Human-induced climate change—it’s been deemed the “most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world has ever experienced” by United Nations experts and voted the top global threat in a recent Pew Research Center survey of 19 countries.

• In 2022, CEO/President Matt Rossie published a LinkedIn post examining the threat climate change poses to not just the construction industry, but to all of humanity. “The risks of climate change are unlike any we have faced. We must all advance construction at the greatest scale possible to avoid the catastrophic risk to us all,” he wrote.

Earlier this summer, Sr. Sustainability Director Sarah Rege presented to Business Finland on building decarbonization strategies, positioning Webcor as a leading green builder committed to tackling the climate crisis.

• Fully owned by the Finnish government, Business Finland is Finland's official innovation funding, trade, investment, travel promotion, and talent attraction organization.

In an exchange of ideas, Business Finland’s participating businesses also presented their technologies and products dedicated to advancing sustainable outcomes in the built environment.

Why it Matters: This was a unique opportunity for Webcor to lend our green building expertise to Finnish built environment companies and influence their exemplary sustainability efforts in partnership with the City of Los Angeles.

In a historic Letter of Intent (LOI), the country of Finland and City of LA committed to partnering on their carbon neutrality, clean energy, and economic development goals through peer learning and collaboration. The City of LA aims to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2050; Finland aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2035.

• Sarah’s presentation primarily focused on decarbonizing the built environment – one of the LOI’s four key areas of collaboration.
• Read the latest on LA County’s building decarbonization efforts here.

“One of the highlights of our delegation was visiting Webcor and learning about the organization’s commitment to sustainability,” Bart Kotlarek, head of the Business Finland delegation, shared after the presentation. “Challenging the status quo, Webcor inspired us in all the ways it is innovating; from its low carbon concrete strategies to mass timber construction, to building the first LEED Platinum airport in the world, Webcor has much to be proud of.”

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Go Deeper: Following the LOI, Business Finland kicked off their delegation to LA to “exchange ideas and best practices on green building innovation, trade stories of use cases/applications of low carbon solutions, and learn about the transition to green of LA,” Bart Kotlarek shared in his initial email to Webcor.

During her presentation at the LA office, Sarah highlighted Webcor’s most impactful sustainability accomplishments over the last few years, including:

• TRUE Zero Waste certification at GENESIS Marina
  • First construction project in the world to earn TRUE certification (Contra Costa County Administration Building would later become TRUE-certified as well)

• Mass plywood panel (MPP) use and installation at 1510 Webster
  • MPP is a mass timber product for the buildings structural system with a lower embodied carbon profile than comparative systems

• Webcor’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework with an emphasis on our carbon commitment
  • Webcor was a Carbon Leadership Form (CLF) founding partner and pilot sponsor of the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3), which we continue to use on or projects

• WELL Platinum and Triple LEED Platinum certifications at SFO’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1
  • Harvey Milk T1 is the first airport in the world to achieve these certifications (triple Platinum included LEED for Communities - Existing v4.1; Platinum for the entire airport campus; and LEED BD+C v4 Platinum)
  • Sustainability strategies included low-carbon concrete, electrochromic glazing, and radiant ceilings

• Triple Zero Commitment at UC Merced 2020: Zero Net Energy, Zero Landfill Waste, & Zero Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  • All 14 buildings earned LEED Platinum
  • Campus became first carbon neutral public research university
  • Campus offers more than 3,500 EV charging stations, setting the stage for future EV-friendly college campuses

• All-electric buildings at 300 Kansas and 700 Grayson
  • 300 Kansas is also pursuing Zero Carbon certification from the International Living Future Institute
  • 300 Kansas is one of San Francisco’s first all-electric, zero-carbon core & shell buildings

“Hosting the Business Finland delegation in our LA offices was a uniquely rewarding experience,” says Sr. Director, Business Development Brooke Walbuck, who co-hosted the event with Sarah. “We sincerely enjoyed learning more about the sustainable building practices in which they’re engaged on a global scale. We were honored to be considered among California’s top green builders and collaborate on ways to improve the way we build in support of this landmark partnership between the City of LA and Finland!”