Attaining a climax of 70 countries endorsing the Déclaration de Chaillot, the inaugural Buildings and Climate Global Forum in Paris ended on March 8, 2024. Representatives of BIM Africa actively participated in the #BuildForClimate Forum, which was co-hosted by the French Government and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Attracting over 1,400 participants, the forum served as a vital platform for industry leaders and changemakers to address the challenges of climate change within the built environment. Our Executive Director, Mohammad AlAgouz, highlighted that “BIM Africa’s participation at the forum underscores our commitment to promoting sustainable construction practices across the African continent.”
As a co-led of the thematic session on research, innovation and digitalisation, BIM Africa outlined the roles of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and other digital technologies in reducing the whole life carbon of the built environment. The session outlined the solutions and challenges experienced in various case studies across the continent. One such was the Telfair North Project featured by Prodesign Engineering Consultants Ltd. in the African BIM Report 2022. BIM Africa is at the forefront of this movement in Africa, advocating BIM for a Sustainable Future.
The opening plenary for the Forum also launched the 2023 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. The report indicates that the overall energy demand and emissions of the building sector continue to grow. Our Director, Moses Itanola, participated as a review task force under the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC).
Beyond the main Forum, the BIM Africa delegates participated in the site visits and pre-forum events, some of which our Director, Kehinde Adeyemi, regarded as enablers for high-level interactions and networking to kickstart collaborative efforts for decarbonising the built environment. In line with his thoughts, these sessions facilitated deep knowledge exchange and exposed gaps that must be bridged to achieve overall desirable outcomes with respect to reliable primary data gathering via whole life carbon (WLC) tracking solutions and decarbonization efforts, some of which were showcased and published by leading industry experts and coalitions.
One such was the formal launch of the Built Environment Market Transformation Action Agenda. Championed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and endorsed by BIM Africa, the agenda unites forces to decarbonize the built environment by 2050.
BIM Africa’s participation at the #BuildForClimate forum signifies our continued commitment and contributions to driving the deployment of innovation for sustainable construction practices. As BIM adoption becomes more widespread, this bodes well for the future of Africa’s built environment.
