The Pilot Version of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UK NZCBS) has launched.

It is the UK’s first cross-industry Standard that brings together net zero carbon requirements for all major building types and will enable the UK Built Environment sector to “robustly prove their built assets are net zero and in line with our nation’s climate targets”.

Whilst the UK NZCBS says significant progress has been made in defining what ‘net zero’ means for buildings in the UK, it adds the new Standard will provide a “single agreed definition and methodology for the industry to determine what constitutes a net zero carbon building”.

The Standard is 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, the Standard should be useful to policymakers as it outlines what is needed to support the UK’s net zero carbon transition.

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.

The pilot version contains the technical details on how a building should meet the Standard, including what limits and targets it needs to meet, the technical evidence needed to demonstrate this, and how it should be reported. Details on the subsequent verification process will be published separately.

The built environment industry is encouraged to use the pilot version to prepare for the process of verifying buildings as net zero carbon aligned.

The Standard has been developed and championed by representatives from the following organisations: Better Buildings Partnership (BBP), Building Research Establishment (BRE), the 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 Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and UK Green Building Council (UKGBC).

Smith Mordak, Chief Executive of UK Green Building Council and UK NZCBS Governance Board member said: “The launch of the Standard marks a pivotal moment in our journey towards the UK’s net zero goals. Borne out of radical cross-industry collaboration, the Standard is the UK’s first Net Zero standard for the built environment that brings together national carbon budgets and project-scale targets and limits to create a robust definition of a building that responds to a science-led trajectory to net-zero.

“I invite built environment practitioners from across the industry to implement the Standard on any buildings being designed, constructed, or operated, to ensure that the UK’s building stock decarbonises rapidly enough for the UK to stand a chance of keeping temperature rise to within the critical 1.5°C threshold.” 

Tom Wigg, Senior Advisor at the UK Green Building Council and UK NZCBS Technical Steering Group member said: “Three years ago, a process of market analysis coordinated by UKGBC showed a clear industry demand for a more robust way of verifying whether a building is net zero carbon. 

“Developed in response, the Standard is the culmination of the concerted efforts of hundreds of dedicated stakeholders across the sector and represents a critical step in reducing ambiguity in what it means to deliver a net zero carbon building in the UK.”

Katie Clemence-Jackson, Chair of the Standard’s Technical Steering Group, added: “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°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.”

A launch webinar of the UK NZCBS Pilot Version will be held on 1 October 2024 – 10:00am – 11:30am GMT to register for the event click here.