The team behind the potentially game-changing UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (‘The Standard’) is calling for input from across the built environment industry as part of the technical update and consultation phase launched today (14 June).
The technical update, which focuses on operational energy and embodied carbon performance for new buildings, outlines the technical fundamentals behind The Standard, including the metrics that buildings will be assessed against to demonstrate that they are aligned with what is required for the UK built environment to achieve net zero carbon. It also outlines the approach being taken to determine relevant budgets for carbon and energy, which will inform the net zero carbon limits set in later stages of work.
During the consultation phase, which will end on 31 August, the team is seeking views on three main themes: fundamentals and metrics; the achievability of bottom-up levels of performance; and top-down available energy and carbon budgets. Stakeholders from across the built environment are also invited to participate in a consultation webinar taking place on 10 July.
To achieve industry-wide approval for The Standard, the team is calling for input from as wide an audience as possible spanning everyone from designers and carbon assessors to developers and contractors. It has also re-opened the call for evidence for embodied carbon data in a bid to gather more data for the sectors where this was not possible during the first round of data gathering.
Technical steering group member and CIBSE head of net zero policy, Julie Godefroy, said: “A huge thank you to all who have contributed to this technical update and consultation. We want to hear from as many stakeholders as possible. Please do engage with our consultation so we refine our approach, identify areas of consensus and priorities for further work, and set a robust but ambitious Standard.”
Chair of The Standard’s governance board, David Partridge, said: “We urge everyone within the built environment sector to get involved in the consultation process, which we are launching today. We have already engaged with many stakeholders across the whole sector, and we want to ensure that we hear your views on the progress that the team has made, to ensure that The Standard will be adopted by everyone who has an interest in this crucial topic.”
The team developing The Standard received data on 3,800 buildings across the UK in the call for evidence that took place between December 2022 and January 2023, and more than 350 people across the industry are currently contributing directly in a voluntary capacity to the creation of The Standard.
The consultation will end at 11.59pm on 31 August. To read the technical update and take part in the survey go to www.nzcbuildings.co.uk. To register for the consultation webinar, which takes place at 12pm on Monday 10 July, click here.
