Understanding the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard
The much-anticipated UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UK NZCBS) – the Standard – has finally been published in pilot form. Director of Sustainability, Dr Stephen Ball, explains more about the Standard and how CPW can help your projects achieve it.
Launched at the end of September 2024, the science-led Standard contains the technical details to determine whether built assets are indeed Net Zero Carbon. That is to say, that they align with limiting worldwide average temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and achieving a Net Zero Carbon global state by 2050. The term you will undoubtedly hear over the coming years is ‘Net Zero Carbon Aligned Buildings’.
Importantly, as well as providing a unified definition of Net Zero Carbon, the Standard also includes limits and targets that must be met, alongside the technical evidence required to demonstrate Net Zero claims and details of how to report on the supporting data.
On that, the good news is that the Standard sits back-to-back with the rigours of the current edition of the ‘RICS Professional Standard – Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment’. Rather than re-invent the wheel, we can continue to use a widely accepted approach to whole life carbon assessments. In this way, the Standard builds on strong, trusted foundations and built environment specialists from all disciplines can begin implementing the Standard from a place of confidence.
Why was the Standard developed?
But why do we need this now? Well for many, many years, CPW has been designing and delivering very low energy and even Net Zero Carbon buildings for our clients. However, in the early days, the term ‘Net Zero Carbon Building’ in itself was very much open to interpretation – a ‘wild west’ of options if you like. The publication by the UK Green Building Council of ‘Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework Definition’ back in 2019 started to set the record straight and formed a valuable stepping-stone for the Standard.
If we, as an industry, are to avoid accusations of greenwashing and to genuinely strive to do good, we need to all be singing from the same hymn sheet. We need a unified, clearly defined understanding of what Net Zero Carbon means and specific measurable requirements for our buildings to achieve it. That is what this Standard is aiming to do.
Next steps for the Standard
Although it’s been a long time coming, it’s probably worth bearing in mind that this is still a pilot version – there is some work to be done (testing/verification) before a final approved version is released in the coming year. Nevertheless, the Standard should be adopted for both existing and new buildings with immediate effect, even in its current form. There is no time to waste, and the construction industry must play its part in delivering the UK’s legally binding carbon reduction targets.
In the future, it is the intention that organisations will be able to verify that a project conforms to the Standard. Very much of interest to CPW at that point will be the role of Verification Administrator (VA) for the Standard. That would sit very nicely alongside the work already being conducted by our experienced CPW consultants as NHS Net Zero Carbon Co-ordinators, and is something that we will pursue.
Having said that, when it comes down to it and projects need to deliver on the Standard, our long-standing expertise in low energy building design, Passivhaus, operational and embodied carbon benchmarking and footprinting will prove invaluable. To comply with a Standard that requires this level of collaboration between disciplines, we will need to be engaged on the scheme from the very start.
To that end, if you would like to discuss your own journey to Net Zero Carbon or have plans for ‘Net Zero Carbon Aligned Buildings’ and want to know more, please get in touch.