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Banking Essentials - Part I

This pathway will walk us through the basics of banks, starting with some of the different types and their main functions, then starting to look at the regulation faced by the banks, both before and after the Global Financial Crisis.

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the act of distributing false information about something being more environmentally friendly than it actually is.

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Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis

In this video, Max discusses the cost-of-living crisis currently enveloping the UK. He examines its impact on households as well as the overall economy.

CSR and Sustainability in Financial Services

In the first video of this two-part video series, Elisa introduces us to sustainability. She begins by looking at the difference between sustainability and corporate social responsibility, two terms that can be easily confused.

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Banking Essentials - Part I

This pathway will walk us through the basics of banks, starting with some of the different types and their main functions, then starting to look at the regulation faced by the banks, both before and after the Global Financial Crisis.

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the act of distributing false information about something being more environmentally friendly than it actually is.

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Ready to get started?

Plans & Membership

Our Platform

Expert led content

+1,000 expert presented, on-demand video modules

Learning analytics

Keep track of learning progress with our comprehensive data

Interactive learning

Engage with our video hotspots and knowledge check-ins

Testing & certification

Gain CPD / CPE credits and professional certification

Managed learning

Build, scale and manage your organisation’s learning

Integrations

Connect Finance Unlocked to your current platform

Featured Content

More featured content

Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis

In this video, Max discusses the cost-of-living crisis currently enveloping the UK. He examines its impact on households as well as the overall economy.

CSR and Sustainability in Financial Services

In the first video of this two-part video series, Elisa introduces us to sustainability. She begins by looking at the difference between sustainability and corporate social responsibility, two terms that can be easily confused.

More featured content

Book a demo

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Introduction to Green Buildings

Introduction to Green Buildings

Marina Economidou

Green Economy Specialist

In this video, Marina Economidou explains the significance of green buildings and their role in transitioning towards a green economy and also discusses the challenges and concerns around investment in green buildings.

In this video, Marina Economidou explains the significance of green buildings and their role in transitioning towards a green economy and also discusses the challenges and concerns around investment in green buildings.

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Introduction to Green Buildings

8 mins 55 secs

Overview

Climate proofing buildings must be at the core of our efforts and “green buildings” are vital in this process. A green building is a building that greatly reduces its negative impact on our climate and natural environment and it does so throughout the life cycle. Unfortunately, current green building renovation and practices are far below the Paris Agreement targets and most of these efforts are not cost-optimal. It is essential to overcome these challenges and drive further investment into green buildings.

Key learning objectives:

  • Understand what are green buildings

  • Understand the importance of green buildings

  • Identify the barriers to investing in green buildings

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Summary

What are green buildings?

Green buildings represent a major global investment opportunity and are vital to reach climate goals. Globally, buildings are responsible for more than a third of global carbon emissions, and 40% of the energy we use. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources, use very little energy and provide services at the lowest operational costs and highest quality and in addition to these benefits, they create jobs, support local businesses and have a social and well-being dimension too. Characteristics of green buildings are: 

1. Efficient use of energy, water and resources

2. Building integrated renewable energy technologies 

3. Use of sustainable materials

4. Measures to reduce pollution & waste

5. Measures to improve indoor environment and thermal comfort 

Why do we need to green existing buildings?

Now, rather than building entirely new buildings there are measures and technologies we have that can be used to make existing buildings greener. This is really important, because a high proportion of existing buildings will still be standing in 2050. To reach minimum targets defined in the Paris Agreement, rates of basic green renovations of existing buildings in these countries must reach 6-8% by 2040.

Existing buildings can be greened by techniques and practices such as insulation, installation of roof solar panels, triple glazed windows, heat pumps, energy management systems, smart appliances, heat exchangers, passive measures, just to name a few. 

The approach to introduce energy efficiency measures in buildings comprises of 3 steps:

  • Detailed energy analysis
  • Energy efficiency and energy conservation measure
  • Cover the remaining needs with renewable energy technologies

What are the barriers to investment in green buildings and how can we overcome them?

The main barriers are institutional and regulatory barriers, financial barriers and general barriers.

Institutional and regulatory barriers include the regulatory framework not being strong enough. Financial barriers include access to finance, upfront costs of renovations, payback expectations, price signals and perceived high risks. General barriers include a fragmented building industry, lack of skilled labour, lack of access to technologies and a lack of competition in certain countries, especially in central Asia. Solutions to overcoming barriers include working with regulators to close any policy gaps, establishing a better use of public funds, guarantee facilities, setting up one stop shops, bundling projects to reduce transaction costs, engaging with energy service companies and energy performance contracting and using innovative financial models

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This video is now available for free. It is also part of a premium, accredited video course. Sign up for a 7-day free trial to watch more.

Marina Economidou

Marina Economidou

Marina Economidou is a green economy specialist at EBRD. She has vast experience in energy efficiency and has worked at at the European Commission and Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE). Since 2022, she has been working in climate finance where she assesses the alignment of activities with the Paris Agreement and advise on green aspects of projects in the sectors of power generation and buildings. Likewise, her PhD focused on modelling the physics of energy efficient designs in buildings.

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