Sufficiency Hub

About the GlobalABC Sufficiency Hub

The GlobalABC Sufficiency Hub endeavors to highlight the pivotal role of sufficiency in significantly reducing carbon emissions in the buildings sector. Its mission includes sharing best practices, formulating actionable recommendations, and supporting the operationalization of sufficiency.

Relying solely on efficiency techniques, metrics, and data to meet our 2030/2050 decarbonization targets is not enough, as efficiency gains alone risk being offset by the rebound effect. Therefore, integrating sufficiency measures first is essential to maximize the effectiveness of other strategies (efficiency improvements and renewable energy solutions), prevent rebound effects, and accelerate emissions reductions as needed.

Sufficiency has now gained prominence in transition scenarios outlined by influential bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency. Given that buildings contribute to 37% of global energy and process-related emissions, sufficiency measures are indispensable to achieving the Paris Agreement goals of halving sector emissions by 2030.

In pursuit of implementing sufficiency worldwide, the Sufficiency Action Group brings together professionals from diverse backgrounds within the buildings industry. The Action Group aims to foster a shared understanding of sufficiency and to explore how it can be implemented in a context-sensitive manner, acknowledging that solutions must be adapted to diverse local realities. The shared goal remains clear: ensuring that everyone's needs are met in terms of energy, materials, land, and water, while respecting the constraints of our planet's limits.

The Hub is engaged in the Buildings Breakthrough Priority Action Area B1 — Standards and Certifications. 

Data Hub co-leads and members

Co-leads:

Members:
  • Action for Market Transformation - A4MT
  • ADEME - French Agency for Ecological Transition
  • AECOM
  • ADHI Africa Holding Limited
  • Association Libanaise pour la Maîtrise de l'Energie et pour l'Environnement (ALMEE)
  • BioBuild Africa
  • Botswana Green Building Council
  • BPAC
  • Center for Carbon Neutral Technology and Strategy of Beijing Jiaotong University
  • Center for Worldwide Sustainable Construction (CWSC) - EPFL University
  • Chile Green Building Council (Chile GBC)
  • Climate Chance
  • Climate-KIC
  • Columbia University
  • Consejo Colombiano de Construccion Sostenible (CCCS)
  • Copper Alliance
  • Econoler
  • ENERGIES 2050
  • European Solar Shading Organisation (ES-SO)
  • Gensler
  • German Energy Agency (dena)
  • Green Building Consulting & Engineering
  • French Institute for Building Performance (IFPEB)
  • International Energy Agency (IEA)
  • Johnson Controls
  • Lalitpur Sub-Mediterranean City
  • MACOMA Environmental Technologies
  • Ministry of Ecological Transition, France
  • OIB
  • Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico di Milano)
  • Rockwool
  • Schneider Electric
  • Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), Mexico
  • SETA Network
  • Tunisia Green Building Council (Tunisia GBC)
  • UCDV
  • UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre
  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
  • United Nation University - Flores (UNU-FLORES)
  • University College London (UCL)
  • University of New South Wales (UNSW)
  • World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
  • World Resources Institute (WRI) India
  • World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
  • Wuppertal Institut

Activities

The hub aims at recognizing, at a global level, sufficiency as a necessary decarbonization lever - and above all - as a lever to keep the sector within the 9 planetary boundaries – if considered first and well-combined to efficiency and green-sourced energy and materials. 

The Sufficiency Hub pursues several workstreams to advance sufficiency as a global decarbonisation lever in the buildings sector.

•Promoting "Sufficiency First" through tools and resources to inspire future actions in line with sufficiency.

•Developing key metrics to operationalize sufficiency trajectories.

•Creating policy guidance to support the integration of sufficiency measures in the buildings sector.

•Shifting narratives through communication by demonstrating that sufficiency is feasible and accessible and brings many desirable benefits by improving people's lives and well-being.

Events  

The Sufficiency Action Hub participated in COP30 at the Buildings and Cooling Pavilion. The Hub will host three webinars in 2026, each timed to coincide with the release of new deliverables.

• 2026 - Registration link coming soon

•June 2026 - Registration link coming soon

•October 2026 - Registration link coming soon

2024-2025 Priorities 

 Monthly workshops

 Publication of the first flagship Product

 Assessment of Year 1 Activities

  • Launch of Action Group Year 2 program

Publications

• Report: “Sufficiency and the Built Environment: Sufficiency and the Built Environment: Reducing Demand for Land, Floor Area, Materials and Energy.” An in-depth analysis of sufficiency principles applied to the building sector. 

• The Sufficiency Map showcasing sufficiency initiatives worldwide. It is also possible to submit your own initiative for review. 

• Campaigns. Three strategic roadmaps guiding Sufficiency communication campaigns for the private sector, decision-makers, and the general public. (Download soon available)

• Briefs. Four briefs offer actionable recommendations tied to sufficiency for national and local policymakers. (Download soon available)

• Notes. Four regional notes highlight sufficiency across different geographic contexts. (Download soon available)

• Report 2: “Sufficiency and the Built Environment: Operationalization.” A forthcoming guide translating sufficiency principles into practical implementation pathways. (Download soon available)

Contact and how to join

To apply for membership in the Sufficiency Hub, please contact the GlobalABC Secretariat at [email protected]. We welcome active contributors who can bring valuable insights to the community. To help us understand your potential role, please provide the following information in your application: 

• Insufficiency: What motivates your interest in sufficiency, and why do you wish to join the Sufficiency Hub?

•Work beyond the built environment: Do you engage with sufficiency practices outside the built environment? If so, please describe how to do it.

•Expertise in the built environment: What level of expertise do you bring in relation to sufficiency within the built environment?

•Geographical focus: In which region(s) of the world is your expertise most relevant?

Contact information: Please include contact details for follow-up within your organization.