2021 was a significant year for climate litigation.  This post highlights some of the most significant decisions in climate litigation and their implication for the future.  The verdicts show that courts increasingly recognize climate change as a human rights issue and that judges are prepared to order both states and ...

The EU plans to regulate the renovation of already existing, poorly insulated or ventilated buildings to become carbon neutral by 2050.  The "nearly net-zero" energy efficiency standards for new builds are set to be strengthened.  For the initiative, the Commission will make up to €150bn in regional development, cohesi ...

The majority of hotel carbon emissions result from operational energy consumption.  With 80% of hotels in 2050 already in existence, this white paper sets out a high-level framework and prioritizes interventions throughout the remaining life cycle of the existing building stock.  The paper addresses the net-zero carbon ...

Sustainable Interior Architecture and Design (SIAD) impacts energy conservation as well as occupants’ satisfaction, comfort, and physical and psychological wellbeing.  Although its adoption is necessary for achieving the sustainable development and operation of the built environment as well as the relevant sustainable ...

Stewardship is the use of influence by institutional investors to maximize long-term value, including the value of common social, environmental and economic assets on which returns and stakeholder interests depend.  Stewardship and ESG incorporation calls for the inclusion of ESG factors in investment and capital alloc ...

Companies globally are increasingly required to provide disclosure that is reliable, consistent, and comparable.  They are facing increased pressure across the world to justify their sustainability label – "green labeling".  The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also voiced the importance of clear, consis ...

This article explores ESG – environmental, social and (corporate) governance – in the hotel sector by examining the ESG factors in hospitality and reviewing the role of ESG in a hotel’s life cycle.  While environmental needs are the most pressing and environmental efforts are more measurable, social and governance fact ...

Published in 2013, the report contributed to the development of a post-2015 agenda and the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 by the United Nations.  It set out a universal agenda to eradicate extreme poverty globally by 2030 and deliver on the promise of sustainable development.  The report addressed issues that are crit ...

On the Italian Adriatic coast in the province of Rimini, more than 350 hotels are up for sale.  According to estimates, €320 million would be enough to buy a good third of them.  In Rimini alone, 159 buildings are now on the market, several of them with four and five stars.  It is not only the Corona pandemic that has ...

The overall goal of sustainable development is to meet our needs today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.  The implementation of the sustainable development concept is our greatest challenge.  This special issue invites researchers to the scientific debate on its challenges and oppor ...

Successful sustainable development of projects largely depends on the level of clients’ commitment to sustainable construction practices.  This survey found that the most influential factors were client knowledge and awareness; cost implication and mechanism of financial involvement; economic value and return on invest ...

Tasked with the overall management of a building’s development phases, the project manager is becoming increasingly crucial for achieving project sustainability goals.  This survey reveals that project managers were well aware of sustainability issues and their role in bringing a sustainability agenda into construction ...

The proposed revision of the EPBD is part of the 2021 EU Commission Work Programme “Fit for 55” package.  It is key legislation to deliver on the 2030 and 2050 decarbonization objectives and adopt the Renovation Wave Strategy with concrete regulatory, financing and enabling measures.  The revision introduces minimum en ...

Socioecological systems reflect a highly interconnected relationship between society and ecosystems.  Their resilience depends on a wide range of factors stemming from the linkages between human societies and ecosystems.  The factors include changes in the social, political and environmental factors and the interaction ...

Evolving green building and energy codes impact the cost assessment and early schematic design of projects, which building owners and design teams must understand.  Sustainability feasibility studies are undertaken early in the construction document (CD) phase to effectively address sustainability goals and requirement ...