Construction industry supports proposed amendment to UK Building Regulations 2010

The proposed Building Regulations amendment ‘Part Z’ and Approved Document Z has been released, outlining requirements on the assessment of whole life carbon emissions, and limiting of embodied carbon emissions, for all major building projects in the UK.

The proposal introduces mandatory assessments ahead of setting carbon limits, giving time to converge on robust yet ambitious targets.

Not yet part of Building Regulations, the approved Document Z is aligned with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Professional Statement ‘Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment’, and guidance and recommendations made by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI).

If adopted, the proposal aims to rapidly accelerate the voluntary action occurring across the industry, leading to green investment and green jobs creation across construction.

‘…The industry is asking for regulation to ensure that every significant UK development tracks and limits its full carbon footprint,’ says Tor Burrows, Executive Director of Sustainability & Innovation at Grosvenor Great Britain & Ireland. ‘We already do this for our large development projects and the time is right to introduce legislation for the whole industry.’

Other UK construction and engineering companies, such as BAM Construct UK, Laing O’Rourke, Willmott Dixon and Arup, have released statements in support of the proposal.