A coalition of built environment and climate action organisations has written to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Jeremy Pocklington, to share concerns about the current Future Buildings Standard.
The letter – signed by twenty-one organisations including the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and Greenpeace – highlights significant shortcomings of the proposed new energy and ventilation standards for non-domestic buildings and existing homes in England.
Failings include no intention to regulate the total energy consumption of buildings; set targets for actual energy performance, or embodied carbon. Alongside more ambitious new standards, signatories also call for a National Retrofit Strategy.
The letter has been signed by the following organisations:
- Active Building Centre
- Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN)
- Architects Declare
- Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)
- Building Performance Network (BPN)
- Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
- Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
- E3G
- Energy Saving Trust
- London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI)
- Friends of the Earth
- Good Homes Alliance
- Greenpeace
- MCS Foundation
- National Energy Foundation (NEF)
- New London Architecture (NLA)
- Passivhaus Trust
- Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
- Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
- The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP)
- UK Green Building Council (UKGBC)
It follows the official Future Buildings Standard consultation, which closed yesterday.
RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:
“The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the UK’s total carbon output. Put simply, the proposed Future Buildings Standard does not go far enough to reduce this impact. To reach net zero carbon emissions, demonstrate global leadership and create a world-leading built environment sector England needs more ambitious regulations. The Future Buildings Standard provides an opportunity to make critical and essential changes: to regulate total energy consumption and set critical targets for actual energy performance and embodied carbon. I urge policymakers to realise its potential.”
Read the RIBA's written response to the Future Homes Standard consultation here.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Press contact: Abigail.Chiswell-White@riba.org.
- The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. Follow @RIBA on Twitter for regular updates.
