Carbon stories #15

Climate change does not wait, nor does the market!

Carbon stories edition. Image: Sabine van der Vooren
    • November 27, 2025
    • Keilestraat Rotterdam

Time: 19:30 - 21:30
Language
: Dutch
Moderator: Geert Maarse
Book your free ticket:
here.

The transition to a climate-neutral construction sector is gaining speed. Across the value chain, stakeholders are stepping up — from architects and cities to financiers and developers. This edition of Carbon Stories highlights a powerful example of that movement: the commitment of thirteen real-estate parties who are setting a new standard for embodied carbon emissions of new-build projects.

Institutional real-estate investors and housing corporations — together representing more than €60 billion in assets and tens of thousands of upcoming homes — have agreed to work with both target values and strict ceiling limits for embodied carbon in construction materials. Projects exceeding these limits will no longer be developed or acquired. In doing so, these organizations accelerate the shift toward a future-proof construction sector and set a clear benchmark for the industry.

The reduction pathway runs until 2050 and is reviewed annually. In this way, the signatories contribute to the Paris Agreement goals: 55% emission reduction by 2030 and a fully climate-neutral sector by 2050. Through three key routes — smarter design, circular reuse, and biobased construction — they are jointly steering the sector toward a sustainable building practice.

During Carbon Stories, representatives of the signatory organizations will share why they took this collective step, how the carbon ceilings are implemented and what this means for the entire construction chain.

Speakers:
Norbert Schotte – Building Balance
Patrick de Baat – ASR Real Estate
Carlijn Stoof – Woonstad Rotterdam
Sladjana Mijatovic – BPD Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling

Join us to hear how market leaders are collectively raising the bar for sustainable construction. Because climate change doesn’t wait — and neither does the market.

Carbon Stories is an initiative of GROUP A | CARBONLAB, International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, KeileCollectief and Klimaat Academie Rotterdam.