UK Green Building Council spearheads drive to develop 'single, coherent', science-based roadmap to decarbonise the UK's entire built environment
A "single, coherent" action plan for transforming the entire UK built environment to deliver net zero emissions is to be developed by a host of green building and construction experts over the next year, as part of a major new project announced by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) this week.
Dubbed the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, the project aims to identify how the built environment can support the UK's newly-announced 2030 climate target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 68 per cent below 1990 levels, and the broader pathway to net zero emissions by 2050.
The built environment contributes around 40 per cent of the UK's total carbon footprint, with building energy use and infrastructure accounting for around half of the sector's impact, according to the UKGBC.
UKGBC said the Roadmap would therefore deliver a science-based plan based on a 1.5C trajectory to net zero across Britain's building industry, covering all building types and infrastructure, all built environment stakeholders and sub-sectors, and carbon emissions from the whole building lifecycle.
John Alker, director of policy and places at UKGBC, said that while the concept of net zero buildings had gathered pace with plans set out by the UK government and the Climate Change Committee "there remains a missing key ingredient in terms of a single, coherent, shared plan of action for getting to net zero whole life carbon for the totality of the built environment".
"The sheer volume of climate activity and initiatives in the sector is testament to the interest and momentum in this space, but we desperately need to work together in partnership and forge consensus if we are going to deliver the radical carbon reductions needed," he said.
The Roadmap aims to set out the actions that industry, government policies, and associated initiatives would have to undertake to manage the net zero transition for the UK built environment, alongside commitments from key organisations, according to the UKGBC.
Setting a new science-based trajectory based on a 1.5C warming pathway, the project will build on, expand, and update the Green Construction Board's Low Carbon Routemap from 2013, it added.
Tom Spurrier, associate director at Hoare Lea, has been seconded from the consultancy to take the role of project lead for developing the Roadmap, while British Property Federation assistant director for development and sustainability Alex Green has also been seconded part-time to focus on stakeholder engagement across the industry and government, UKGBC said.
"Following a year of unprecedented challenge and adaptation, 2021 presents an opportunity to reset ambitions and strategy for a net zero carbon built environment in the UK in the run up to COP26," said Spurrier. "But progress is only possible via collaboration and consensus, and the roadmap will bring together businesses, policymakers and industry bodies in order to create a transparent and implementable plan to deliver lasting impact."
Set to be unveiled at the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow next November, the roadmap forms part of a broader World Green Building Council (WGBC) programme that will see nine other national building decarbonisation plans developed for countries across Europe.
The collaborative effort across national Green Building Councils aims to build a common vision and agreed actions for achieving net zero carbon in the construction, operations and demolition of buildings and infrastructure, according to the WGBC.
The programme is being funded by the IKEA Foundation and the Laudes Foundation.