The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (“The Standard”) is calling for views from across the industry as part of their Technical Update & Consultation.
The technical update describes the technical fundamentals behind the Standard, sharing information about 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.
The focus of the Technical Update is on operational energy and embodied carbon performance levels for new buildings. These performance levels provide the context of technical feasibility for each of the sectors covered by the Standard.
The update also outlines the approach being taken to determine relevant budgets for carbon and energy, that inform the Net Zero Carbon limits that will follow in later stages of work.
There are three main themes that the Standard team are seeking views on, which are covered in the consultation documents. These are fundamentals and metrics; the achievability of bottom-up levels of performance; and top-down available energy and carbon budgets. More technical information on these can be found in the Notes to Editors.
Technical Steering Group member and CIBSE Head of Net Zero Policy, Julie Godefroy from CIBSE 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".
Call for industry-wide responses
The aim of this consultation is to gain feedback on both the new build performance levels derived from this year's analysis, and the decisions made to-date around fundamentals, metrics, and approach to limits.
For this reason, we are seeking the views of as wide an audience as possible, from designers to carbon assessors, and developers to contractors.
Aims of the Consultation
To achieve industry-wide approval, the Standard team is seeking input from professionals across the built environment throughout the development phase.
The window is now open to respond until 11.59pm on Thursday 31 August. There will be a consultation webinar at 12pm on Monday 10 July, where emerging industry queries will be answered, and you can register here.
The Standard team is also taking this opportunity to re-open the call for evidence for embodied carbon data, to gather more data for the sectors where this was not possible from the first round of data-gathering. More details are included within the consultation pack.
Speaking about the Technical Update and Consultation, 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 UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard will enable industry to robustly prove their built assets are net zero carbon and in line with our nation’s climate targets.
For further information about the UK NZCBS, please visit https://www.nzcbuildings.co.uk/
