History and background of the SBC programme

This chapter provides a historical background of the Sustainable Buildings and Construction (SBC) programme to set the scene and provides the context for the 8 years of programme existence (2015-2022). The programme was launched at the United Nations Governing Council Side Event and was established to improve knowledge of sustainable construction, develop sustainable solutions in construction and share the knowledge and solutions globally. Although there are many solutions available to address issues that lead to sustainable outcomes through buildings and construction, there has been room for innovative solutions to be developed. The goals of the SBC programme are to promote resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation efforts, and demonstrate a shift in SCP patterns in the sector. Further to this, SBC created pathways for knowledge sharing, outreach and awareness raising. The chapter provides information about the structure of the SBC programme to guide operations to ensure delivery of key objectives. This structure guided the programme’s targets operationally through workplans, pilot projects, good practices, and supporting projects in emerging economies and industrialised nations; creating networks both regionally and internationally, through committed actors around the world. The chapter further details the various workplans during its tenure which includes three main priorities: making the case for SBC to countries, providing/facilitating access to training and technical and policy guidance based on science, and fostering/building partnerships for implementation.