EXCELLENCE IN CITY POLICYFOR GREEN BUILDING

“The inaugural WorldGBC Government Leadership Awards aim to showcase how leadership and policies at the city level can minimize our greenhouse gas emissions, improve the livability of our communities and boost local economies. Buildings represent an unrivalled opportunity to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and cities play an increasingly critical role in seizing this opportunity.

Our judges have been very impressed with the 22 cities nominated for the award, representing all regions and both developed and developing economies. The city policies receiving awards reflect a diverse and effective mix of strategies, from mandatory efficiency targets and performance disclosure to voluntary incentives and innovative funding mechanisms. We hope their leadership inspires other cities to transform their own built environments.”

Jane HenleyCEO, World Green Building Council

EXCELLENCE IN CITY POLICYFOR GREEN BUILDING

“Local Action Moves the World has been our motto, and

cities have indeed shown progressive action towards greener development. ICLEI is happy to be a

partner to the WorldGBC Government Leadership Awards that recognize world-leading policies by city and regional

governments as an incentive for more local leaders to follow.”

Konrad Otto-ZimmermannSecretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Award Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2011 WorldGBC GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS

BEST GREEN BUILDING POLICYSan Francisco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

LOCAL CLIMATE ACTION LEADERSHIP AWARD Mexico City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

URBAN RETROFIT AWARDBirmingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

REGIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARDSingapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION AWARDNew York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

MOST GROUNDBREAKING POLICYTokyo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Nominees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Partner Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is holding its first World Green Building Council Government Leadership Awards in 2011, for presentation at COP-17 in Durban, South Africa. The annual award highlights world-leading government policies that maximize the opportunity of buildings to mitigate carbon emissions in the environment. This year’s award theme, “Excellence in City Policy Green Building,” recognizes international best practice in city-level government policy to build green.

Local and regional governments are in a unique and often advantageous position to implement green building and urban design policies that will influence approaches to sustainability in the building sector. As buildings are responsible for approximately one-third of the earth’s greenhouse gas emissions, the impacts are significant and quantifiable. In addition to rewarding leadership, the award is intended to inspire other governments at all levels, share and replicate best practices in green building policy, and underscore green buildings as a winning strategy to reduce carbon emissions. The WorldGBC invited UN!HABITAT and ICLEI International to partner with us and participate as judges. With their expertise and commitment to sustainability at the city level, they bring invaluable insight and knowledge to the these awards.

“In the context of rapid urbanization in many parts of the world, the WorldGBC Government Leadership Awards provide

practical ideas for cities to speed up climate change action while improving the quality of the built environment.”

Rafael TutsChief, Urban Environment and Planning Branch

UN-HABITAT

Introduction

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Over 80 Green Building Councils from around the world along with ICLEI and UN!HABITAT network members were given the opportunity to nominate government policies from their countries for these awards. A panel of expert judges in the green building and sustainable cities field deliberated on the overall winner and category awards in order to showcase a range of initiatives. The policies were drawn from the five global regions represented in the WorldGBC and come from both developed and developing economies.

The WorldGBC Government Leadership Award for Best Green Building Policy was given to the policy with the highest average score of out of 100 based on the following criteria:

Award Criteria

Effectiveness of initiative in transforming the industry (out of 20)A reflection of how far-reaching the policy is and its potential to spur long-lasting change in the industry

Cost-effectiveness of initiative (out of 20)The use of lifetime costs and other cost-benefit analyses that move past “first costs” and consider other long-term financial benefits of the policy

Scale of emissions reductions (out of 20)The policy’s ability to mitigate climate change in the built environment, its overall environmental benefits and benefits to the communities that the policy effects

Demonstration of environmental leadership and innovation (out of 20)The use of new and innovative partnerships and mechanisms and/or leadership that will deliver tangible benefits of green building, climate, and energy policies to communities

Replicability and relevance to other locations (out of 20)The effort undertaken to partner, collaborate and share information in order to bring to scale urban sustainability strategies

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Best Green Building PolicySan Francisco, United States of America

San Francisco Green Building Ordinances

San Francisco’s Green Building Ordinance requirements together represent the strictest, most ambitious, most comprehensive policy approach to the built environment yet undertaken by any city in the United States.

All new construction projects of any size or occupancy must:

Standards Code (CALGreen),

Standards by a minimum of 15%,

standards, and

and demolition debris, and provide for collection of recycling and compost from occupants in operation.

Further, new commercial construction and alterations greater than 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) must meet a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard (rising to LEED Gold in 2012). New residential buildings must meet either LEED or California-based GreenPoint Rated standards. Certification is not required, but projects committing to LEED Gold certification receive priority in permitting queues. All municipal projects are required to attain LEED Gold certification.

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The performance of existing building stock is addressed through requirements for annual public disclosure of energy labels, comprehensive energy audits every five years for commercial buildings larger than 10,000 square feet (929 m2), water efficiency retrofits at time of sale, and mandatory recycling and composting. With a net present value of $612 million over the first ten years of implementation, energy savings from energy labeling, disclosure and audit requirements dramatically exceed their costs.

To assist private building owners with implementing the polices, the newly launched GreenFinanceSF PACE program

offers $100m in financing capacity for commercial energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water efficiency upgrades, with repayment collected through a property tax assessment. Energy efficiency and solar energy rebate programs are also offered.

In San Francisco, the construction and operation of buildings are responsible for 56% of greenhouse gas emissions (with over half of those from existing commercial buildings). With a population of 800,000, the new construction requirements alone are anticipated to reduce CO2e by 60,000 tons/year, with an additional reduction 70,800 tons/year of CO2e coming from requirements for existing commercial buildings.

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“San Francisco’s innovative and comprehensive green building policies are lasting investments in the environmental and economic future of our great city. The Green Building Ordinance employs San Francisco’s design talent, as well as technological and business innovations, to ensure that we meet the market

demands of the 21st century, protect the environment, and support the health and well being of our residents.”

Ed LeeMayor, San Francisco

Local Climate Action Leadership AwardMexico City, Mexico

Climate Action Plan (Programa de Acción Climática de la Ciudad de México 2008-2012)

Implemented in 2008, Mexico City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) is an integrated policy expected to impact housing, commercial buildings, governmental offices, subway stations, public parks and transportation with a goal of reducing seven metric

of the city’s CO2 emissions, or 12% of city’s greenhouse gas emissions, by 2012.

A collaborative effort between many governmental and private institutions, the CAP policy includes a total of 44 specific actions focused on energy and water savings, transportation, waste management

and reforestation. Those related specifically to buildings include:

The Sustainable Housing Program, which targets whole buildings, will benefit 32,500 dwellings by integrating green building criteria such as solar collectors, energy and water saving systems, waste water treatment plants, and absorption wells in new multifamily housing.

The Efficient Home Lighting Program, which exclusively targets lighting in existing buildings, will distribute ten million compact fluorescent lamps to replace incandescent light bulbs in existing dwellings, reducing 270,000 tons of CO2 per year.

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The Sustainable Buildings Program (PCES) will act as a certification tool for commercial and residential buildings, granting tax incentives for certified buildings, expecting a reduction of 25,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The Renewable Energy Program promotes the use of solar energy in government buildings, reducing 25,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The Rooftop Naturation Program, which targets entire neighborhoods, is expected to establish a total of 30,000 m2 of greenroof surfaces.

Many of these initiatives have other components and co-benefits, including water savings and stormwater runoff minimization. The CAP policy also includes a program, ECOBICI, dedicated to increasing cycling within the city and reducing dependency on automobiles. Since the CAP policy’s implementation of ECOBICI the number of cyclists in the city have increased by 40%.

Most of the programs are voluntary, and participation is being promoted by a series of tax incentives. However, government buildings are required to comply with all of the requirements established within the programs.

“Mexico City’s Climate Action Program has successfully advanced the local agenda for a more sustainable built environment. It encompasses innovative policy, offers smart incentives and promotes better practice - setting a meaningful precedent for the whole nation. The program is

addressing critical and measurable environmental, economic and social prosperity targets. It’s making a substantial contribution to the building and

construction industry and for the community at large.”

Mexico Green Building Council

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Urban Retrofit AwardBirmingham, United Kingdom

Energy Savers Program

A comprehensive and ambitious initiative, Birmingham City Council’s Energy Savers Program is expected to lead to £1.5 billion of green retrofit work for nearly 200,000 buildings in Birmingham and across the West Midlands over the next 15 years. During the initial Pathfinder phase of the Energy Savers Program (2012 – 2015), the program will deliver energy efficiency improvements for 15,000 houses and 40 public buildings. This will lay the foundation for a wider program that by 2026 will see 60,000 houses and 1,000 non-domestic buildings retrofitted in Birmingham and a further 100,000 houses and 1,500 non-

domestic buildings retrofitted across the West Midlands.

The program will run under the umbrella of the Government’s Green Deal initiative, which will allow householders to improve energy efficiency in their homes and pay off the costs of these measures from savings made on energy bills over time. The Pathfinder stage of the program is forecast to cost £100m, with Birmingham City Council providing a total of £75m in financing for housing and non-domestic retrofits through public sector borrowing. The council expects to receive the remaining £25m through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) subsidy.

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The next stage of the program is forecast to cost a further £1.4b and will be funded through a combination of private finance and ECO subsidy.

The retrofits under the program will involve installation of energy efficiency measures along with renewable energy and heat technologies that aim to drastically reduce the amount of Birmingham households living in fuel poverty (i.e. households that spend more than 10 percent of their income on heating their homes).

The program is expected to create and safeguard 60,000 ‘green’ jobs, from installation engineers, to designers in the area.

By 2020, a reduction of 84,000 metric tons of CO2 per year (4.3 percent reduction on current emission figures) is expected from domestic retrofits performed under the program. For non-domestic buildings, the program is expected to cut emissions by 189,000 tons per year by 2020 (7.8 percent reduction on current emission figures).

The model used by Birmingham is particularly relevant as it addresses the challenges of providing affordable financing under the Green Deal and neighboring cities have already agreed to replicate the program.

“Birmingham’s leadership in urban retrofit is trailblazing, and highlights the critical role local authorities can and should play as

a trusted partner in rolling out the Green Deal nationally. The scale of Birmingham’s

ambition reflects the urgency and size of the task we face, and that represents a

tremendous opportunity for green growth and jobs if the public and private sectors

work effectively together.”

Paul KingCEO, UK Green Building Council Chair, WorldGBC Policy Task Force

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Regional Leadership AwardSingapore

Building and Construction Authority Green Building Masterplan

The Singpore Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Building Masterplan is comprised of policy instruments designed to impose minimum environmental standards for building codes, spur private sectors towards building green, promote research and development in environmental sustainability as well as build Singapore’s capacity for green buildings. As part of the BCA’s Green Building Masterplan, Singapore’s BCA has developed the Green Mark rating scheme to facilitate the building industry in reaching environmentally sustainable outcomes for both new and existing buildings. In addition

to buildings, the BCA’s Green Mark scheme has also developed a rating system for public spaces and parks, further pushing Singapore’s sustainability goals. While the Green Mark rating is for private sector it is new and existing public

The BCA has also introduced Gross Floor Area incentives, to further encourage the private sector to adopt green building practices, which grant additional floor area for developments attaining BCA Green Mark Platinum or Gold Plus rating. The number of Green Mark building projects has grown from 17 projects, totaling 11.8

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million square feet (1.09 million m2), in 2005, to 840 projects, totaling 270 billion square feet (18.6 billion m2), today. With a goal of achieving Green Mark certification for at least 80 percent of Singapore’s buildings by 2030, the projected annual savings is S$1 billion as well as energy efficiency gains of at least 25 to 35 percent against 2005 building codes. To address cost barriers, Singapore’s BCA has introduced a new pilot scheme called the Building Retrofit Energy Efficiency Financing (BREEF) where financial institutions provide loans to building owners and energy services companies for them to carry out building energy retrofits.

Additionally, the Singapore government has set aside about S$145 million worth of cash incentives for the private sector S$ illion for

“This is a recognition for the significant efforts by BCA in showing the industry the way forward by not just understanding the private sector conditions but also taking

on the leadership role to get the public sector to go green.”

Mr. Tai Lee SangPresident, Singapore Green Building Council

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Greener, Greater Buildings Plan

Signed into law in December of 2009, the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan (GGBP) is one of the most comprehensive set of energy efficiency policies in the United States, targeting New York City’s largest existing buildings, which constitute half its built square footage and 45 percent of citywide carbon emissions.

The GGBP is composed of four pieces of legislation and two supplementary components. First, it establishes a New York City energy code that requires all renovations that impact energy systems to meet the standards of the New York State energy code, thus accruing the

energy benefits from the natural cycle of building upgrades. Second, it requires annual benchmarking data to be submitted by building owners for public disclosure, which will bring transparency for energy and water usage and provide valuable market information for buyers and sellers. The third piece requires an energy audit and tuning, or retro-commissioning, of energy equipment in large buildings every ten years. The last regulatory piece mandates lighting upgrades and sub-metering of large, non-residential tenant spaces, giving tenants information about their energy usage.

These regulatory measures are joined by two supplementary components that will help provide the real estate industry with the

Industry Transformation AwardNew York City, United States of America

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tools needed to comply. The first focuses on creating a trained workforce that can reliably deliver improved energy performance. And the second utilizes New York City’s federal stimulus funding to create an innovative energy efficiency financing cooperation to provide funds for energy upgrades.

Much of GGBP is about energy transparency; however, retro-commissioning and lighting upgrades have also been broadly mandated in the policy because they are extremely cost-effective measures that will quickly start accrue savings for building owners. When these small benefits are aggregated at the city scale, they add up to tremendous savings. GGBP is estimated to cost $5.2 billion while saving $12.2 billion, for a net savings of $7 billion.

In 2011, the City launched the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC), which will provide financing

for energy efficiency projects and comprehensive information about funding and tax benefits. NYCEEC will use $37 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding as a backstop for its loan products. By absorbing the risk that is associated with energy loans, NYCEEC expects to attract financing from banks and philanthropies that will leverage ARRA funding by a factor of four or five.

By 2030, GGBP is estimated to reduce citywide GHG emissions by at least 5.3 percent from the 2009 baseline of 50.8 million metric tons. The plan is projected to achieve approximately 10 percent of the reductions necessary for the City to achieve its goal toward 30 percent reduction by 2030. The plan is estimated to create 17,800 construction-related jobs in energy auditing, retro-commissioning, upgrading lighting and maintaining equipment.

“New York has been a pioneer in transforming green building practices, and this award solidifies the efforts by the city

to become a true global leader in the green building movement. I commend New York

and Mayor Bloomberg for showcasing excellence in the United States’ efforts

toward a more sustainable future.”

Rick FedrizziChair-Elect, WorldGBC

President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC

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Most Groundbreaking Policy AwardTokyo, Japan

Cap-and-Trade Program Tokyo Metropolitan Government Environmental Security Ordinance

The world’s first carbon trading scheme aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from large commercial and industrial buildings, Tokyo’s Cap-and-Trade program expects to reduce 13 million tons of CO2 by 2019 and covers roughly 1,300 buildings including commercial offices, public buildings, schools and hospitals. In Tokyo, buildings account for 40 percent of all CO2 emissions from the commercial and industrial sectors and 20 percent of Tokyo’s total emissions. With this policy,

buildings under the cap will need to meet the program’s required reductions by introducing energy efficiency measures and renewable energy or by purchasing offset credits from other buildings. Even for multitenant buildings, the reduction obligation is based on emissions from the building as a whole, and the building owners take full responsibility for the obligation. However, the tenants are required to cooperate with emission reduction measures taken by building owners.

Traditionally, tenants leave energy efficiency measures to the building owners, but now Tokyo is seeing energy efficiency efforts

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taken jointly by the tenants and building owners. This has led to an increased public awareness of climate change issues.

An important measure of the program’s policy is mandatory disclosure of information including building data and emission reduction plans. This is also supported by other Tokyo Metropolitan policies such as the green labeling program and the energy certification program. The Tokyo Metropolitan renewable energy subsidy for small to midsize building owners and residential houses has accelerated the retrofit projects in small companies and residences where there is not enough

funds for retrofitting projects. Further, the emission reductions generated by these smaller projects have become offset credits which larger building owners can buy. In addition to CO2 reductions, policies have been implemented within Tokyo to improve water savings, the use of rainwater and reclaimed water, stormwater abatement systems, green roofs, added green space and the use of recycled materials. Tokyo’s Cap-and-Trade Program has already been replicated in neighboring Asian governments and has continued to see interest from surrounding Metropolitan areas in adopting similar policies.

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“Making buildings green is one of Tokyo’s most important environmental policies. We are committed to continue developing green building

measures, such as the Cap-and-Trade Program, and to sharing our experiences and outcomes with the world to help tackle climate change.”

Bureau of EnvironmentTokyo Metropolitan Government

Nominees

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Estidama and the Pearl Rating System

As part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council has developed Estidama, a sustainability program, which ensures future large-scale sustainable development with special consideration to the prevailing local conditions and requirements. An essential tool to advance Estidama, the Arabic word for sustainability, is the Pearl Rating System, which has been developed as a framework for sustainable design, construction and operation of communities, buildings and villas. In order to help promote the Pearl Rating System, the government has eliminated the

financial barrier to entering this scheme by providing all the materials (rating system and tools), project assessments, technical clarifications and some training for free. To date, more than 3,000 individuals have attended training sessions at various levels. The policy mandates that all new developments significantly improve water and energy efficiency over the business as usual scenario, reaffirming Estidama as one of the first green policies to address sustainability issues and resource scarcity impacts associated with the built environment in the Gulf region.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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Program for Environmental Sustainability Certification

On the path to a greener 2014 World Cup, Belo Horizonte’s Program for Environmental Sustainability Certification aims to enhance actions in the construction sector to prevent and mitigate negative environmental impacts by awarding bronze, silver and gold certifications to assessed building developments. To this end, the program defines four areas of environmental sustainability in which the certification process focuses on: water, waste, energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The new certification process, established in 2009, is designed for the assessment of sports stadiums, residential housing, airports, hotels and restaurants as well as many other building types. Though the new certification program is voluntary, new policies have been put into place to simplify

the licensing procedures specifically for hotels as well as provide more stringent environmental impact and energy efficiency standards on all new building developments. As part of Belo Horizonte’s Program for Environmental Sustainability Certification all buildings must reduce their greenhouse emissions by at least 30 percent (base year 2010) in order to achieve certification. This requirement will help Belo Horizonte reach its goal of achieving an overall 20 percent reduction of the city’s greenhouse emissions by 2030.

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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Energy Efficiency Program in Public Buildings

Responsible for the operation and maintenance of approximately 1,500 buildings, equivalent to 530,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, the local government of Buenos Aires has authorized the Energy Efficiency Program in Public Buildings (PEEEP) in order to optimize energy consumption in public buildings and set an industry example. The program targets the energy efficiency of existing public buildings in anticipation of influencing both the construction sector to adopt energy efficient measures and the technology markets to promote efficiency technologies.

Through previous PEEEP research, a potential 27 percent reduction of energy consumption in lighting, 54 percent reduction for computer systems and 37 percent reduction for cooling and heating are deemed possible. Despite the energy savings, the financial savings were not significant due to the low cost of energy, which makes it very difficult to incentivize energy effeciency in Buenos Aires. Through the use of a benchmarking method to determine the best approaches for resource efficiency improvements in each specific type of building (hospital, schools, offices, etc.), the program aims to increase uptake of this policy both on a local and national level.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Sustainable Development Policy, Chicago Climate Action Plan

Chicago’s Sustainable Development Policy has required green building strategies be employed in all public projects as well as individual private projects receiving financial assistance, since 2004. Later introduced in 2008, the Chicago Climate Action Plan (CCAP) focuses on mitigating and preparing for the effects of climate change grounded on scientific understanding, broad partnerships, accountability toward detailed performance management goals and strategic implementation. The CCAP is composed of five strategies. One strategy, Energy Efficient Buildings, aims to retrofit 50 percent of Chicago’s commercial, industrial and residential buildings to achieve a 30 percent reduction in energy use. Another strategy, Clean & Renewable Energy Sources, has a target of powering 20 percent of the city’s electricity by renewable sources. Currently, 20 percent of Chicago Public School (CPS) energy originates from renewable sources,

making CPS the largest K-12 renewable energy purchaser in the United States. Thinking beyond energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reduction, the CCAP’s fifth strategy, adaptation, aims to protect Chicago’s built environment, natural environment and people for the long term. For example, Chicago is actively increasing its green roof space, which currently includes more than five million square feet installed, as a key adaptation strategy to reduce energy requirements in buildings and minimize stormwater impacts.

Chicago, United States of America

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Greening Durban Initiative, Municipal Climate Protection Program

Implemented in 2008, the Greening Durban Initiative is a voluntary component of eThekwini Municipality’s internationally recognized Municipal Climate Protection Program. The initiative is designed to develop education, practical tools and awareness on greener buildings and cities by promoting action in both government and the private sector. Potentially affecting the whole of the eThekwini Municipal Area (2,300 km2), the policy has established a number of ecological restoration projects that, through the process of natural vegetative growth, result in a projected sequestration and storage of 50,000 tons of CO2e over

a twenty-year period. These projects also result in the enhancement of other ecosystem services, such as flood mitigation and water quality improvement, thereby helping address risks to infrastructure and human health. Given that poverty is one of the greatest threats to environment, the Greening Durban initiatives actively develop numerous ‘green collar’ jobs for local communities to restore the ecosystems on which they depend.

With the current COP-17/CMP7 convention, this policy has influenced the greening of Durban’s International Convention Center, resulting in an energy efficiency retrofit that will reduce energy demand by approximately 7 percent within the building.

Durban, South Africa

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World Capital City of Passive Houses – City of Energy Efficient Buildings

Frankfurt’s World Capital City of Passive Houses policy has mandated, since 2005, that all municipal service and residential buildings be constructed to the Passive House standards. The city council has also set targets for new office buildings to be designed and built to energy efficiency standards of 150 kWh/m2, for primary energy use, in the Frankfurt high-rise buildings area. This policy is projected to create savings of more than 100,000 tons of CO2 per year through energy efficiency standards and cogeneration implementation. With the Passive House policy in place, the emissions reductions within the city are targeted at 10 percent each five years. In addition to energy savings and carbon emissions reductions, the city has successfully reduced water demand by 20 percent from 1998 figures as well as developed services to convert its waste biomass into fuel for cogeneration plants. With the goal of being supplied by 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, Frankfurt now has more than 1,500 dwellings (150,000 m2) and over 100 projects under development designed to passive house standards.

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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Energy Efficiency Agreement

Initially implemented in 1993 and most recently updated in December of 2007, Helsinki’s voluntary Energy Efficiency Agreement (EEA) Action Plan focuses on the city’s low-energy construction practices, building energy audits, development and use of energy consumption monitoring, renewable energy, urban development projects as well as climate change education and awareness-raising activities. With a goal of improving Helsinki’s building energy efficiency by 9 percent in 2016, the EEA Action Plan systematically targets new and existing buildings owned by the city of Helsinki, totaling 7.3 million m2 of space in 2010. The city’s energy policies also include densification of the urban structure, especially near rail connections, and the use

of existing energy supply, street networks, and other infrastructure which leads to lower transportation needs and a lower environmental impact overall.

One of the world’s longest running and most systematic policies of its kind, the EEA Action Plan is predicted to deliver city emissions reductions in excess of 27 percent by 2020 (base year 1990). At the end of 2010, 58 Finnish municipalities and joint municipalities have signed Energy Efficiency Agreements that replicate the agreements achieved in Helsinki.

Helsinki, Finland

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Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment

Applicable to all new building plans for development proposals beginning in April 2011, the Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment (BDFQSBE) initiative promotes energy efficiency, urban livability, building maintenance, environmental conservation and provision of amenities and green features in buildings.

The policy requires that all new buildings undergo the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) BEAM Plus assessment and be designed in accordance with a package of measures covering sustainable building design guidelines on building separation, building set back, site coverage of greenery and energy efficiency of buildings in order to receive concessions for additional gross floor area (GFA).

With this plan, building owners are incentivized to incorporate specific green building features in order to obtain a GFA concession of up to 10 percent. Uptake of this initiative is expected to be extremely high as very few building developers would forfeit the incentive to have increased GFA.

With an estimated annual total of 400 new building developments being affected by the new policy the projected total CO2 savings are expected to be 200,000 metric tons annually. The policy was developed after wide public consultations and an extensive public engagement process conducted by a third party (the Council for Sustainable Development) to gauge the public’s views on measures to foster a quality and sustainable built environment.

Hong Kong, China

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Governor Regulation on Green Buildings

Recently put into place, Jakarta’s Governor Regulation on Green Buildings policy is set to provide minimum standards for green building performance in the area of energy efficiency, natural resource conservation, indoor health, water use efficiency as well as waste management for new and existing buildings. Jakarta’s Governor Regulation on Green Buildings policy is mandatory for new and existing buildings with the minimum GFA of 10,000 m2 (for schools), 20,000 m2 (for hospitals and hotesl) and 50,000 m2 (for apartments, malls and offices). Existing buildings will be required to meet Jakarta’s new green building regulations upon renewal of standing building permits, which have a lifespan of five years. Additionally, all new buildings will be

required to meet the new green building criteria upon development approval.

This policy aims to meet Indonesia’s target of 26 percent reduction in CO2 emissions in 2020 by abating 2.7 million tons of CO2 emissions through mandating energy efficiency strategies within Jakarta’s building stock.

Jakarta, Indonesia

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1200 Buildings

Implemented in March 2011, 1200 Buildings is a voluntary program that aims to encourage and support building owners, managers and facility managers to improve the energy and water efficiency and reduce waste to landfill of existing commercial buildings in Melbourne. The anticipated impact of this program includes 1,200 commercial buildings and will affect financial sectors, green skills, energy, water and waste management improvements.

This program is the first of its kind in Australia as it integrates many methods, strategies and initiatives into one package, and provides information not only on the benefits but on project funding as well. By providing a legislative amendment to the City of Melbourne Act to bring this financial mechanism to life, the Victorian Government is working with the City of Melbourne to ease the financial burden of retrofits and improve the environmental quality of commercial buildings for future generations. The funding models, retrofit methods, strategies for implementation and collaboration pathways can be replicated in other cities, regions or countries, and all of the information is made available online for free.

Melbourne, Australia

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Unified Industrial Development Area Building Regulations

The City of Noida, through the 2011 Unified Industrial Development Area Building Regulations (UIDAR), promotes sustainable construction by offering additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) concessions for implementing green design and construction practices in building projects.

With the UIDAR in place, developers of commercial, public and residential projects are encouraged to adopt innovative and eco-friendly measures in their proposed projects at the design stage in order to receive additional floor area.

Development applicants who propose building projects to meet the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold or Platinum standards on a plot of 5,000 m2 and above are allotted an additional FAR of 5 percent free of cost, provided that the applicant is recommended by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency of India. With 1,200 buildings, totaling 83.6 million m2, proposed to come up in the next five years, this policy hopes to incentivize a great deal of building developers to choose green building features.

Noida, India

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Green Development Recovering the River Bank

Pachamac’s Green Development Recovering the River Bank (GDRRB) program is a collaborative effort between city government and business investors aimed to ensure environmental standards are implemented throughout the development process for Pachamac’s nearby river region. Through the GDRRB program, all buildings on the site are scheduled to be designed and built to meet the requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. As well as incorporating educational and recreational facilities, the project is also focused on

the promotion of eco-tourism and plans to incorporate an ‘eco-lodge facility’ as well as several restaurants focused on providing local organic foods. The project anticipates banning the use of fossil fuel vehicles and provides strict regulation on waste management and water use. In addition to the direct environmental impacts, the project is being designed to educate the local community on the strategies and benefits of green buildings and infrastructure. The creation of an Investigation Centre on the site will include garden space for local communities and on-site renewable energy generation.

Pachamac, Peru

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Guidelines for the Action Plan of the City of Sao Paulo for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change

The Guidelines for the Action Plan of the City of Sao Paulo for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change presents mandatory guidelines for the city of Sao Paulo regarding transportation, energy efficiency, sustainable building material use, and solid waste reductions within the city. Published and presented during the C40 Meeting in Sao Paolo in May 2011, the purpose of this policy is to continue mitigating and adapting Sao Paolo to climate changes and improving the city’s infrastructure to raise the quality of life for its people.

The policy sets a clear target of 30 percent reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in the city of Sao Paulo from 2009 to 2012. To reach the goal of reducing emissions by 30 percent in 2012, the proposed policy on climate change focused on transportation strategies to encouraging the use of public transport with lower pollution potential. Additionally, the policy prioritizes the use of trolley buses, subways, trains and other transport methods to implement forms of renewable energy.

The Guidelines for the Action Plan of the City of Sao Paulo for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change have been developed through collaboration with environmental NGOs, academic and governmental institutions throughout both city and state regions.

Sao Paolo, Brazil

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Better Buildings Partnership

Sydney’s Better Buildings Partnership is a voluntary collaboration of a number of Sydney’s leading public, private and institutional building owners that cover 58 percent of the office floor space across Sydney’s Central Business District.

Modelled on similar schemes operating in London and in Toronto, the Better Buildings Partnership aims to improve the sustainability performance of existing commercial and public sector buildings across Sydney’s local government area. Through the delivery of a range of resources and tools, the Partnership will address the challenges faced when improving the sustainability of the commercial property sector. The program improves the energy and water and materials efficiencies of the city’s commercial buildings, ensuring a range of reduced environmental impacts, and better indoor environmental quality

for those within the buildings, as well as a greater sense of community awareness, involvement and benefit.

Having a majority of building owners joining together to showcase leadership and highlight their commitment is a powerful message for the city, and provides a major market stimulus for greener outcomes.

Sydney, Australia

Municipal Ordinance for Rehabilitation, Declaration of Integral Rehabilitation Areas, and Municipal Law on Power Eco Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energies in Buildings and Their Facilities

The city of Zaragoza has continued to promote environmental building practices since 1998 with the mandatory enactment of the Municipal Ordinance for Rehabilitation (first applied 1998, renewed 2010), the Declaration of Integral Rehabilitation Areas (2009 - 2012) and the Municipal Law on Power Eco Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energies in Buildings and Facilities (2009).

The Municipal Ordinance for Rehabilitation has helped over 41,000 homes significantly reduce their energy demands and is estimated to have reduced their water use by upwards of 40 percent.

The Declaration of Integral Rehabilitation Areas established four pilot sites throughout the city’s most needy populations to incorporate environmentally sustainable refurbishment strategies. The policy was developed so that 20 percent of the total cost of works would be made by the owner and the remaining 80 percent would come from institutional partnerships.

The Municipal Law on Power Eco Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energies in Buildings and Facilities was sanctioned to improve the efficiency of domestic heating systems as well as promote development of bioclimatic buildings and solar energy.

The combination of these policies is expected to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by 11,400 metric tons per year.

Zaragoza, Spain

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Guideline for Sustainable Indoor Sports Halls in cooperation with German Sustainable Building Council

Developed in cooperation with the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) in June of 2011, Zorneding’s voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Indoor Sports Halls (GSISH) is a building assessment process for the design and construction of minor indoor sporting facilities. The guidelines focus on environmental design impacts such as the local climate, sustainable use of resources, renewable energy use, waste management, water use, biodiversity and transportation. The aim of GSISH is to provide ecologically, economically and socio-culturally sustainable sporting facilities within the city. The collaboration between Zorneding, DGNB, regional higher education institutions and Europe’s largest research facility (Fraunhofer Institute) helped

establish the GSISH in an effort to improve the green building practices of Zorneding’s sporting facilities. With at least about 40,000 minor indoor sports halls in Germany (as commonly required for schools and small sports clubs) already built, the GSISH has the capacity to reach a large pool of specific building types throughout Germany that are currently built without a focus on environmental sustainability.

Zorneding, Germany

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The WorldGBC is a coalition of 89 national Green Building Councils, making it the largest international organization influencing the green building marketplace. Our mission is to facilitate the global transformation of the building industry towards sustainability.

We foster and support new and emerging Green Building Councils by providing them with the tools and strategies to establish strong organizations and leadership positions in their countries.

Once established, we work closely with councils to advance our common interests by promoting local green building actions to address global issues such as climate change.

By driving collaboration between international bodies and increasing the profile of the green building market, we work to ensure that green buildings are a part of any comprehensive strategy to deliver carbon emission reductions

Partner Organizations

The United Nation’s Human Settlements Program, UN-HABITAT, is the United Nations agency for human settlements which orchestrates programs designed to help policy-makers and local communities find workable, lasting solutions for the urban environment. UN-HABITAT is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-HABITAT’s strategic vision is anchored in a four-pillar strategy of advocacy of global norms, analysis of information, field-testing of solutions and financing all aimed at attaining the goal of Cities without Slums.

ICLEI is the worlds largest network of cities and local governments committed to sustainable development. Among its over 1,220 Members from 74 countries, which represent more than 570 million people, are 110 megacities, metropolises, other large cities and urban regions. ICLEI connects leaders, accelerates action and provides a gateway to solutions. Through 12 offices around the world, it shares knowledge and builds capacity for cities to master the future. ICLEI helps cities introduce an integrated sustainability policy; become resource-efficient, low-carbon or even climate-neutral, disaster- and climate-resilient, and bio-diverse; develop a green infrastructure and create a green urban economy; achieve a healthy and happy community.

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We offer thanks to the all of the nominated city governments and the New York City Economic Development Corporation for generously contributing the photos used in this publication.

paper made from 60 percent sugar cane fiber