Government chief construction advisor Paul Morrell is working on a practical plan to decarbonise industry and the built environment, including ‘development of a workable and transparent accounting standard for the embodied carbon of building projects’ and integration into Green Book appraisals’.
The new strategy, which is set to go out for consultation next month, will be very different to the carbon plan that the government issued at the end of last year, Morrell has said. ‘That was a plan for a plan. This will be more detailed.’
He explained that there was a need for industry understanding to inform the plan. ‘The carbon plan assumes a massive ramp-up of zero carbon homes in 2016, whereas it’ll actually take time for the homes to feed through,’ he said. Morrell also called for engagement with this latest process, adding, ‘All contributions are valuable, but the more we hammer in the same place, the more we are likely to see the value.’
Morrell was speaking at a seminar organised by the Aldersgate Group, a coalition of businesses, non-governmental organisations and MPs formed to promote a sustainable economy. The meeting was arranged to mark the launch of its report into sustainable development, Building Britain: The path to sustainable growth for the built environment, which highlights the progress the government has made in shaping the regulatory and fiscal framework for sustainable buildings in the UK. But the report points out that the industry’s prospects of delivering on carbon reduction targets while remaining competitive are still hampered by a lack of clarity, consistency and effective enforcement. It urges government to think beyond arbitrary regulatory quotas and to bring forward innovative, cost-effective mechanisms through positive engagement with the property industry.
Report recommendations
The report’s recommendations to the government include:
· Support for the principle of mandating operational energy ratings for commercial buildings. It encourages the government to revisit this at the next legislative opportunity
· Post-completion performance testing as a standardised feature of the Building Regulations compliance process
· Linking enhanced financial penalties for non-compliance with Part L with budgeting for improved enforcement capacity and enabling support services for the delivery of energy and carbon standards in the building controls sector
· The development of a workable and transparent accounting standard for the embodied carbon of building projects and to integrate these into Green Book appraisals. Ultimately, the report’s authors would like to see embodied carbon integrated into building rating systems required by law in support of property transactions and Building Regulations approval for new completions.
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