The International Living Future Institute (ILFI), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing sustainable building practices, recently announced a groundbreaking collaboration with four major companies to advance building carbon verification. The partnership with Amazon, JLL, JPMorgan Chase, and Prologis aims to update and relaunch ILFI’s renowned Zero Carbon Certification program, ensuring it remains the industry’s most rigorous standard while driving progress in building decarbonization.
With the building sector contributing significantly to global carbon emissions, effective decarbonization strategies have never been more critical. This is particularly true for existing buildings, as JLL’s research indicates that 80% of existing office buildings will still be in use in 2050, underscoring the urgent need to focus on decarbonizing current building stock.
Launched in 2018, ILFI’s Zero Carbon Certification has established itself as the leading performance-based certification program for embodied and operational carbon in the real estate sector. The program requires buildings to be energy efficient, combustion-free (or actively phasing out combustion), powered by renewables, and built with lower embodied carbon than typical buildings. Certification is granted after a rigorous 12-month performance period and third-party verification.
The collaboration with Amazon, JLL, JPMorgan Chase, and Prologis brings together industry leaders to support ILFI in developing the next version of the program. A key focus is the addition of a certification pathway for existing assets, addressing a critical gap in the market.
Lindsay Baker, CEO of ILFI, emphasizes the significance of this partnership: “The built environment community knows how to address emissions. At ILFI, we are acutely aware of the need to scale these solutions. We are thrilled that these corporations -- each of them with significant real estate portfolios -- have agreed to work with us to create more and smoother pathways toward decarbonization for all types and scales of projects. We know that the next iteration of this standard will be a big step forward on this front.”
The updated program will explicitly guide existing building assets seeking certification without undertaking major capital projects. This expansion aims to drive further adoption of lower-carbon buildings and operations across the market.
Baker outlines some critical updates: “What will continue: The program will set industry-leading operational carbon requirements documented through a 12-month performance period. Project teams must demonstrate EUI targets are met, fugitive refrigerant emissions are tracked and offset, and all energy use is offset through high-quality on- or off-site renewable energy. The program will require the reduction and reporting of embodied carbon in LCA stages A1-A5 as well as high-value carbon offsets for the full project scope after prioritizing reduction measures.”
She adds, "New to the program: Existing buildings will be required to reduce and report embodied carbon in LCA stages B1-B5. All projects will be required to consider and report opportunities for embodied carbon reduction in the B and C stages. The program will require the tracking of the full building lifecycle and acknowledge that the carbon impacts of real estate go beyond the design and construction of new spaces."
Rex Hamre, JLL’s Head of Sustainability Consulting, North America, highlights the challenges and solutions in decarbonizing existing buildings: “At JLL, we’re actively trying to push the industry from a planning to an implementation stage. One of the biggest challenges preventing investors and owners from taking action is the lack of consistent data and standards, which this new certification will directly resolve."
He further explains, “This new certification provides the ability to validate and verify the operational decarbonization of individual assets or projects, which has been an ever-increasing need in our industry. Our clients are hungry to adopt a consistent decarbonization certification program. The good news is we already have the tools and technology to achieve decarbonization of existing buildings – what we lack is the accountability of a third-party certification. This new certification will provide validation and transparency of progress toward decarbonizing existing buildings.”
The updated certification program is expected to significantly impact the real estate industry’s sustainability and carbon reduction approach. Baker notes, “We know that standards and certifications are one way that the market transforms. And for organizations -- private companies, public and private institutions, and governments -- those can be critical levers. The updates that our team is working on now, with support and expertise from these companies, include ensuring that these standards can be applied and used -- easily -- with existing building stock. This is a critical area that has been somewhat neglected in the past.”
Hamre adds, “By working together, we believe this effort will have a material impact not only on our clients but our industry at large – helping move the needle on ambitious net-zero goals.”
The impact of this collaboration is already evident in the initiatives of participating companies. Raymond Quartararo, Managing Director, Head of Global Design and Construction at JPMorgan Chase, states, “We are proud to have worked with ILFI over the past two years on our Zero Carbon pilots, including the world’s first Zero Carbon Certified branch. JPMorgan Chase is now considering Zero Carbon standards alongside other sustainability and responsible design practices for many of our upcoming retail and corporate projects. We have long been an advocate for advancing more scalable standards, and with this new effort, we can do so in a way that advances the real estate sector’s decarbonization journey while supporting the communities and customers we serve.”
Looking ahead, ILFI plans to pilot the new program requirements with partners and other real estate owners to collect implementation feedback before refining and publishing the new program requirements. Baker also mentions the potential to replicate this collaboration model in different technical areas of ILFI’s programs. This iterative approach ensures that the certification program remains responsive to industry needs and technological advancements in sustainable building practices.
The collaboration sets the stage for a new era in building carbon verification, with far-reaching implications for the real estate sector and global sustainability efforts. This strategic collaboration represents a significant step in the building sector’s efforts to combat climate change. By enhancing the Zero Carbon Certification program and extending its applicability to existing buildings, this initiative has the potential to accelerate credible decarbonization efforts across the real estate sector.
As Chris Roe, Amazon’s Director of Worldwide Environment, Carbon, puts it: “There are few sustainable building certification options that focus on decarbonizing existing buildings, and we see ILFI’s new program as important for the industry and for companies such as Amazon as we work toward meeting our Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.”
This collaboration will enhance the effectiveness and reach of ILFI’s carbon certification program while setting a new standard for transparency and accountability in the industry’s decarbonization efforts.
