UK Green Building Council
Date: 2020-11-30
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has released the attached 21-page guide to help construction firms overcome barriers to creating net-zero carbon buildings.

The guide identifies 17 barriers to decarbonisation that constrain projects at different stages of the development lifecycle as well as advice and case studies on overcoming hurdles from initial concept to the building's handover and usage.

The guide covers: the need to integrate net-zero goals into the building design; financial tips including new financing mechanisms; ways to assess whole-life costs; advice on stakeholder engagement; plus ways to capitalise on innovation and new materials.

Download the Unlocking the Delivery of Net Zero Carbon Buildings guide HERE. (Source: UKGBC, Website, Nov., 2020) Contact: UKGBC, Alastair Mant, info@ukgbc.org, www.ukgbc.org

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Landsec
Date: 2020-07-29
In the UK, London-based property developer Landsec is reporting progress in its plans for what aims to be the UK's first net zero carbon commercial building --The Forge -- a 139,000 sq ft office development in Southwark, London. The project aimes to be the first UK commercial building to meet UK Green Building Council's (UKGBC) net zero carbon buildings framework and associated energy performance targets. Landsec notes all future developments will be built to, and operate in line with, UKGBC's net zero carbon buildings framework.

In November, Landsec became the first UK REIT to align its carbon reduction target to a 1.5 degree C pathway of global warming. The externally approved science-based target will see Landsec reduce absolute carbon emissions by 70 pct from a 2014 baseline over the next ten years aimed at becoming a net zero carbon business by 2030. Landsec is one of the largest real estate companies in Europe with a £12.8 billion portfolio spanning 24 million sq ft of retail, leisure, workspace and residential hubs, with a growing focus on London. (Source: Landsec, Pr, July, 2020) Contact: Landsec, Mark Allen, CEO, +44 (0) 20 7413 9000, enquiries@landsec.com, www.landsec.com; UKGBC, Julie Hirigoyen, info@ukgbc.org, www.ukgbc.org

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UK Energy Efficiency,UK Green Building Council
Date: 2020-07-06
According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), to meet its goal of net-zero climate-changing emissions by 2050, Britain needs to upgrade the energy efficiency and lower fossil fuel consumption in 29 million homes -- almost two homes per minute -- something it is so far nowhere near prepared to do.

Previous government-backed green programmes to spur homeowner investment in insulation and other energy-efficiency measures were "shoddily carried out or drew little interest and failed to produce clear energy savings," and have been mostly discontinued, according to a government audit. Now, to revive interest in such efforts and train more people to do the work "we have to do for retrofit what we did about 15 years ago for recycling and waste." About 430,000 new workers are needed to deliver "anything like the level of retrofits that will be required", according to Paul Toyne of the London Sustainable Development Commission.

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) notes the government is looking at whether a home energy-efficiency push should be part of the package of COVID-19 pandemic recovery spending. Energy efficiency retrofitting work could be pushed forward by measures such as lower property transfer taxes on energy efficient homes and issuing green bonds to fund retraining in retrofitting skills for workers left jobless by the COVID-19 crisis, according to Green Finance Institute director Emma Harvey. (Source: London Sustainable Development Commission, Business Times, Reuters, 4 July, 2020) Contact: London Sustainable Development Commission, www.london.gov.uk/about-us/organisations-we-work/london-sustainable-development-commission; UK Green Building Council, John Alker, Policy Director, www.ukgbc.org

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UK Green Building Council
Date: 2020-01-17
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published new energy performance targets for commercial offices that are aiming to achieve net-zero carbon in operation. The targets were developed as an addition to UKGBC's landmark 2019 report Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework Definition developed in collaboration with Verco, Better Buildings Partnership and BPF, with support from Arup, Carbon Intelligence, JLL UK and TfL.

Details of the new energy performance targets include a trajectory of targets starting from current best practice with tightening targets every five years up to 2035, at which time offices aiming to be net-zero should be operating at the energy performance standards that will be needed by 2050.

Download the Net Zero Carbon: Energy Performance Targets for Offices report HERE.

Download Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework Definition HERE. Source: UKGBC, Facilities Management Journal, Jan., 2020) Contact: UKGBC, Richard Twinn, Senior Policy Advisor, www.ukgbc.org

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UKGBC
Date: 2018-11-30
UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) is reporting the launch of a new industry task group of more than 30 experts from across the building value chain to develop an industry-led definition for net-zero carbon buildings. The task group is being supported by 12 leading industry bodies.

The UKGBC initiative is a global campaign led by the World Green Building Council (WGBC), calling for all new buildings to be net-zero carbon in operation by 2030 and all existing buildings to achieve this standard by 2050. The initiate is expected to released in spring 2019. (Source: UKGBC, pbctoday, 29 Nov., 2018) Contact: UKGBC, Richard Twinn, Senior Policy Advisor, Julie Hirigoyen, CEO, +44 (0) 7580 0623, www.ukgbc.org

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UK Green Building Council
Date: 2018-03-28
In the UK, over 50 business leaders have called on the government to set much stricter energy efficiency targets to help reduce carbon emissions and drive investment in the construction industry.

According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), there is wide consensus on the role the built environment plays in the UK's carbon emissions and the UKGBC is looking to Government to provide policy certainty in order to drive investment and innovation.

Download the building industry group letter HERE. (Source: Europe Carbon Reduction, UK GBC, Climate Action Program, 27 Mar., 2018) Contact: UKGBC, Julie Hirigoyen , CEO, +44 (0) 20 7550 0625, info@ukgbc.org, www.ukgbc.org

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