Task group launched to meet government green buildings target

John Lewis, Whitbread, Argent and British Land are members of a new task group launched to help deliver zero carbon non-domestic buildings from 2019.

The Steps to 2019: Zero carbon non-domestic Task Group has been launched by the UK Green Building Council to push ahead with the government’s policy and explore how the Allowable Solutions market can deliver high value carbon saving solutions in the built environment.

The policy for all new non-domestic buildings to be built to zero carbon standards by 2019 was announced in 2008 following the 2006 zero carbon homes policy.

Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, said that the policies were vital for meeting the UK’s climate change targets.

The group’s brief is therefore to identify the most effective solutions and approaches currently being undertaken by the industry. As well as examining government policy such as the Allowable Solutions framework, to establish how this can deliver reliable and high value on-site, near-site and off-site carbon savings.

David Mason, senior sustainability manager at Skanska and joint chair of the task group, commented that the Allowable Solutions framework would be vital for delivering the zero carbon buildings policies and presented “a huge opportunity for the industry to innovate and find new ways of delivering carbon savings in the built environment”.

The task group is sponsored by by Lafarge Tarmac and Saint Gobain.