14/3/2008
Carbon zero non-domestic buildings - a big ask
In his 2008 Budget speech on 11 March the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced the Government’s aim that all new non-domestic buildings be carbon zero by 2019. This follows the target announced last year for all new homes to be carbon zero by 2016.
When interviewed on Budget Day by Sky News’ Catherine Jacobs, who described the target as ‘as big ask’, BRE Chief Executive Dr Peter Bonfield agreed that it was very challenging. But he pointed out that a great deal about carbon zero buildings had been learnt in the year since the homes target had been announced.
They were speaking at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford where a number of leading housebuilders have constructed low carbon and zero carbon demonstration homes. ‘Constructing and operating homes that achieve a true zero carbon performance has proved difficult,’ said Dr Bonfield, ‘But the lessons learnt in the process will be vital to efforts to meet the Government’s 2016 target for homes, and will also be very helpful in achieving the non-domestic building target.’
Dr Bonfield described the target for commercial and public buildings as a good policy which, while very demanding, was achievable in the time available. ‘Developers, designers and housebuilders now have 11 years to develop and construct carbon zero non-domestic buildings. This should be long enough to prepare for the target date and we in the BRE Group will do all that we can to help.
‘For example we are further developing BREEAM, our widely used scheme for assessing the environmental performance of buildings, each year our schemes are updated and the 2008 BREEAM update which will be released to our assessors in May will includes some dramatic changes including; new schemes for healthcare and further education buildings, the introduction of mandatory credits and a new top rating level called BREEAM Outstanding.”
For more information contact Linda McKeown tel 0777 2228768, or Christina Gulvanessian 01923 664123
Editors’ notes
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BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) is the world’s leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings, with over 100,000 buildings certified and over half a million registered. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de facto measure used to describe a building’s environmental performance. Credits are awarded in eight categories according to performance. These credits are then added together to produce a single overall score on a scale of Pass, Good, Very Good and Excellent. The operation of BREEAM is overseen by an independent Sustainability Board, representing a wide cross-section of construction industry stakeholders. www.breeam.org.