Global Green Building Alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to reach net zero emissions and meet global energy transition goals

An international alliance of green building rating bodies has launched the first guide to facilitate the $35 trillion investment needed by 2030 to meet global energy transition goals.

The international alliance of the UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Alliance HQE-GBC France has developed Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.

“The $35 trillion investment needed to meet global energy transition targets represents almost 10% of the value of global real estate, so we’re talking about investment on a massive scale,” says Davina Rooney, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

The guide advocates a holistic approach by integrating health and social outcomes as key investment indicators, going beyond financial and environmental returns.

This profound shift requires a fundamental rethinking of traditional practices, encouraging investors to accept the risks associated with new technologies, adapt existing solutions and prioritize social impacts. As such, the alliance is committed to developing criteria in collaboration with financing providers to create, measure and report on social value.

Here is the full press release on the guide:

An international alliance of the world’s leading green building rating organizations today announced the launch of the first global practical guide to facilitate the $35 trillion investment needed by 2030 to meet global energy transition goals.

Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans details how various building verification and certification standards can be used to comply with global classifications and bond frameworks, setting out a pathway for the global built environment to reach a sustainable climate threshold of 1.5°C.

Gillian Charlesworth, CEO of BRE, said the guide demonstrates the unified international commitment to tackling climate change. “By unlocking significant capital, we can drive the essential decarbonisation of our built environment despite the inherent challenges,” Mr Charlesworth said. “This guide represents a monumental first step in coordinating a global movement for green buildings, and we look forward to further collaboration to address the challenge of climate change in the sector.”

With buildings accounting for more than 30% of global energy consumption and more than a quarter of emissions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that the majority of existing buildings will still be standing in 2050, requiring large-scale capital investments to support sustainable renovations and meet climate targets.

Davina Rooney, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), said the alliance would strengthen global cooperation between the financial and real estate sectors, which will be key to unlocking the $35 trillion investment needed by 2030. “The $35 trillion investment needed to meet global energy transition targets represents nearly 10% of the value of global real estate, so we’re talking about investment on a massive scale,” Rooney said. “The good news is that this guide demonstrates how working with any of the leading rating tools, whether it’s Green Star, LEED, BREEAM, Green Mark, HQE or NABERS, will ensure a better outcome for people, the planet and your bottom line.”

Building and Construction Authority of Singapore (BCA) CEO Mr Kelvin Wong said: “The International Sustainable Finance Guide represents a significant step forward for the built environment as it will provide investors and financial institutions with the tools to recognise the value proposition of green buildings. We are confident that this initiative will lead to wider adoption of the BCA Green Mark programme and other similar green building rating systems internationally. This will help catalyse the sustainable growth of the global building sector towards a low-carbon future.”

Yvonne Soh, executive director of the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), said the guide will ensure that rating systems can align with financial instruments and bond frameworks around the world, which will have a global impact. “This guide will bring us closer to a world where sustainability is not just an option, but a cornerstone of global economic activity,” Soh said.

Antoine Desbarrières, President of the HQE-GBC France Alliance, said he was proud to contribute to this guide, which demonstrates a collective desire to transform the built environment. “By promoting green finance and robust certification systems, we can accelerate the transition to sustainable buildings and infrastructure. This collaboration is crucial to drive the large-scale changes needed to achieve our climate goals,” said Antoine Desbarrières.

Despite the proliferation of sustainable financial instruments in recent years, their potential is limited by limited understanding and adoption. The guide’s forward-looking recommendations aim to fill this gap by improving interactions between the finance and real estate sectors and standardizing green building practices across diverse geographies.

The integration of leading building certification systems such as BREEAM, Green Mark, Green Star, HQE, LEED and NABERS provides a practical and robust framework to unlock sustainable finance, ensuring that progress towards a more sustainable built environment is supported by scientific and reliable methodologies.

Peter Templeton, president and CEO of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), said the case for investing more in buildings and portfolios goes beyond decarbonization. “While meeting our global decarbonization goals is a critical driver, investing in sustainable buildings and portfolios will also deliver measurable improvements in occupant health, community resilience and ecosystem restoration,” Templeton said.

The guide advocates a holistic approach by integrating health and social outcomes as key investment metrics, going beyond simple financial and environmental returns. This transformative change requires a fundamental rethinking of traditional practices, encouraging investors to accept the risks associated with new technologies, evolve existing solutions and prioritise social impacts. As such, the alliance is committed to developing criteria in collaboration with finance providers to comprehensively create, measure and report on social value.

Produced by an international alliance comprising the UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the new HQE-GBC Alliance France, this groundbreaking guide marks a significant milestone in the coalition’s efforts to accelerate global climate action. These institutions are behind some of the world’s most influential green building rating systems: BREEAM (BRE), Green Star (GBCA), Green Mark (Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority and SGBC), HQE (HQE Alliance) and LEED (USGBC).