Worldwide Impact

We Transform Housing Systems Worldwide

Build Change is the global expert on disaster-resilient housing. We have developed building standards and influenced policies and programs across the world. Our efforts have led to safer people worldwide, protected housing infrastructure, trained workforces in resilient housing techniques, created jobs, and transformed local organizational capacity. Our approaches to building resilience reduce carbon emissions and new land development. We have surpassed global averages in women’s leadership since the start and promote gender equity by supporting women in reducing their vulnerability to disasters, protecting their assets and home-based workplaces, and leading the march toward resilient housing for all. From the first 11 homes built following the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, to the more than 230,000 safer buildings reached in 2023, we invite you to explore our impacts below.

Global | Safer People

Global | Orgs Changed

Global | Women Borrowers

Global | CO2e Emissions Saved

Global | Assets Protected

Women on Build Change’s Board of Directors

Global | New Land Use Saved

Global | Safer Buildings

Global | People Trained

Global | Women Trained

Global | Jobs Created

Global | Jobs for Women

Global | Water & Sanitation Facilities Improved

Women on Build Change’s Senior Management Team

Global | Technical Modules Produced

Global | People Reached

Global | Assets Leveraged

Women on Build Change’s Team

Global | Cost per Impact (Safer People)

Women on Build Change’s Executive Team

Global | Safer Women

Global | Publications

Global | Policies Influenced

Global | Number of Nations Where Worked

Global | Evaluated Buildings

Data is current as of March 31, 2024.

Our Indicators:
Measuring & Reporting Impact

Underlying our work is the desire to have a positive and lasting impact by changing housing systems. To do this, we promote a program model that is both economically and socially sustainable. The Build Change model for resilient housing centers on the following:

Safety, Resilience & Health

Helping people to understand their risk and build more resilient homes reduces deaths, injuries and economic losses caused by housing collapse due to earthquakes, extreme weather and fires. Resilient homes not only withstand disasters but also foster healthy living environments. To measure our impact on safety and resilience, we track metrics such as buildings evaluated, safer buildings, safer people, and water and sanitation facilities improved.

Gender Equity

Housing is a women’s issue. We help to ensure full and equal participation in home improvement, strengthening, and rebuilding. We support women to access affordable finance and technical assistance to make their homes disaster-resistant. We help women protect their home-based enterprises. We engage women to lead along the construction value chain. We measure gender equity impact through tracking gender disaggregated data with metrics such as safer women, women trained, jobs for women, women borrowers, and women at Build Change.

Climate & Environmental Sustainability

Improving existing housing is not only a climate change adaptation strategy but also a mitigation strategy. Through improving existing housing to better withstand the next disaster, instead of building new, embodied carbon is saved. Further, vertical expansion of strengthened homes supports urban densification, which minimizes land consumption, increases the operational energy efficiency of housing units, and reduces emissions from transportation. To measure our impact on climate and environmental sustainability, we track metrics such as tons of CO2e emissions avoided, and hectares of new land use saved.

Economic Prosperity

Resilient housing must be affordable. Housing is an important financial asset to many people; protecting it against disaster not only protects the households' wellbeing but also their financial security. Additionally, Build Change advocates an approach that centers the homeowner, which stimulates the local economy when homeowners purchase materials from nearby suppliers and hire local labor. To measure our impact on economic prosperity, we track metrics such as jobs created, value of assets protected, and value of assets leveraged.

Systems Change

Through transforming the housing ecosystem, sustainable and long term change can be achieved. We work to transform the systems for regulating, financing, building and improving houses around the world. We measure our impact on the housing ecosystem through tracking metrics such as people trained on resilient housing, organizations changed, and policies influenced.

Knowledge Dissemination

Building awareness and sharing information is a key element on the path to improving both the demand for and supply of more resilient housing. To measure our impact on knowledge dissemination, we track metrics such as people reached, publications, and technical modules produced.

Support resilient housing worldwide

Donate now