Foster + Partners pledges to design only carbon-neutral buildings by 2030

Foster + Partner's Bloomberg headquarters is the "world’s most sustainable office"

Foster + Partners is the first architecture practice to sign up to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, meaning that by 2030 all buildings created by the practice will be carbon neutral.

The Norman Foster-led studio has joined 23 cities, including New York, London and Tokyo, in signing the commitment, which aims to reduce the built environment's contribution to climate change.

"We are proud to be the first architecture practice to sign up to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, and welcome the Advancing Net Zero Status Report 2019 by the World Green Building Council as a collection of market leadership," said Chris Trott, partner at Foster + Partners and head of sustainability for the practice.

The commitment was launched at the Global Climate Action Summit in September 2018 by the World Green Building Council (WGBC), a non-profit organisation dedicated to holding the construction industry to the goals of the Paris Climate Accord.

Signatories to the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment have promised to make all new buildings net zero carbon for 2030, and do the same for their existing buildings by 2050.

Goal to offset construction's carbon emissions

Organisations, cities and regions have agreed to decarbonise their building stock and promote carbon neutral construction schemes as part of the commitment.

2050 is a target set by most climate change action groups to try and curb carbon emissions and limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In order to meet this target the WGBC aims to fully decarbonise the building and construction industries with its project, Advancing Net Zero.