Ambitious net zero carbon targets from the UKGBC in collaboration with Verco, BBP and BPF

Today the UK Green Buildings Council (UKGBC) released their ambitious energy performance targets for offices. These have been developed in collaboration with Verco, the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) and the British Property Federation (BPF).

To achieve net zero carbon by 2050 and fulfil the UK’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, all sectors must rapidly decarbonise. In their paper, the UKGBC provide the ultimate ‘net zero’ whole building and base building energy efficiency thresholds for offices. They also provide a glide path to those goals for the next 15 years. It is hoped that these challenging performance levels have real impact in pushing the sector further, faster.

“Verco is delighted to have collaborated with the UKGBC, BBP and BPF to develop these ground-breaking targets along with the programme partners. This work provides an answer to one of the key outstanding questions around the definition of a net zero carbon building, allowing the industry to accelerate progress toward this goal and ensure the right outcomes are delivered.”

Dave Worthington, Managing Director

Using sound methodology and in consultation with numerous industry experts, the UKGBC has identified that the office sector will need to achieve an overall 60% reduction in energy use from the current level by 2050. This has led to the publication today of ‘Paris-proof’ energy performance standards.

These targets were developed as an addition to the UKGBC's landmark 2019 report 'Net Zero Carbon Buildings: A Framework Definition', which sets out guidance for buildings seeking to achieve net zero for construction and operational energy.

“Linking directly the often-cited net zero carbon label with measured and verified operational energy performance outcomes is the break-through principle elegantly articulated in UKGBC’s paper. Transparency and disclosure are also critically important elements as the industry doubles down its efforts to close the long-acknowledged design vs actual performance gap in new buildings. For existing buildings, we can now measure and understand the performance gap between current and net zero, and that is the critical first step towards identifying ways to close it.”

Robert Cohen, Technical Director

Find out more about the UKGBC targets