UK Green Building Council publishes guidance on low carbon buildings

30/11/2020

The UK Green Building Council – a membership organisation founded with the aim to radically transform the UK built environment – has published new guidance to help break down barriers to the design and construction of net zero carbon buildings.  Called “Unlocking the Delivery of Net Zero Carbon Buildings”, the report aims to help developers and project teams set strategies at the outset of any project to streamline the delivery of net zero carbon buildings. It identifies barriers that are likely to emerge through RIBA Stages 0-7 and provides associated opportunities for how these can be overcome.

This guide follows on from previous research, published in September, that revealed a net zero carbon office would cost 8% to 17% more than using conventional construction and that a net zero carbon apartment block would cost 5% more, and this report highlighted the need for a long-term consistent regulatory trajectory that tightens standards over time allow those costs to come down.