Top Global Companies Join With WBCSD to Make Energy Self-Sufficient Buildings a Reality

Top Global Companies Join With WBCSD to Make Energy Self-Sufficient Buildings a Reality

March 29, 2006

    GENEVA, March 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The World
Business Council for Sustainable Development announced
today that it is forming an alliance of leading global
companies to determine how buildings can be designed and
constructed so that they use no energy from external power
grids, are carbon neutral, and can be built and operated at
fair market values.

    The industry effort is led by United Technologies Corp.
(NYSE: UTX), the world's largest supplier of capital goods
including elevators, cooling/heating and on-site power
systems to the commercial building industry, and Lafarge
Group (NYSE: LR, Euronext: LG), the world leader in
building materials including cement, concrete, aggregates,
gypsum and roofing. The WBCSD and the two lead companies
are in discussions with many other leading global companies
that are expected to join the project and will be announced
shortly. 

    Buildings today account for 40 percent of energy
consumption in developed countries according to the OECD.
The effort announced today for transforming the way
buildings are conceived, constructed, operated and
dismantled has ambitious targets: By 2050 new buildings
will consume zero net energy from external power supplies
and produce zero net carbon dioxide emissions while being
economically viable to construct and operate.

    Constructing buildings that use no net energy from
power grids will require a combination of onsite power
generation and ultra-efficient building materials and
equipment.

    The project will comprise three phases, each producing
reports that together will form a roadmap to transform the
building industry. The first report will document existing
green building successes and setbacks, the second will
identify the full range of present and future
opportunities, and the third will present a unified
industry strategy for realizing those opportunities by
2050, specifically in China, India, Brazil, the U.S. and
the E.U.

    Each report will take one year to complete and involve
hearings and conferences with building contractors and
suppliers, sustainability experts, government
representatives, regulators, utility officials and others.

    "Green" buildings already are erected in
various parts of the world but current cost structure
prevents widespread adoption by general contractors. The
project will build on these examples, aligning costs and
benefits in the building equation and by working in close
collaboration with architects, builders, suppliers and
building owners to promote a more sustainable approach to
construction. Existing standards for energy efficiency in
buildings will be the starting point for the industry-led
alliance.

    "Lafarge has been leading efforts in energy
efficiency and sustainable construction in the building
materials sector for a number of years, not only by
reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the production
process but also by developing materials that contribute to
making buildings more energy efficient," said Bertrand
Collomb, Chairman of Lafarge.

    "In this context, Lafarge has been collaborating
with leading architects to promote sustainable construction
as illustrated by our partnership with French Architect
Jacques Ferrier, which led to the development of the
'Hypergreen' concept: This multi-use tower building,
designed for the world's mega-cities, is highly energy
self-sufficient thanks to the use of the latest
construction methods and technologies."

    "Buildings of tomorrow should be self-sufficient
in energy and have carbon neutral emissions," said Jan
van Dokkum, president of UTC Power, a United Technologies
company.

    "This can be done by incorporating renewable
energy sources into a building's design, optimizing energy
efficiency of support systems, and taking advantage of
geographic and culturally acceptable building practices.
Additionally, this aim is enhanced by using the 'cradle to
cradle' concept of producing, using and later re-using
building materials. This vision of energy and carbon
neutral designs is a necessary evolution we need to embrace
to achieve sustainability for buildings."

    Bjorn Stigson, President of the WBCSD noted that
"being smarter and more efficient about how we use
energy in buildings will help us conserve energy, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. We
believe this initiative can provide extremely
cost-effective solutions. It will also set the course for
self-sufficient and environmentally sound buildings in
which future generations will live, work and be
entertained. Our partners are industry leaders with
technological expertise and presence that no single
existing organization or government could provide on its
own."

    The World Business Council for Sustainable Development,
based in Geneva, is a coalition of some 190 international
companies united by a shared commitment to sustainable
development via the three pillars of economic growth,
ecological balance and social progress. Its members are
drawn from more than 35 countries and 20 major industrial
sectors.

    United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn.,
USA, is a Dow Jones Industrial company that reported $43
billion in 2005 revenues. UTC employs approximately 220,000
people worldwide and provides high technology products and
services to the building and aerospace industries. It has
been recognized as Fortune magazine's "Most
Admired" aerospace company for six consecutive years
based on criteria including social responsibility and
innovation. The company is listed on the Dow Jones
Sustainability Indexes and was one of 20 U.S.-based
companies to be listed on the 2006 "100 Global Most
Sustainable Corporations in the World."

    Lafarge, headquartered in Paris, is the world leader in
building materials and holds top-ranking positions in all
four of its businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete,
Roofing and Gypsum. The company employs 80,000 people in 75
countries and posted sales of euro 16 billion in 2005.
Lafarge has been committed to sustainable development for
many years believing that long-term value is best created
when considering the interests of the community and
environment in which it operates. This strategy reflects
the Group's core values and combines industrial know-how,
performance, value creation, respect for employees and
local cultures, environmental protection and the
conservation of natural resources and energy. It is the
only construction materials company to be listed on the
2006 "100 Global Most Sustainable Corporations in the
World."

    For more information, please contact:

     WBCSD, Josephine Chennell
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     United Technologies, Paul Jackson
     Tel:   [phone]

     Lafarge, Louisa Pearce-Smith
     Tel:   [phone] 
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  World Business Council for Sustainable Development