According to figures from the United Nations Environment Global Status Report in 2017, construction and building account for more than 35% of global energy use and almost 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions; an improvement on the 2010 figures, but there is still further to go.
The climate emergency the world is facing has led ARB to develop guidelines for all registered architects to ensure they are fully competent in all areas of sustainability that apply to buildings and all areas of architecture.
In a survey ARB commissioned in autumn 2020, architects reported that sustainability was one of the most common issues that had become more important to their job in the last five years. As a result of this survey, ARB published sustainability guidelines in March 2021, which can be found here.
Further resources to help architects maintain their competency in this area are available here.