In June 2002, after studying and working in the UK for about ten years, Prof. Baizhan Li returned to Chongqing University as a high-level international talent and was appointed as the Dean of the School of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering of Chongqing University. Under the leadership of Prof. Baizhan Li, a national Centre for international collaboration was established in association with more than 50 renowned universities and institutions from the UK, the US, Denmark, Portugal, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and so on. The Centre collaborates nationally and internationally in scientific research, teaching, and talent cultivation in buildings and environments. In the last twenty years, some research projects on green buildings and built environments have achieved international recognition at the top level while advancing China's innovative development in this field.

Key international activities

2003

§ Clean and Renewable Energy Development and Energy-Efficient Building Design in Western China - in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, Funded by the Global Opportunities, the UK Foreign and Common Wealth Office.

§ Demonstration of Economically Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Infrastructure in Small Towns in Western China—funded by the Sino-Dutch governmental cooperation programme.

§ SuDBE International Conference - Launched and hosted the 1st International Conference on Sustainable Development in Building and Environment, SUDBE 2003.

2004

§ Design and Construction of Sustainable Building in China – funded by the European “Asia Link” Project “in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, University of Lisbon, and Aalborg University.

2005

§ Network for China-UK Building and Urban Sustainability (nCUBUS) - in collaboration with ten British universities funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

§ Establishment of an Evaluation System of Green Building in China - in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, funded by the Global Opportunities, the UK Foreign and Common Wealth Office.

2010

§ Research on Key Technologies of Building Envelope Structure - As the main technical institution of China, the Centre has cooperated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, funded by the Chinese and US governments.

2012

§ The Ministry of Science and Technology of China officially approved “The National Centre for International Research of Low-Carbon and Green Buildings.”

2014

§ The China Green Building Council approved the Green Building Centre in Southwest China.

2015

§ The Ministry of Education of China officially approved "The Joint International Research Laboratory of Green Buildings and Built Environments”

2016

§ The overseas bases of “The Joint International Research Laboratory of Green Buildings and Built Environments” were established at the Universities of Cambridge and Reading.

2017

§ “The National Centre for International Research of Low-carbon and Green Buildings” was given an “Excellent” rank by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

2018

§ The overseas bases of the Centre and the International Cooperation Joint Laboratory were established at Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Aalto University.

2019

§ The Ministry of Education awarded “The Joint International Research Laboratory of Green Buildings and Built Environments” an “Excellent” rank.

2020

§ The Ministry of Science and Technology of China awarded “The National Centre for International Research of Low-carbon and Green Buildings” an “Excellent” rank.

2022

§ The State awarded the SuDBE a title of "National Huang Danian Style Teachers Team."

2023

§ The Centre underpinned Chongqing University's civil engineering discipline to enter the world's seventh place in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

§ “The Low-carbon Green Buildings and Built Environments Overseas Expertise Introduction Centre for Discipline Innovation”  successfully completed the performance evaluation of the Ministry of Education of China.

2024

§ In cooperation with Belt and Road countries, the 12th International Conference on Sustainable Development in Building and Environment, SuDBE2024 was co-hosted at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

§ Technical strategies for low-carbon construction of the built environment under climate change: a comparative study between the UK and China - funded by the foreign, commonwealth & development office, UK