Architects help agree on the definition of a net zero building
Leading organisations within the built environment, construction and property industry have joined forces in a bid to define a net zero building.
The group has come together to create the free-to-access UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, with the aim of enabling the built environment to robustly prove its structures align with the UK’s carbon and energy budgets.
Among those involved were the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP), Building Research Establishment (BRE), Carbon Trust, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC).
Until this point, there has been no single, agreed methodology for defining what net zero carbon means for buildings in the UK.
Consequently, the area has been rife with spurious claims around the topic – now the standard provides a set of consistent rules to create a level playing field around such claims.
It is intended for anyone who wants to fund, procure, design, or specify a net zero carbon building, and for anyone who wishes to definitively demonstrate that their building is net zero carbon aligned.
As a robust industry-backed initiative, it should also be useful to policymakers as it outlines what is needed to support the UK’s net zero carbon transition.
It has been developed and agreed through collaboration between built environment organisations and industry leaders spanning architects, engineers, carbon assessors, developers, and more.
Over 350 experts from across the industry have supported the technical steering group during the standard’s development phase.
Wider stakeholder engagement and feedback through roundtables up and down the country, as well as through public consultation, captured the views of over 700 individuals.
The standard’s mandatory requirements for building performance and construction quality are ambitious but achievable.
They cover a range of topics such as upfront carbon, operational energy use, avoidance of fossil fuel use on site, renewables and refrigerants.
Katie Clemence-Jackson, chair of the standard’s technical steering group, said: “The standard has been created not just using industry data on what is achievable, but also cross-referencing this with ‘top down’ modelling of what is needed to decarbonise our industry in line with 1.5 deg C aligned carbon and energy budgets.
“It covers all the major building sectors, as well as both new and existing buildings.
“With access to the standard, the built environment industry is equipped to target, design and operate buildings to be net zero carbon aligned, driving the positive change that we need to meet our climate goals.”