Potocnik made his case at the opening of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) event in Brussels this week, where prominent figures involved in promoting more environmentally-friendly office space and other developments have 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 more regularly when it comes to 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 pro-actively with governments to unlock the considerable business benefits that can arise from radically rethinking our building practices.”
A number of other delegates at the event stressed the point that pressure on raw materials use within the construction industry is currently at unprecedented levels, which has put a sharp focus on the issue of resource efficiency.
Meanwhile, the environmental benefits of sustainable office building were highlighted and the scale of the carbon-cutting challenges faced by countries in Europe and the rest of the world was reiterated.
Editor’s notes: As of July 2023, the WorldGBC was made up of 75+ green building councils from around the world as well as 46,000+ private sector members.
The organisation’s aim is to accelerate action to deliver on the ambition of the Paris Agreement, by eliminating the buildings and construction sector’s emissions by 2050.
It enedours to make systemic change by addressing whole life carbon emissions of existing and new buildings and securing regenerative, resource efficient and waste-free infrastructure.
The World Green Building Council’s headquarter offices are in London on Gray’s Inn Road.