There is very little about most new “sustainable” office buildings that is true to the label. Through an alchemical process of validation and certification, great carbon-hungry shafts of concrete, steel and glass are magically deemed to be “zero carbon”, and adorned with the gold and platinum medals of trade associations that exist to promote their members’ interests. The inclusion of solar panels, heat pumps, low-flush toilets and numerous other bolt-on gizmos creates an impenetrable veil of green goodness that can hide a multitude of carbon sins.
Just as covering concrete with plants does not make it green, filling a high-energy, high-rise glass office tower with low-energy gadgets does not make it carbon-neutral. Claims of “net zero” almost always mean that someone else is picking up the carbon tab. Swathes of rainforest are acquired on the other side of the planet, often with damaging knock-on effects for the environment and local populations. A recent investigation found that more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets approved by the world’s largest provider are largely worthless – and could actually be making global heating worse.
