How to Create a Paris-Proof Building: EDGE Amsterdam West

In the midst of a global climate crisis, the time is now for more sustainable buildings: those with drastically lower greenhouse gas emissions than current practice.

Paris-Proof buildings represent the future of the built environment and a great opportunity for developers to create healthier and more sustainable spaces where we live, work, study and gather. EDGE Amsterdam West has the ambition to be the world’s first Paris-Proof building: a blend of beautiful design and rigorous sustainability standards, and proof that designing with sustainability in mind can be creative, rewarding, and offer a good business case. This report summarises key opportunities and insights for the creation of a Paris-Proof building through all stages of development, from location scouting through building decommissioning, using insights and lessons from the EDGE Amsterdam West building as a guide.

Paris-Proof Buildings: What are they and why are they needed?

As we face the global climate crisis, all industries must do their part to cut greenhouse gas emissions and keep global temperature rise within 1.5 °C, as prescribed by the Paris Agreement of 2015. This is particularly true for the built environment because buildings and construction together produce more than 39% of all energy-related global carbon emissions. These emissions are from construction, building operations (e.g., through heating, cooling, lighting, etc.) and “embodied” carbon in materials and processes throughout the entire lifecycle of a building.

As the global building stock is expected to double by 2060 and older buildings are continuously refurbished, we see an urgent need for the industry to be Paris-Proof. This requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by up to 80-90% by 2050, all new construction from this point (2020) on to be near-zero energy and an increase in the rate of refurbishment of existing buildings.

This will involve coordinated action to reduce emissions (including embodied emissions) and increase sustainability across all steps of the lifecycle of a building, namely:

• Location (including new vs. existing buildings)
• Financing
• Design
• Construction
• Operations
• Decommissioning

Paris-Proof ambition is a strategy right now, not 20 years from now” - Constantijn Berning, EDGE Executive Development Director