Promotion of SCP in the development of a Green Building Code in Pakistan

Pakistan has been actively promoting sustainable development processes, recognising “green” frameworks, and strengthening the sustainability and resilience of society; for example, through their first Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the 2019 High-level Political Forum (HLPF) and the National Action Plan on the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). At its current growth rate, Pakistan will be the fifth most populated country in the world by 2050. In facing this growth rate combined with rapid urbanisation, “green” development and accelerating a shift towards SCP has become a priority, particularly in the housing sector. Pakistan’s Green Vision 2025 additionally endorses these priorities for SCP in the building sector by seeking to achieve “eco-friendly” construction for all new buildings.

In this context, the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) plays a leading role in the shift towards SCP, and has set out the Policy Guidelines for Pakistan Green Building Code. As the lead agency, they can effectively coordinate activities with other agencies in achieving SCP in all sectors and agencies throughout the country. This project was set up under the framework of the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility with the objective to provide guidance to the  MoCC in the development of the Green Building Code based on their Policy Guidelines as well as international best experiences. Furthermore, the implementation of SCP throughout the development of the building code was to be integrated with aspects of Pakistan’s National Plan on SDG12.

In collaboration with Mr. Jawed Ali Khan, a Pakistani green building expert, adelphi was responsible for the overall guidance and strategy of the project activities relating to the development of the code. Specifically, a report was produced on opportunities and challenges for the development of the Green Building Code, which includes conducting an analysis of the Policy Guidelines and process towards formalisation into the Green Building Code, creating a detailed roadmap for the implementation process, and conducting practitioner interviews from various stakeholder groups. Additionally, the partners prepared and followed up on two multi-stakeholder workshops: firstly on the implementation roadmap and then on the recommendations. Next, the institutional setup and international analysis was supported by developing a report, which defined recommendations for the aim, scope, writing process, and the preliminary impact assessment for the code. The activities of the project were carried out in close consultation with the SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility, MoCC, and other pertinent government agencies and stakeholders. The primary output of the project was a set of recommendations for the MoCC to implement a Green Building Code that considers and ensures the implementation of SCP concepts throughout the development of the code.