Currie & Brown signs up to WorldGBC net-zero carbon buildings commitment

2 June 2021

Demonstrating Currie & Brown’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions, the consultancy’s UK and Europe business has signed up to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment calls on businesses, organisations, cities and subnational governments to reach net-zero operating emissions in their portfolios by 2030, and to advocate for all buildings to be net-zero carbon in operation by 2050.

The Commitment recognises and promotes advanced climate leadership in decarbonising the built environment, inspiring others to take similar action and removing barriers to implementation.

The initiative aims to maximise the chances of limiting global warming to below 2°C,and ideally below 1.5°C, by reducing operating emissions from buildings through the five components of the commitment framework - commit, disclose, act, verify and advocate.

Sustainability is at the forefront of everything we do

Sustainability is a core value of the company, so the company’s impact on the environment is always a key business consideration. Currie & Brown’s four sustainability goals are to:

• Minimise the environmental impact of the business
• Ensure working environments are healthy and safe
• Remove and reduce extravagance and waste
• Minimise carbon footprint across the business

This commitment demonstrates Currie & Brown’s determination to combat climate change and safeguard future generations. The consultancy will reduce the carbon emissions from the buildings it occupies and use staff knowledge and expertise to support others in reducing carbon from existing estates and new-build developments.

Key areas of focus for Currie & Brown in upholding its commitment include drives to:

• Commit to only occupying net-zero carbon assets by 2030
• Measure and publicly disclose energy consumption and carbon emissions annually
• Develop and implement an organisational decarbonisation action plan
• Verify energy consumption and carbon emissions data annually
• Advocate for industry-wide transformation, with continuing contributions to research and publications
  
  

Advocates for net-zero carbon

Currie & Brown’s expanding specialist sustainability services team is at the leading edge of new approaches to delivering zero-carbon developments, having worked with national, regional and local government across the British Isles to support their zero-carbon transition.

The in-house sustainability experts support all of Currie & Brown’s business units, helping deliver internal commitments and external projects by analysing, reviewing and advising on how best to set and achieve the net-zero carbon goals.

Commenting on joining the Commitment, Alan Manuel, chief operating officer for the UK and Europe, said: “Over the course of our 100-year history, Currie & Brown has taken a dynamic and adaptive approach to addressing the various changes and challenges to the way we work. Today, we are responding to one of the biggest challenges ever faced by our industry by proactively endorsing and promoting drives to achieve net-zero carbon. Our sustainability team is at the forefront of our commitment to staying at the front line of new approaches to zero-carbon targets – for both existing assets and new-build developments. Currie & Brown’s senior management team is united in being fully committed to this endeavour, and the issue of carbon emissions is a key consideration in every operational decision taken.”