Time: 19:30 - 21:30
Language: Dutch
Moderator: Geert Maarse
The world is under pressure: the U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, EU climate policies are losing momentum and political uncertainty is growing with the Dutch parliamentary elections and the debate on “Radical Growth.” It’s enough to make anyone feel discouraged. Yet, this is exactly the moment when the transition to a climate-neutral construction sector is gaining pace. Across the value chain, stakeholders are stepping up — from architects and cities to financiers and developers. This edition of Carbon Stories highlights how the market is shifting direction: thirteen leading real estate companies are setting a new benchmark for the embodied CO₂ emissions of new construction projects.
Institutional real-estate investors and housing corporations — together representing more than €60 billion in assets and tens of thousands of new houses — 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. A first of its kind in the world.
The reduction pathway runs until 2050 and is reviewed annually. With clear targets for 2030 (55% emission reduction) and 2050 (full climate neutrality), the signatories are steering toward sustainable construction practices through three approaches: smarter building, circular building, and bio-based building.
During Carbon Stories, representatives of the involved parties explain why they took this step, how the ceiling limits are applied, and what this means for the entire construction value 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.
