How to build smart, zero carbon buildings - and why it matters

Sep 8, 2021

High-rise apartments under construction can be seen in the distance behind a row of residential housing in south London, Britain, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls - RC2MZO96C6E3

Only 3% of investment in new construction is green and efficient, locking in high emissions for decades Image: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Khee Poh Lam

Provost’s Chair Professor, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore

Bertrand Lasternas

Associate Director - Energy Manager, National University of Singapore

Our Impact

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Cities and Urbanization is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Cities and Urbanization

Have you read?

Air Conditioning Biggest Factor in Growing Electricity Demand

Global warming will result in more electricity demand as previously moderate regions Image: Statista

Powerhouse Brattørkaia in Norway Image: Lyndsayclose/Wikimedia

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

More on Cities and Urbanization
See all

London to Miami-Dade: an integrated approach to developing equitable and thriving communities

Steven Lewis and Daniella Levine Cava

December 1, 2023

Why we must talk about nature-positive cities this COP28

Global Commission on Nature-Positive Cities

November 30, 2023

America’s public transit doesn’t have to be this way. It can learn lessons from abroad

David Zipper

November 30, 2023

These 3 cities already have their own metaverse

Ewan Thomson

November 28, 2023

How data and partnerships can help us improve heart health at scale

Ann Aerts

November 27, 2023

Benchmarking sustainable mobility in South America and other city-focused stories you need to read

Lisa Chamberlain

November 23, 2023

How to build smart, zero carbon buildings - and why it matters

Clay Nesler

Khee Poh Lam

Bertrand Lasternas

Share:

Explore and monitor how Cities and Urbanization is affecting economies, industries and global issues

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Cities and Urbanization

Have you read?

Teaming up to decarbonize real estate: This is how cities can achieve net-zero

Can we reach net-zero by 2050? These 3 focus-points will help

Decarbonizing cities – how to harmonize buildings, mobility and infrastructure

Don't miss any update on this topic

Related topics:

Share:

The Agenda Weekly

More on Cities and Urbanization
See all

Khee Poh Lam

Bertrand Lasternas

Share:

.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;color:#2846F8;font-size:1.25rem;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-1nk5u5d{font-size:1.125rem;}}Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Cities and Urbanization

Have you read?

Teaming up to decarbonize real estate: This is how cities can achieve net-zero

Can we reach net-zero by 2050? These 3 focus-points will help

Decarbonizing cities – how to harmonize buildings, mobility and infrastructure

Don't miss any update on this topic

Related topics:

Share:

The Agenda .chakra .wef-n7bacu{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;font-weight:400;}Weekly

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

The Agenda Weekly