Green Building Council calls for Code for Sustainable Buildings

The UKGBC argued for the new Code in its report Making a case for a Code for Sustainable Buildings, saying that it would set the standards, metrics and targets that all sustainability tools should be aligned with.

Launching the report at Ecobuild Paul King, chief executive of the UKGBC, said: “At the moment the practical delivery and management of sustainable buildings is being held up by a confusing myriad of different sustainability policies, regulations, tools and standards. The Code for Sustainable Buildings should establish one clear policy and regulatory trajectory towards a sustainable built environment”.

The report recommended that, as part of the Code, all new and existing buildings undergo a building MOT to monitor their energy performance and environmental impact at regular intervals throughout their life. Minimum standards would be progressively raised over time. The report also highlighted the need for performance data for buildings in use.

King said: “The Code for Sustainable Buildings should also drive the systematic collection of building performance data we so urgently need, an in addition, this will provide the basis for the benchmarking and valuation of sustainable/green buildings in the future”

Other recommendations contained in the report are:

- That the government sets out the trajectory and stretching targets for a zero carbon, sustainable built environment

- That the code should be owned by the government but developed and managed by industry.

The report was produced by a UKGBC task group made up of key industry figures.

The task group’s full report is available on the UKGBC website: www.ukgbc.org