Our Little Pot of Gold research into net-zero homes was featured as part of the Australian Institute of Architects’ launch of a Decarbonisation Plan.
The Architecture Industry Decarbonisation Plan outlines a pathway to net-zero emissions, advocating for stronger regulations, government leadership in green procurement, and investment in skills and tools for a sustainable, zero-carbon future.
This plan was recently launched at the Australian Architecture Conference, where three presenters shared case-studies about different building typologies and the methodology to achieve low operational carbon and low embodied carbon emissions.
Our Director Talina presented our Little Pot of Gold research, to highlight that there are different ways of achieving net-zero, and they don’t all lead to a healthy, comfortable home. Our Little Pod of Gold won a net-zero carbon housing design competition, and we wanted to make clear the conversation Australia needs to be having about what we prioritise in our housing. Off-setting an inefficient design by increasing solar energy generation is not a sustainable or desirable way to reach true net zero. Efficiency first! We advocated for the use of the Passivhaus standard as a way to reach these targets.
Our industry is aware that climate change is accelerating, and we need immediate, ambitious action to counter its impacts.
The AIA notes: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made the stakes clear: without drastic cuts to emissions, we risk dire consequences for our planet. While Australia has committed to a general 43% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, current global pledges simply aren’t enough to hit net-zero by 2050, meaning it’s time for nations to step up and lean in.
The built environment presents a major opportunity — and responsibility — to lead the charge. The sector is ready as the required technologies already exist and are commercially available today. But, more ambitious sector-specific targets and actions are essential to drive the necessary innovation.
We are not waiting for our government to lead in this space, we don’t have time to wait for their policies to improve - it will already be too late. The buildings we build today in the industry are already failing to meet the 2030 targets creating the retrofit market of tomorrow!.
The AIA Decarbonisation Plan is available for download here
Find out more from the AIA steering committee in this media release:
Architects launch decarbonisation roadmap to transform built environment
