Decarbonising construction – two new guides published

Buildings account for 30% of total UK carbon emissions. In December 2020, the Government pledged to cut the UK’s carbon emissions by 68% (from 1990 levels) by 2030 and launched a ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution including a commitment to both retrofit existing buildings and raise the energy performance of new buildings. Two recently published guides could help.

There is a clear need for the construction industry to do more to make buildings more sustainable. The government has made £2 billion available for householders to make their existing homes more energy efficient through the Greener Homes Grant and with these new targets for new buildings the focus is also on how construction can be made more sustainable too.

And that’s where the two guides come in. The first – from the UK Green Building Council – is called Unlocking the Delivery of Net Zero Carbon Buildings. It focusses on the RIBA plan of work stages, the barriers to decarbonising likely to occur and it sets out various opportunities to overcome them. It also points to technical resources and case studies.

The second is the National Federation of Builders report, Transforming Construction – Delivering a Low Carbon Future. It acts as a handbook for main contractors on decarbonising their businesses and their supply chains. It contains the results of a survey of major contractors that assessed their progress and outlines six different areas for carbon reduction with relevant tools and resources for contractors along with case studies from some key names in the industry.

Further information

Unlocking the Delivery of Net Zero Carbon Buildings - download the full report and summary.

Transforming Construction - Delivering a Low Carbon Future - watch a video introduction and download the report.

See also the UKGBC retrofit policy map - highlights examples of domestic retrofit policies from authorities across the UK.