David Partridge, Chair of Related Agent and the Net Zero Carbon Standard

For many of us, achieving net zero carbon is seen as one of the most significant drivers for change in the construction industry, but we need to look beyond just the technical aspects of that. Net zero is changing the way that buildings are viewed, not only in terms of how they’re built and used but also in the way that they are valued and perceived as assets.  While ultimately this has an impact on construction, it is being driven from a real top-down need, with the overarching imperative being to save the planet from further impacts of climate change. But what do we need to do in order to achieve net zero at scale and how can the industry agree and then adopt a common standard of measurement for net zero carbon buildings in the UK?

There is currently a very interesting dynamic going on. Individual organisations in a bottom-up process are looking to reposition their own skills and business propositions and at the same time, they are waiting for a top-down change to come – one that will ultimately be driven by policy. At some time in the not-too-distant future, net zero will become a legal requirement as opposed to just a sociological one, which is the way that most of us have approached the climate change challenge of doing it because we think it’s the right thing to do. How can we prepare ourselves for this?

There was recently an interesting piece of science that assessed the impact of the 1985 worldwide ban on CFCs and HCFCs, chemicals used in everyday products such as aerosols and refrigerators that were damaging the ozone layer. This UN report stated that as a result of this ban, the earth’s protective ozone layer is on course to be healed by 2040. There is clearly a positive message about this success, which also sets a precedent for climate action today.

Limiting our planet’s temperature rise to 1.5℃ by 2050 as part of the Paris Accord targets will only be possible through societal and business changes. There is a real opportunity to make a significant change if we’re all prepared to do it. Our sector is responsible for 40% of all carbon emissions and if it continues to emit carbon at the same rate as it has historically, it will single-handedly raise temperatures by 3 degrees, double the Paris target.

In order to address the operational, and carbon embodied emissions of our building stock through the construction process, a universally adopted and industry-backed Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) will be absolutely essential. Created and put together by a unique collaboration between industry bodies including the Better Building Partnership, BRE, Carbon Trust, CIBSE, IStructE, LETI, the RIBA, RICS and the UK Green Building Council, the NZCBS will provide a single benchmark for carbon reduction across the built environment. This initiative is already backed by all of the leading professional institutions in the sector. As Chair of the Governance Board for the Net Zero Carbon Standard, my main initial task is to extend its reach to all of the bodies that represent developers, owners, investors, financiers and managers of real estate, as well as the contractors and their supply chain that builds it.

Creating a level playing field

Part of the reason for developing this Standard is to give the people who own, commission and lend to the people who are going to build buildings, a single source of measurement that will allow them to understand where their assets sit on a net zero trajectory. This will ensure that they do not end up in a situation where those assets become effectively stranded by virtue of the fact that they simply fail to achieve the appropriate net zero carbon credentials.

There’s already a government push towards different EPC ratings and gradually more and more pressure to reduce carbon in operation, and then ultimately in terms of embodied carbon. The Standard is designed to give everybody working in the built environment, including designers, building owners, investors, developers and contractors, a tool to measure existing assets and the impacts of retrofit or new-build projects in exactly the same way. It will also allow manufacturers who are part of the supply chain, the opportunity to measure the carbon impact of their own products. By creating a single-level playing field, the Standard encourages change by allowing stakeholders to make like-for-like comparisons.

A single-industry backed Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) can be utilised across the sector and used to approach government enabling them to measure, verify and account for the built environment’s achievement of net zero targets. The impact this would have on ensuring that the UK achieves its 2035 and 2050 commitments will be game-changing.

David Partridge is also Chairman of Related Argent and will be chairing the conference debate Facing Challenges: Change Management at Futurebuild 2023 on March 8^th at 12:30.

Futurebuild 2023 will take place from March 7^th to 9^th London’s ExCeL. For more details and exhibitor enquires, visit www.futurebuild.co.uk

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About Futurebuild: Futurebuild is an event that brings together more than 15,000 building industry influencers and decision-makers with the power to make a difference and form part of a major transformation of the sustainable built environment. By cultivating this type of cross-sector collaboration, Futurebuild is helping to inspire the innovation that is needed to propel the construction industry towards the UK government’s ambitious net-zero target. Such an outcome is essential to creating a cleaner, healthier environment for future generations to enjoy. 

About the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy: Leading economy-wide transformation by backing enterprise and long-term growth, generating cheaper, cleaner, homegrown energy and unleashing the UK as a science superpower through innovation.

The government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio provides funding to UK businesses to accelerate the commercialisation of low-carbon technologies and systems which will help enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.

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