor’s notes: As of July 2023, the WorldGBC comprised 75+ green building councils from around the world and 46,000+ private sector members.
The organisation aims to accelerate action to deliver on the ambition of the Paris Agreement by eliminating emissions from the buildings and construction sector by 2050.
It seeks to drive systemic change by addressing whole-life carbon emissions from existing and new buildings and securing regenerative, resource-efficient, and waste-free infrastructure.
The World Green Building Council’s headquarters offices are in London on Gray’s Inn Road.
As of September 2026, the World Green Building Council’s office remained at Fox Court, 14 Gray’s Inn Road.
In April 2026, it was announced that a Green AI data centre coalition (GADCC) was launched, consisting of nine global bodies working to develop sustainability benchmarks.
Members included the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Climate Bonds Initiative, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).
At the time of the announcement, Cristina Gamboa, CEO of the WorldGBC, stated: “Data centres are rapidly becoming part of the physical fabric of our built environments, with significant impacts on energy systems, water resources and local communities. As a founding member of the Greening AI Data Centres Coalition, the World Green Building Council is proud to help bring together global expertise from across the building and construction sector to define what truly sustainable data centres look like. By setting clear, credible standards, this Coalition will help ensure the growth of AI infrastructure supports climate goals, community resilience and long-term sustainability.”