Legislate to Limit the Carbon Footprint of Construction
Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities; Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
More than half the countries in the world have a smaller national carbon footprint than the UK construction sector on its own.
The carbon footprint of new buildings and infrastructure accounted for around 20% of the UK’s overall carbon emissions in 2020. Despite this, there is no national requirement to measure, report, or reduce the emissions associated with construction.
This must change. In order to mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change the government must legislate to limit the carbon emissions caused by construction.
Sign this petition to ask the UK government to introduce legislation to limit the carbon footprint of construction now, through changes to The Building Regulations and National Planning Policy.
This petition is being put forward by a group of architects and engineers who work with The Building Regulations on a regular basis. We know from our professional experience that, until required to do so by regulation, construction will continue with ‘business as usual’ and thus cause unnecessary damage to our planet and environment, damage that is now known to be irreversible.
Petition by
To:
Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities; Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
From:
[Your Name]
Legislate to Limit the Carbon Footprint of Construction
More than half the countries in the world have a smaller carbon footprint than the UK construction sector on its own.
The carbon footprint of new buildings and infrastructure accounted for 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions in 2020. Currently, The Building Regulations & the National Planning Policy Framework do not require developers to even measure the carbon emissions created through construction, let alone reduce them.
In July 2019, the UK legislated for a target of net zero national greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In 2020 the Climate Change Comittee specifically recommended that to reach this goal the Government must take swift action to tackle this large part of our national carbon footprint, known within the industry as the ‘embodied carbon’ of new buildings. The Government must act on this recommendation and legislate to require the measurment, reporting and reduction of embodied carbon in construction for all new buildings.
Only through regulation will these emissions be reduced across the board:@ In 2019 the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy reported that “with profit margins and shareholder returns the overriding priority for the majority of large housebuilders, they will not upgrade their standards without being required to do so by regulation.”
We believe there is a huge opportunity for the Government to take a lead. We call on you to urgently introduce regulation with a requirement for measurement, reporting and reduction of embodied carbon emissions in construction in line with the timescales outlined below
2022
• Regulation 7 to be revised to introduce carbon limits on specific materials.
• New London Plan Policy SI2 to be adopted by local authorities around the UK.
• Establish a national database for Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessment data of new buildings.
• Establish a national Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) database, to ensure consistent and reliable assessments.
2023
• Expand The Building Regulations to include requirements to assess, report & reduce embodied carbon, within a new part: “Part Z: Embodied Carbon Emissions.”
• Introduce clauses to the National Planning Policy Framework with requirements for Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessments to be submitted as part of pre-application enquiries, full planning submissions, and at practical completion.
2025
• Introduce strict limit values on embodied carbon emissions for all developments.
These recommendations have been derived from research carried out by the Architect’s Climate Action Network (ACAN), an independent group of architects and built environment professionals who understand the impact of construction on the twin crises of climate and biodiversity.
We have prepared a detailed report entitled ‘The Carbon Footprint of Construction’ (2021), putting forward in-depth proposals for legislative and policy-related steps we could take with immediate effect.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the issue.
Yours sincerely,
Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN)