The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS) has just been published. This defines what a building must achieve in order to call itself “Net Zero Carbon” – not just in operational energy but in embodied carbon.
Developed over two years, the UKNZCBS aligns as far as possible with existing Net Zero initiatives and standards. It enables industry to robustly prove their built assets are net zero carbon and in line with the UK’s climate targets.
The Standard is for everyone connected with the UK’s real estate industry and has been put together by a range of expert contributors, including the IStructE, Carbon Trust, RIBA, CIBSE, RICS, UK Green Building Council, LETI, the Better Buildings Partnership and BRE, among others.
How does a building meet the Standard?
The UKNZCBS contains all 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.
The Standard sets out ambitious limits for:
- upfront carbon
- operational energy
- being fossil-fuel free
- district heating and cooling networks
- refrigerants
- heating delivery.
A series of tables at the end of the Standard set out the requirements. These are by year, starting in 2025, and get progressively tougher. These are science-based limits: they accord with targets to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
To give some examples, the upfront carbon limit for a single-family home in 2025 is 430KgCO2e/m2 GIFA (gross internal floor area); for flats it is 565; and for a school it is 530. The limits for the same categories in 2040 are 125, 160 and 170. For 2050 they are 30, 40 and 45.
Which buildings does the UKNZCBS cover?
The Standard specifies different requirements for different building types, covering all major typologies:
- Homes Sport and Leisure Hotels
- Offices Retail Commercial
- Residential
- Schools Culture and
- Entertainment
- Storage and
- Distribution
- Healthcare Science and
- Technology Datacentres
- Higher Education
It applies to both existing and new buildings. Infrastructure projects are not included.
It is an in-use standard, meaning that buildings can only claim to be Net Zero Carbon Aligned once they’ve been occupied and in use for at least a year, with measured in-use building performance data.
What are the principles behind the Standard?
- It is informed by climate science (adopting science-based targets in accordance with a 1.5 degree global average temperature rise trajectory)
- It includes both operational and embodied carbon
- It prioritises energy efficiency and eliminating the performance gap by using measured performance data
- It prioritises the reuse of existing buildings and assets
- It adopts a whole life carbon approach
- It enhances renewable energy generation
- It encourages demand management, so that buildings can support electrification and grid decarbonization
The current version, as launched, is a ‘Pilot’ version and there will be updates and revisions. You can also download an introductory overview document.
