A single set of net zero construction standards aims to end the bewilderment caused by myriad sector benchmarks – and put a stop to greenwashing
The proliferation of net zero standards in the construction sector has led to widespread confusion, making it easier for firms to greenwash their credentials. But as scrutiny increases and climate targets become more pressing, the appetite for a single industry-recognised standard to cut through the noise has intensified. Enter the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS), a programme that aims to become the definitive benchmark for evaluating the carbon impact of buildings in the UK.
“We know that people want the standard to happen and they have invested a lot – and that’s why they care so much”
Julie Godefroy, CIBSEUnlike existing schemes, the standard applies to all major building types, taking account of both embodied and operational carbon and, crucially, carries the heft of extensive institutional buy-in.
UKNZCBS will sit alongside global standards like the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), which measures the wider sustainability performance of buildings, and NABERS, which originally hails from Australia and focuses on operational rather than embodied carbon. The new standard will also have a broader scope
than existing UK-based schemes such as the Royal Institute of British Architects 2030 Climate Challenge, which set targets for certain building types, but only in the residential, office, retail and education sectors.
While schemes such as UKNZCBS are largely voluntary, contractors are increasingly finding that private and public-sector clients insist that the standards are adhered to. “It [UKNZCBS] has been developed by industry for industry and it provides a single definition of what it means to be net-zero-aligned for most sectors in the UK built environment,” says Julie Godefroy, head of net zero at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), who sits on the standard’s technical steering group. “It builds on previous efforts but we’re really hoping that this is the most comprehensive and unifying definition of it now.”
Industry cooperationThe pilot version of the standard, published in September, was the product of years of collaborative heavy lifting from industry bodies including CIBSE, the Institution of Structural Engineers, Building Research Establishment,
the Better Buildings Partnership and the UK Green Building Council.
Since then, a pilot programme has been rolled out that aims to capture real-world data from 216 schemes at varying stages of development, drawn from a diverse mix of sectors including housing, offices, schools, healthcare, laboratories and data centres.
This six-month testing phase is seen as a critical step in fine-tuning the framework before its formal release, with participants having the chance to test their projects against the rules of the standard and get them prepped for full verification from next year.
The process so far has been highly collaborative, but not without robust discussions. “We know there is huge support by industry, but that doesn’t prevent some people saying, ‘I don’t agree with this thing,’ or ‘You are too ambitious here and not ambitious enough there,’” says Godefroy.
“It gives everyone that consistent language and the same core understanding of what we’re talking about”
James Low, Mace“We know that people want the standard to happen and they have invested a lot – that’s why they provide the feedback and that’s why they care so much.”
For Eimear Moloney, head of building performance at engineering consultancy Hoare Lea and a member of the CIBSE steering group, the standard recognises that decarbonisation is an engineering challenge that will be complex and expensive to solve. However, the sheer volume of perspectives incorporated by the standard from architects, surveyors and other professionals will bolster those solutions and ensure they are valid. “Otherwise, it’s just a load of engineers shouting into the void, and you’re not going to get anywhere,” Moloney says.
She welcomes the standard’s emphasis on how existing buildings could be brought to net zero. It is an area where she believes there is currently a huge gap, as “people build and walk away”, with little requirement to monitor and report on energy consumption.
“I’m excited to apply [the standard] because we haven’t had the opportunity to trial things like that before in the UK,” she says.
Grounded in dataWill Arnold, head of climate action at the Institute of Structural Engineers and another member of the standard’s technical steering group, stresses that the focus will be on real-world performance. “As such, one key role for contractors will be in the liaison with the wider project team to track materials and carbon data, to build up an accurate picture of the as-built upfront carbon of the completed building,” he says.
“We would also encourage contractors to bring low-carbon thinking and carbon-saving options to the table as early as possible in the process, to help these buildings be built in the most sustainable way possible.”
So far, the standard has been well received by those who will be responsible for making it happen on the ground.
“There’s been an acknowledgment that we’ve needed this unifying standard for a long time so the fact it’s here now – and […] hopefully later this year we’ll have some live project data on it – is really positive,” says Joel Coakeley, carbon reduction lead at civils contractor Bam Nuttall. He sees the fact that it is a voluntary, client-driven scheme as its greatest strength. “[It] really puts the emphasis on the client to push their building to achieve the best carbon standards it can,” he says. However, under the standard, the onus will be on contractors to ensure they have the systems in place to accurately collect the information required for third-party verification.
While there will be ways to capture that data more efficiently, it is still likely to be “a bit of a burden”, says Coakeley, although some parts of the country will be better prepared than others.
“In London, contractors have had to do this stuff for quite a while now, as clients in London tend to be a little bit more advanced and they’re requesting this information anyway because they want to do their own assessments,” he says.
“Elsewhere, there will have to be a period of upskilling on what’s required, and setting the processes up to collect all the data.”
He has some concerns over whether the complexity of the standard could undermine its accessibility among those who are not carbon professionals. “From my perspective, it would have been better to target it – or at least have a version of it – that’s easier to understand for all stakeholders within the built environment or construction,” Coakeley says. He notes that there will be a particular need to bring on board clients who may not have a specialist understanding of carbon and sustainability: “If we’re trying to really change the approach across the whole industry, we need the standard to be accessible to those clients, as well as to those who are more informed.”
Detail mattersJames Low, global head of responsible business at contractor Mace, sees the standard as a means of bringing much-needed consistency and credibility to discussions over carbon reduction in the built environment. “It gives everyone that consistent language and the same core understanding of what we’re talking about,” he says.
Mace has five projects in the pilot process and will also be testing the standard on other schemes in the background. For Low, the process is valuable for client and contractor alike to understand where projects are performing well and to identify areas where improvements are needed. This knowledge can then form the basis of project-specific training for teams within Mace and its supply chain. “There’s a lot of generic training out there, but if we’re going to continue to make carbon-reduction interventions, we need to start getting more specific on projects and what people delivering projects need to do,” he says.
Low already sees the potential of the standard to provide the insights needed to accelerate decarbonisation. “That extra level of granularity and detail is helping us dig further into how we can find more carbon savings,” he says.
Although the standard may appear to increase the administrative burden on contractors, particularly smaller firms, the requirements reflect what everyone should be doing anyway, says Low. “Our clients and ourselves have all got carbon-reduction commitments, so it’s nothing new that we need to be understanding the carbon performance of an asset and be able to report it, demonstrate it and evidence it,” he says. “What we need to do for those that will struggle, such as smaller suppliers, is [to ask] how we work together to support them.”
According to Low, net zero targets cannot be met unless firms throughout the supply chain understand the critical role played by their goods and services. “All our clients want and need net zero assets for the future. We as contractors need to be able to build them, and to build them we need a supply chain that can help us deliver that stuff,” he says. “It requires collaboration across the whole value chain – no one can do it in isolation.”
Evolving the standardWhat is clear for now is that as the understanding of the carbon challenge faced by different sectors develops, the standard will continue to evolve, backed up by robust data.Work is already underway to address demand from parts of the industry for delineation of the distinct responsibilities of landlords on the one hand and tenants on the other.
Potential equivalence arrangements with schemes like NABERS, which offer certification on elements included in the UKNZCBS, are also under discussion.
Godefroy says she would personally like to see metrics under future versions of the scheme recognise, for example, that some buildings are more intensively used than others. “I wouldn’t be surprised if in later stages we have more refined approaches in some sectors at least,” she says.
For Moloney, the focus must now be on ensuring the standard is adopted and put to work across the built environment. “We’re in this climate emergency – let’s just get [the work] done and move on,” she says. “With all standards, regulations and guidelines, there are always tweaks and changes that happen throughout its lifetime. That will come out in the wash and be easy enough to resolve. I just want the standard to be utilised and I want it to be implemented.”
Cracking carbon testing, GromitTwenty years ago, Wallace and Gromit fans were devastated when sets, props and models were wiped out in a warehouse fire. The roof of the Aardman Animations building in Silverthorne Lane, near Temple Meads station in Bristol, collapsed during the blaze, destroying years of British film history. But the former iron factory is about to get a new lease of life, not only as a contemporary office space, but also as an environmental flagship.
It is understood that the scheme is one of those undergoing testing as part of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. Amrita Dasgupta Shekhar, head of environmental, social, governance and net zero at Greengage Environmental, is technical manager for the pilot testing scheme. She says she has been impressed by the sheer diversity of projects, as well as the enthusiasm of those taking part.
The pilots include new builds, retrofits and buildings that are already operational, with schemes drawn from the public and private sectors in all parts of the UK, both urban and rural. Their purpose is to test the standard’s usability and clarity, while gauging market preparedness and gathering feedback with a view to flushing out problems and unintended consequences.
“We want to bring to the surface all of these issues and try to iron out […] as many as possible before the release of version one,” Shekhar says.
“For most if not all projects, we have the property owners and the consultancy teams working together, so that speaks volumes about the importance of, and the need for, something like this – and the willingness of the industry to put its efforts and resources behind it.”