Prime Light has welcomed the launch of the Pilot Version of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UK NZCBS).
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”.
The UK NZCBS says 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 definitively demonstrate that their building is net zero carbon aligned.
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).
- You can download the pilot UKNZBS here.
