Metropolis Magazine Covers NZ25
Anthony Brower recently attended Verdical Group’s Net Zero Conference on behalf of Metropolis Magazine. What he found while there was a consensus that to make change at scale, we need to engage the wider AEC community and push for policy that expands the adoption of net zero building strategies.
Brower states that the idea of net zero is faltering, not because it’s unimportant, but because relying on voluntary effort has reached its limit. Net zero needs to move from being a heroic effort of a few to a standard practice for all, embedded in contracts, codes, and financing. The tools and technologies now exist — what’s missing is alignment and regulation.
“The tipping point is policy. As soon as there’s a building code that requires it for everybody, we’re done. We’re good. We’ll be there. But right now, it’s all voluntary. You get so much more impact out of raising the floor than by chasing a lower ceiling,” said Drew Shula, Founder and CEO of Verdical Group and the Net Zero Conference.
