Call for evidence over UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

A coalition of construction industry bodies has launched a call for evidence to help develop the UK’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS).

The cross-industry team developing the standard includes the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE), BRE, the Carbon Trust, the Institute of Structural Engineers, RIBA and RICS.

The call for evidence asks practitioners from across the UK built environment industry to supply operational energy and embodied carbon performance data for their buildings.

The coalition says the evidence it gathers will help to inform and guide the development of the standard. It is aiming for the standard to be a single agreed definition and methodology for the industry to determine what constitutes a net-zero carbon building.  

First, the NZCBS coalition is seeking operational energy data for buildings: specifically in-use consumption data from the best performing existing buildings, and modelled performance data for buildings in design or construction. As part of this, the NZCBS is also calling for experts to assist with energy modelling.  

Second, the NZCBS team is seeking embodied carbon data from both new construction and retrofit projects. This will enable the NZCBS development team to set out benchmarks for embodied carbon emitted in the construction process of different building types across the UK.  

It has invited participants to submit data via the Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD). The deadline for submitting data is 16 December 2022. The NZCBS call for evidence coincides with the launch of the beta version of the BECD this week.

Chair of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard Governance Board, David Partridge, said:  “If the real estate industry and built environment is to seriously address its impact on climate change, a universally adopted Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard is essential.

“We are looking for built environment professionals to contribute data from a number of different asset types to develop a single, agreed methodology and for all stakeholders in the real estate industry who will be using the standard to get involved to formulate it appropriately. Please contribute to our call for evidence and join us in our update event to learn more about our plans and programme for developing and testing the standard.”  

Chair of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard Technical Steering Group, Clara Bagenal George, added: “This project will deliver much-needed clarity on how to verify net-zero carbon buildings in the UK. It also brings together key organisations that have been working in this space, to create a robust, industry-led Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, created through consensus and collaboration based on science.”

The NZCBS Technical Steering Group will host a webinar on Thursday 17 November at 9.30am. This will provide a general update on progress on the development of the standard, as well as an audience Q&A session.   

For additional guidance on the relevance and suitability of data, contact the team at: [email protected] or [email protected], depending on the type of data in question.