Steel industry targets zero carbon buildings

Corus and the British Constructional Steelwork Association have commissioned Faber Maunsell and cost consultants Cyril Sweett to draw up blueprints for delivering zero carbon steel-framed buildings.

Called project ‘Target Zero’, it will provide designers with the guidance they need to meet the government’s emissions reduction targets and the ultimate goal of delivering buildings which emit no carbon emissions by 2019.

The £1million project will look at five major non-domestic building types and will generate fully-costed solutions demonstrating how to achieve the three highest BREEAM ratings and meet the changes to Part L of the Building Regulations. It will look at ways for improving operational energy efficiency and reducing embodied energy.

The five building types are schools, warehouses, offices, supermarkets and mixed use. The first guide, on schools, will appear this summer with the other published at three month intervals after that.

Alan Todd, general manager of Corus Construction Services and Development, says: “The schools study has already identified potential annual energy savings of £165 million nationally, equivalent to £22 per pupil."

"Corus and the BCSA have recognised that there is an absence of reliable technical and commercial data for designers aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of new buildings. Target Zero will provide the information they need.”