Fully decarbonising the electricity system by 2035 is central to delivering Net Zero in the UK. With buildings responsible for over 60% of the UK’s national electricity demand, the built environment industry has a critical role to play in achieving this target, and the way electricity is procured for our buildings can accelerate our transition to a reliable, resilient, and zero carbon grid.  

This guidance from UKGBC on Renewable Energy Procurement seeks to empower stakeholders tasked with procuring energy in the built environment to do so in a way that enables them to realise their climate ambition, while supporting the continued decarbonisation of the electricity supply sector. Across a suite of guidance documents, UKGBC’s series of reports gives industry the tools to make more informed procurement decisions.

Download the Summary Report

All Reports

Summary Report

The summary report brings together the key conclusions, guidance, and recommendations from the other reports. It gives an overview of the information to help users identify which documents will be most useful and relevant for them.

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Report 1 – What stakeholders need to do

Report 1 outlines what stakeholders need to do, providing both general recommendations to secure procurement that aligns with the principles for quality renewable electricity procurement. It also identifies actions different consumer types can take today and in future to help support the market evolution needed to enable the electricity system’s decarbonisation.

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Report 2 – Options available in market

There are many routes through which built environment stakeholders can procure their electricity. The accessibility of these routes to different consumers varies substantially, and each contributes differently to decarbonising the grid. Report 2 summarises the various procurement routes available in the market and the factors that may affect a built environment stakeholder’s ability to engage in them. It also describes the range of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) variants available and introduces relevant guidance when considering a direct contract with a renewable generator.

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Report 3 – Determining the performance of your electricity strategy

Report 3 introduces tools for engaging energy suppliers to enable better assessment of the options available in the market. It also defines a methodology for scoring the performance of a building’s electricity strategy, including procurement as well as onsite generation and demand management. This enables all stakeholders to benchmark their current strategy, assess prospective strategies, and understand the incremental changes they can make to secure procurement and manage their buildings in a way that accelerates our transition to a resilient, decarbonised electricity system.

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Report 4 – Rationale behind the guidance

Report 4 outlines why decarbonising the electricity system is critical in delivering against our national Net Zero target, and explores the challenges in doing so as we move to electrify heat and transport and transition from fossil fuels to intermittent renewable power. It summarises the energy markets, the principles of good quality procurement that can help drive this transition, and the evolution in approaches to energy management and the energy products being offered that are required to enable a resilient, decarbonised electricity grid. It describes the sources of emissions that result from the consumption of electricity and covers approaches to account for these emissions.

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Advancing Net Zero Partners

Our climate change mitigation work is made possible thanks to the generous support of our Advancing Net Zero Programme Partners

Project partners

With thanks to our Embodied Carbon Project Partners who make this work possible.

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In March 2021, UKGBC published the Renewable Energy Procurement and Carbon Offsetting Guidance for Net Zero Carbon Buildings. Now two years on, the landscape in which the initial carbon offsetting guidance was published has evolved significantly.

This report aims to provide comprehensive guidance on voluntary carbon offsetting and pricing strategies that are specifically tailored for built assets (both new and existing) and to better equip those who purchase offsets or make investment decisions at building asset or organisational level to align with their climate goals and accelerate the wider transition of net zero.

The report highlights how carbon pricing can be used as a powerful mechanism to accelerate the decarbonisation of built assets and the wider industry. It is also stresses the need for greater ambition when setting an internal carbon price, given the cost of accredited carbon credits on the voluntary market don’t accurately reflect the full societal and economic cost of emitting carbon into the atmosphere.

Key aspects of the guidance include:

 

• In recognition of a rapidly changing carbon market, the publication sets out three levels of ambition industry should work towards, with guidance to develop a pathway to adopt a leading approach.
• A step-by-step process to enable real estate developers and investors to take a more holistic approach to ambitious carbon offsetting, which goes beyond basic procurement of voluntary offset credits.
• Provides all practitioners with the vocabulary to describe key offsetting and internal carbon pricing terminology and principles.

“While absolute emission reductions should always be the priority, offsetting is a fundamental part of any net zero transition plan. We’ve seen too many examples of this done badly and UKGBC’s guidance will help companies ensure they’re purchasing high quality offsets that support communities and positive outcomes – a win for the planet and the maturity and credibility of the offset market. We know that companies with science-based decarbonisation pathways that also commit to purchasing carbon offsets reduce emissions faster than those who don’t. We have an opportunity as a sector to take real leadership in this space and offset today what we cannot reduce, so that together we can accelerate the UK’s pathway to net zero.”

Andy Haigh Director, Climate Positive Solutions Grosvenor

Advancing Net Zero Partners

Our climate change mitigation work is made possible thanks to the generous support of our Advancing Net Zero Programme Partners

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The Playbook demonstrates how protecting nature and enhancing resilience can, and should, be embedded into decision-making at every level.

The ‘Nature Recovery & Climate Resilience Playbook’ presents local authorities and planning officers with a comprehensive toolkit to enhance the sustainability of new and existing development, in order to support both biodiversity and climate resilience using nature-based solutions. It aims to promote a consistent, user-friendly approach to sharing best practice, that will enable authorities to benefit from shared learning, common resources, and mutual confidence; whilst also providing stability for industry around the requirements expected from it across different parts of the country.

This resource has been designed to be used and adapted to support the ‘day job’ of officers, as well as elected members with responsibility for sustainability, planning and regeneration within different authorities. For example, it can be used to inform planning policy in relation to the new development, to enable positive engagement with developers who want to support an authority’s aspirations, as well as support local strategy development and target setting.

The Playbook demonstrates how protecting nature and enhancing resilience can, and should, be embedded into decision-making at every level within local government. It offers interventions at various levels of decision-making across housing and planning strategies, from cross boundary collaboration with neighbouring authorities to local planning policy. The toolkit also identifies a number of no-regrets planning interventions that can deliver immediate positive impact, such as requiring bee bricks, swift and bat boxes. It also illustrates how wider environmental and socio-economic objectives can be delivered across local areas through prioritising biodiversity.

Whilst local action to secure resilience and protect nature is critical, the Playbook also notes how local government’s ability to drive sustainable development in their area must be accompanied with stronger national policy. The Playbook therefore calls for strong national policy, which sets out clearly a future trajectory of escalating minimum standards – which local authorities can move in advance of, if they choose to, whilst maintaining consistency in terms of metrics and approach. The toolkit notes how a patchwork of different standards in different locations is challenging for developers, therefore attempts to balance the need for consistency with the need to enable local government to set suitably ambitious policy.

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With approximately 70% of the UK’s non-residential building stock constructed before the year 2000, if energy and carbon targets are to be achieved, and the UK’s 2050 net zero targets realised, significant energy efficiency and embodied carbon reductions are needed. As a result, much of the sector will have to undergo some form of retrofit by 2050.  

Any stakeholder group with the intention of supporting the successful delivery of net-zero focussed retrofit projects will benefit from the following guidance.  

The guide summarises the fundamental considerations for retrofit projects to support the drive towards net zero carbon in our existing commercial building stock. It includes:  

• Definitions for light and deep retrofits   
• 10 key considerations for net zero carbon focused retrofits projects to support net zero pathways and goals 
• Real-world case studies, exemplifying the importance of these considerations and the benefits low carbon focused retrofits can have in the advancing net zero goals. 

This foundation guidance sets out to address the issue of establishing a level of consistency, but UKGBC will be producing further guidance to support the industry, focussing in more detail on the practical implications of achieving net zero focussed commercial retrofits. Learn more here.

If you have any questions about this publication, any of the upcoming workstreams relating to commercial retrofit, or would like to provide feedback, please email ANZ@UKGBC.org. 

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In the last couple of years, a significant amount of social value guidance has been published for the built environment sector. UKGBC’s Social Value Programme has found that one of the biggest challenges facing built environment project teams was translating this guidance into a form that supports project delivery. 

This guide seeks to respond to this challenge by offering a step-by-step process for delivering social value that can be flexibly applied to any built environment project of any scale – from a single built asset to an entire town regeneration project.  

It builds upon UKGBC’s Framework for Defining Social Value by applying the Process for Delivering Social Value on a range of real-world case studies and understanding key challenges and opportunities in succeeding at each stage of the process. Main features of the guide include:  

• An updated 8-step Process for Delivering Social Value
• Supplementary delivery checklists for senior decision-makers to use when leading built environment projects  
• Detailed guidance notes aimed at practitioners who are responsible for day-to-day project delivery  
• Best practice case study examples 

Our continued work in this area is made possible thanks to the generous support of our partners; Arcadis, Avison Young, Buro Happold, CBRE, Federated Hermes, Hoare Lea, JLL UK Ltd, Rebelleon and WSP. 

Health, Wellbeing and Social Value

UKGBC believes that a sustainable built environment must help and support people and communities to thrive.

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In August 2021, UKGBC launched the Measuring and Reporting Climate-related Physical Risks task group in response to the upcoming mandatory disclosure of climate-related risks. For large organisations and financial institutions within the UK, this comes into force from April 2022 in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) recommendations. If successful, this requirement is likely to expand to include smaller organisations by 2025. For asset-owning organisations this will include a requirement to consider, measure, and report any risks posed by physical climate-related risks, alongside reporting transitional risks from reducing greenhouse gas emissions.   

The guidance includes detailed information on the physical risk assessment process; a methodology for built asset scale; and a standalone reporting framework which can be used to support the preparation of TCFD disclosure reports. By providing a methodology for the built environment, it is hoped that this report and framework will address the current lack of consensus on physical risk disclosure methodologies.  

To build on this report, UKGBC held a series of Physical Risk Labs that gave participants the opportunity to follow this guidance step by step together on real life assets. Learn more about labs and the experience of the participants here.

To support built environment professionals with the measuring and reporting of climate-related physical risks to built assets, UKGBC is hosting an practical learning course to walk participants through the application of the Physical Risk guidance tool to their chosen asset. Learn more and sign up here.

It is only through transparent and accurate climate-related risk assessments and reporting can we close the gap between the level of risk we face and the level of climate adaptation underway. This Framework provides asset-owning businesses large and small with a consistent methodology for getting to grips with TCFD-aligned disclosures, as well as the tools to better understand the impact of climate change on their built assets.”  

UKGBC’s Director of Business Transformation, Alastair Mant

UKGBC’s guidance comes at a critical point for organisations right across the built environment value chain, supporting TCFD alignment and providing an important step on the journey towards accurate and transparent physical climate-related risk measurement and disclosure. By measuring, interpreting, and reporting on the physical climate risks posed to assets, organisations can make better informed decisions that have benefits for their own operations and the future of the built environment.” 

Bill Hughes, Head of Real Assets, Legal & General Investment Management

Evidence shows that our climate is already changing, and the frequency of extreme weather events is rising. Proactive adaptation to the physical impacts of climate hazards must be built into our normal planning, decision-making, and risk management procedures – not only to cope with the physical impacts on our buildings, but also the financial impacts. UKGBC’s Framework provides asset owning businesses with the guidance to actively assess and measure the physical risks of climate change, enabling them to make better decisions today for the future wellbeing of our buildings and communities.”  

Louise Pryor, Chair of London Climate Change Partnership

The framework has been made possible thanks to the UKGBC Resilience & Nature-Based Solutions Programme Partners: the John Ellerman Foundation, ARUP, BuroHappold, CBRE, Federated Hermes, Hoare Lea and ISG. 

If you have any questions on the framework or would like to provide feedback, please email Hannah.Giddings@ukgbc.org

Climate Change Adaptation

As the climate crisis intensifies and extreme weather events become more common, the UK’s buildings, cities and critical infrastructure, and the communities that use and occupy these, are in increasing danger. It’s vital to address how our buildings and infrastructure can be adapted to remain fit for the future.

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UKGBC published the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework Definition in 2019 to provide the industry with clarity on the definition of net zero carbon buildings. Given the evolving nature of guidance on this topic, it was intended to be built on over time – the reason why it was titled a ‘framework’. It sets out high-level principles for achieving net zero carbon for construction and for operational energy, with the noted intention that further detail and stricter requirements would be developed over time. 

The Framework sets out an overarching set of principles to follow, with a ‘reduction first’ approach to achieving net zero carbon. Each principle includes the approach that should be followed, technical requirements and, where relevant, any areas for future development.

Framework clarifications

Since 2019, UKGBC has published (or supported the development of) additional pieces of guidance which layer onto the original framework. This guidance strengthens the framework with additional technical requirements and, in some instances, supersedes the high-level guidance within the original framework.

To support the navigation of this guidance alongside the framework, to take account of the ongoing emerging industry net zero carbon buildings guidance and best practice and responding to common queries received we have produced a NZCB Framework Definitions Clarifications document available here.

The below outlines key clarifications to the original framework and the related the Carbon reduction hierarchy principal points clarified.

Framework Documents

Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework Definition

April 2019. Original Framework.

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Net Zero Operational Carbon: Ten key requirements for new buildings

September 2019. Updates principle 3.1 – Reductions in energy demand and consumption should be prioritised over all other measures

Download here

Net Zero Carbon: Energy Performance Targets for Offices

January 2020. Updated Principle 3.1 and guidance on: Levels of energy performance expected for new and existing offices with a trajectory up until 2035.

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Renewable Energy Procurement & Carbon Offsetting; Guidance for Net Zero Carbon Buildings.

March 2021. Updated guidance on: No allowance for offsetting of embodied carbon via export of renewable energy for new buildings. No allowance for fossil fuel consumption (primary energy) for new buildings, with replacement plan for existing.Technical requirements for procurement of renewable energy and offsets.

Download here

Net Zero Carbon Buildings: Level of Performance

March 2021. Updates guidance on: 2.1 – A whole life carbon assessment should be undertaken and disclosed for all construction projects to drive carbon reductions 3.1 – Reductions in energy demand and consumption should be prioritised over all other measures.

Download here

Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

In May 2022, a cross-industry initiative was launched to develop the UK’s first Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. Leading industry organisations BBP, BRE, the Carbon Trust, CIBSE, IStructE, LETI, RIBA, RICS, and UKGBC have joined forces to champion this initiative.

​Whilst significant progress has been made in defining what ‘net zero’ means for buildings in the UK, a process of market analysis showed a clear demand for a single, agreed methodology. The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard will enable industry to robustly prove their built assets are net zero carbon and in line with our nation’s climate targets.

The outputs from the development of the Standard are due to be made available in 2023. Whilst UKGBC’s net zero carbon buildings framework (i.e. this webpage) remains current, it is likely that when the Standard’s outputs are published, the framework will be retired.

Readers are encouraged to stay up-to-date with the development of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard via this website: https://www.nzcbuildings.co.uk/

Questions? 

For all the latest UKGBC updates on net zero buildings, please visit the Advancing Net Zero homepage or email us with any queries or comments at ANZ@ukgbc.org. 

Verifying Net Zero Buildings

Discover what it means to verify your building in line with our Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework

Learn more

Events

Future course

Advancing Net Zero: Essential Knowledge Series

Six part webinar series covering the essentials on net zero carbon in the built environment.

Stage 1 of 4

1

22 Sep, 2023

Course

Online

Raising Awareness

Future event

Net Zero Solutions Forum

UKGBC’s member-led Net Zero Solutions Forum provides a space to discuss learnings and experiences of existing net zero solutions and challenges.

Ongoing Event

Event

In person

Past webinar

Net Zero Carbon Buildings: Update on definitions, standards and verification

Join this webinar to deepen your understanding of what ‘net zero’ means in practice, hear…

22 Sep, 2022

Webinar

Online

Past launch

Net Zero Carbon Buildings Verification Scheme – Market Analysis

Join us to hear the key findings and recommendations for a Net Zero Carbon Buildings Verification Scheme from market analysis carried out within the UK property sector

28 Oct, 2021

Launch

Online

Blogs

Property leader David Partridge to oversee development of UK’s first Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard initiative appoints Related Argent’s Chairman, David Partridge, as Chair of its recently convened Governance Board.

21 Sep, 2022

Climate Change Mitigation News

3 key priorities for the UK built environment to help tackle the climate crisis

UKGBC’s Advancing Net Zero Project Officer, Clara Sibaud, highlights three key areas that the UK built environment sector must prioritise to help deliver on our target to halve global emissions by 2030.

27 Jun, 2022

Climate Change Mitigation Blog

Beyond the building: reducing embodied carbon through innovative master planning

Grosvenor Property UK’s Andy Sharpe, Director of Project Management – Strategic Land explores the findings of UKGBC’s recent report and how embracing low carbon master planning can deliver big carbon savings and healthier, more attractive places to live with minimal impact on cost.

27 May, 2022

Climate Change Mitigation Blog

Net Zero Carbon, a huge retrofit and Salix funding: An Introduction to the Wolfson College Decarbonisation Process 

Bill Watts, Senior Partner at Max Fordham, writes about the Net Zero Carbon and retrofitting case study at Wolfson College, Oxford.

1 Sep, 2021

Climate Change Mitigation Blog

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The built environment is directly responsible for 25% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, renovating existing buildings to reduce their carbon emissions is key to achieving the UK’s ambition to reach net zero by 2050. The majority of the UK’s existing buildings will need upgrading. Fortunately, building renovation at scale can help tackle many other societal challenges. For example: reducing energy consumption and improving energy security; reducing energy poverty and improving health; boosting economies and supporting local skills and jobs.

Understanding and measuring these impacts can inform a wide range of policy decisions from climate change strategies and energy infrastructure investment to health care needs and fuel poverty alleviation. In addition, if local authorities understand and measure these impacts they can:

• Measure their progress against a broad range of targets
• Learn from mistakes and successes to inform best practice
• Build business cases for future retrofit
• Increase public awareness of building renovation benefits

What?

The BUILD UPON Framework defines Environmental, Social and Economic indicators that can be measured. It shows how to measure them and provides tools to aid data collection. This helps cities and local authorities capture data in a simple but standardised format.

The Framework is flexible, easy and free to use. It covers all buildings types. It can be used at a city level – to measure impacts across an entire area and support a city’s Sustainable Energy & Carbon Action Plan; or a project level – to measure the impacts of individual projects.  Local Authorities can measure all of the indicators or focus on just one or two to suit their priorities and resources.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 840926.

Email for further information or to get involved.

Joanne Wheeler Senior Local Policy & Retrofit Manager

Email Joanne

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Although some local authorities are already demonstrating leadership through ambitious policy, we believe more assistance across the board is needed to drive up sustainability. Indeed, UKGBC advocates for support for net-zero development across the country. This would enable local authorities to benefit from shared learning, common resources, and mutual confidence, while providing stability for industry on the requirements across different regions. 

Considering the individual requirements of different parts of the country is crucial when following the advice in this playbook, so this collaborative document will allow local authorities and built environment professionals to work together on the best route forward.   

Within the playbook there are minimum and advanced – or stretch – requirements that are designed to reduce embodied carbon, reduce energy use and ensure low carbon energy sources, amongst other themes. The recommendations are designed for commercial, non-domestic, buildings – for example office developments.  

This report has been drafted by UKGBC with the assistance of the partners from Lendlease, Rockwool Bennetts Associates, Bruntwood, Landsec, and Tuffin Ferraby Taylor.  

The post Commercial Playbook appeared first on UKGBC.

This guide combines data from extensive citizen and local authority engagement initiatives with evidence from IGNITION’s extensive nature-based solutions (NBS) evidence base. The findings are collated and presented as a range of internal opportunities (between local authority departments) and external opportunities (across sectors and amongst communities) for innovation, which can enhance the delivery and long-term security of NBS across the Greater Manchester region and beyond.

There is no quick fix for nature-positive, climate-conscious behavioural change within local authorities or across wider society. However, the recommendations and opportunities outlined within this guide aim to support the next step-change in local authority decision-making and operating, helping them on that journey towards creating greener, more resilient, and sustainable places for people to live and work.

IGNITION Partners 

IGNITION Funders 

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