Join Jess Hrivnak, UKNZCBS Technical Steering Group member and RIBA Sustainability Lead, at Futurebuild 2025 for an in-depth exploration of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS). On 6th March, Jess will lead a session at the Futurebuild Arena, ExCel, London—Lessons in Carbon: The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard from 12:00-12:45. David Partridge, Chair of the UKNZCBS Governance Board will be chairing the earlier session- Implementing the UK Net Zero Carbon Buidlings Standard from 10:30 -11:30. These sessions will provide essential insights into how the Standard is helping drive sustainable change in the built environment and support the UK’s carbon reduction goals. Below, Jess gives an oversight into how carbon sits at the centre of the built environment’s journey towards net zero.

Lessons in Carbon

From the wildfires to floods, earthquakes to smog- climate change is impacting our lives now.  Experienced either first hand or witnessed via shocking images, these extreme weather events confront us with the primordial forces of nature.

Water, earth, fire and air – for many ancient cultures these four elements were used to classify and therefore understand the world around them. The four elements were often linked to belief systems, imbued with qualities and characteristics from which modern science has moved away. Yet perhaps – in our technology driven modern world- we would do well to heed their power? The devastating fires in L.A. showed us how, once unleashed, these raw elemental forces do not distinguish between wealth or status and rip irreversibly through communities. In other words, none of us are immune to the elemental risks from the climate.

In design discussions we may feel the push-pull to focus on specific issues (biodiversity, water consumption, social inclusion, fire hazard) that are brief or site specific. Some may even feel that ‘net zero carbon’ is a bewildering ‘on trend’ subject that is competing against these in an ever expanding list. 

But our lesson is that ‘carbon’ sits at the heart of all these issues. It is commonly used as a short-hand metric for all climate warming greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane et al). We now know that global warming is already taking a toll on biodiversity- throwing subtly balanced ecosystems out of whack; impacting crop yields and directly affecting income as well as hunger with a knock on effect on education, wellbeing and attainment. A drop in harvest related income can alter a family’s ability to keep up with school fees, thereby limiting the next generation’s potential to gain qualifications. Higher temperatures change the patterns of rain and availability of water, with consequential implications for both the physical infrastructure and social fabric of our communities.

Migration, and directly climate change related migration, has significant challenges. Those forced to relocate for their own survival in face of extreme weather reached over 31 million in 2022 alone^[1], and The World Bank estimates that climate related displacement could potentially rise to 216 million by 2050^[2].

Our ability and efforts to keep global warming within the 1.5degC Paris Agreement target threshold will literally determine the course of millions of lives- and impact our own. This is why for me the carbon metric is the most important one, and foundational to all other issues for a sustainable future.

2024 saw the first annual breach of the 1.5deg C threshold, and with it, stark reminders of the risks we face. But it also saw the publication of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, providing our industry with mandatory targets and limits that reduce both spurious claims around net zero carbon, and which accelerate the design, construction and use of buildings that deliver lower carbon outcomes in line with the UK’s legally binding carbon targets.

The Standard has galvanised action in our industry like nothing I have seen before- thecollaboration during its creation, and now its use to benchmark projects’ decarbonisation progress- are inspiring. I am looking forward to sharing the detail of the Standard with the audience at Futurebuild as part of the Arena Conference Programme. Do come and join us.

Date: 6^th March 2025 Time: 12.00-12.45 Place: Futurebuild Arena, Excel, London Lessons in Carbon: The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

Date: 6^th March 2025 Time: 10.30-11.30 Place: Futurebuild Arena, Excel, London Implementing the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS)

[1] https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/climate-change-and-displacement-myths-and-facts

[2] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050