Decarbonization at Greenbuild 2024

Explore sessions at Greenbuild that will focus on reaching decarbonization goals.

Decarbonization, defined as the removal of greenhouse gas production from the global economy, has become an imperative, with buildings identified as a critical sector to address. At USGBC, we are bringing all our tools and resources to meet this challenge, as are nations, companies, and countless green professionals and advocates.

As the global green building community's top space for learning, networking and sharing insights, Greenbuild 2024, "Built to Scale," will offer more than 100 sessions on the most critical topics in the industry. The conference will take place Nov. 12-15 this year in Philadelphia.

Take a look at a small sample below of opportunities to engage in decarbonization solutions, and explore the full Greenbuild education program when you register to attend. You can sort by track, topic, learning level and more.

Building Materials Summit

Tuesday, Nov. 12

Greenbuild is launching five all-new, in-person summits in 2024. Each summit includes a keynote, a full day of sessions specifically designed for each topic and opportunities to network. Summits are available only to attendees with a Conference or Student pass.

As embodied carbon becomes a larger share of buildings' emissions profile in the coming decades, materials will require novel approaches, nature-informed solutions and a great deal of innovation. Building products of tomorrow need to have multiple attributes and encompass circular, low-carbon and healthy concepts. Innovation will only happen through collaboration among aligned organizations, adequate focus and funding for the next wave of products, and recognition of leadership criteria through rating systems like LEED, Living Building Challenge and WELL. The Greenbuild Materials Summit will focus on these emerging trends and provide harmonized solutions for manufacturers and project teams looking to optimize building materials.

Future-Proofing Decarbonization with LEED v5

Tuesday, Nov. 12

Greenbuild's 2024 workshops are half-day tailored opportunities to connect with experts in your field and receive real-time solutions to your challenges. Workshops are available only to attendees with a Conference or Student pass.

What decisions do we need to make for buildings we are designing, constructing and operating to swiftly decarbonize the building industry? What steps should we take to initiate this process, and what tools does USGBC offer to facilitate this? LEED v5 has been holistically created to guide decisions and actions to move us toward our global climate goals. It provides clear steps for delivering new buildings with ultra-low greenhouse gas emissions and rewards existing buildings for leadership and planning to hit future decarbonization targets. Learn the importance of decarbonization plans, how to establish these plans for individual assets, regardless of where they are in the life cycle, and how to tie that into portfolio-level planning.

The Carbon, the Whole Carbon, and Nothing but the Carbon

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 3-4 p.m.

Whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) is a rapidly evolving framework generating significant interest and momentum in the design industry. Its ultimate goal is to fully account for all building-related carbon emissions and provide valuable information to help direct efforts for reducing impacts and meeting climate targets. This session explores the challenges, opportunities and limitations of WLCA through two exciting projects: an analysis of 30 buildings in California and an examination of the net zero energy John Lewis Elementary in Arlington, Virginia. Through these examples, participants will learn the pros and cons of WLCA and hear about lessons learned to improve the comparability and usefulness of building scale assessments.

Demystifying and Automating Decarbonization Roadmaps

Thursday, Nov. 14, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Anyone can set a greenhouse gas reduction goal. But how do you actually go about reaching that goal across a building portfolio that fits within a capital budget? Through the perspectives of a real estate owner, a sustainability engineering consultant, a decarbonization planning software provider and USGBC, this session will offer an eight-step framework that answers many pertinent questions. Learn how the new language in LEED v5 for Operations and Maintenance rewards teams for conducting decarbonization plans and gain tools and resources for monitoring and verification of portfolio ESG performance.

Disclosure Deep Dive: Will Climate Reporting Impact Corporate Buildings' Decarbonization?

Friday, Nov. 15, 10:15-11:15 a.m.

This in-depth and lively discussion on climate disclosure will delve into how new and expected emission reporting and climate disclosure rules could change how companies approach their buildings and their leasing portfolios. These include the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, new California laws, bills advancing in New York and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related financial risk rule, potentially without scope 3 emissions requirements. Will these rules have an impact on how corporations approach their buildings? The session will discuss how these emerging disclosures could play out in different corporate settings, between landlords and tenants, factors limiting their outcomes, and how advocates for building decarbonization can support optimizing the beneficial outcomes from disclosure.

View the full education lineup.

Register for Greenbuild.

View the full education lineup

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