Last month, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) produced a second updated version of their resource pack designed to help local authorities drive up the sustainability of new homes. The Playbook is intended to support planning officers with responsibilities for sustainability and planning within local authorities.

The core content of the Playbook focuses on reducing energy demand and carbon emissions, mitigating overheating risk, assuring performance and the acoustic performance at individual property level. Each section includes recommendations about the requirements that UKGBC believe local authorities should introduce to drive sustainable new homes in their area, all of which go beyond what is required by national policy. Each section is also accompanied with a set of policy examples already set by local authorities.

Following the proposed changes to Building Regulations through the recent Future Homes Standard (FHS) and the Future Building Standard (FBS) published by the Government on 19^th January 2021, local authorities retained the power to set higher energy performance standards above the minimum required in regulation. Therefore, it is likely that local authority policy makers and planning officers will be looking to this Playbook for guidance.

Here, we set out 7 key points from the Playbook you might have missed, that we consider of significant importance to the design and development of new homes.

1 – Proposed minimum requirements and stretching requirements

Within each section of the Playbook, recommendations have been set at two levels – minimum requirements, which all LAs can and should introduce now, and stretching requirements, which LAs wishing to go further should consider implementing at the next available opportunity. However, all recommendations go beyond what is required by national policy, and are therefore driving sustainability further than the FHS and FBS recently set out.

2 – Reduce embodied carbon

Embodied carbon emissions can be as much as 50% of total emissions over a building’s lifetime. Despite this, there is nothing in national policy that currently requires embodied carbon emissions to be measured, let alone reduced. Within the Playbook, both the minimum requirements and the stretching requirements set out options for how embodied carbon can be quantified and reduced.

The recommendations have the most impact on major developments, with the minimum requirements calling for Whole Lifecycle Carbon Assessment to be undertaken using recognised methodology and a reduction in carbon emissions demonstrated. The stretching requirement sets a tangible target for minimising carbon, at <500 kgCO2e/m2 upfront embodied carbon emissions (covering the emissions in Modules A1-A5 of the RICS methodology).

 3 – No onsite combustion of fossil fuel

As part of the pathway to net zero carbon, the Climate Change Committee has highlighted the role grid decarbonisation will play. By introducing energy generation through the use of onsite renewables, this will support investment in technology development, and reduce the demands on the grid. The Playbook recommends, as a minimum requirement, that all new development should avoid onsite combustion of fossil fuel, or where that is not viable, supporting information should demonstrate how the design had at least considered low-carbon heating sources. Additionally, where viable all developments with SE/SW facing roofs, should install a minimum 40% by building footprint of solar technologies.

The stretching requirement takes this further, recommending major developments match their total energy demand through a combination of renewable generation capacity, energy storage and smart controls. By encouraging the storage of renewably generated energy onsite, this has the dual impact of reducing overall demand on the grid and minimising peak demand also.

4 – Tackling the performance gap

It has been widely reported that there can be a significant difference in designed/anticipated performance and actual in use performance when it comes to energy consumption; some studies suggest this can be up 5 times higher in some cases. In order to address this, the Playbook considers a number of ways to tackle this and close the performance gap.

As a minimum requirement, the principles of Soft Landings should be followed, with a recognised performance gap/assured performance tool utilised. To go further, the stretching requirements consider in addition to the minimum, that all major developments shall implement a Soft Landings approach from ‘Phase 1: Inception and Briefing’ as per BSRIA BG 54/2018 Soft Landings Framework 2018 and put in place a recognised monitoring regime to allow the assessment of energy use, indoor air quality and overheating risk for the first five years of occupancy.

5 – Addressing residual emissions to reach net-zero carbon

A large number of LAs have already declared climate emergencies and will therefore be looking to ensure that any new development is in-line with the commitment towards net-zero carbon emissions. That means that any development that does not attain net-zero carbon status through on-site measures could be required to make a cash-in-lieu contribution to the LA’s carbon tax fund. Proceeds from these ringfenced funds are typically spent on either carbon offset or carbon avoidance projects. LAs may also allow developers to pay for carbon offsets directly via verified schemes such as the Gold Standard and the Woodland Carbon Code.

The Playbook recommends as a minimum that LAs require the first 30 years of regulated emissions be offset to zero. The stretching target is for the first 30 years of regulated and unregulated emissions to be offset to zero. This would be collected as an upfront payment.

6 – Mitigating overheating risk

With summer temperatures predicted to rise by up to 4 degrees by 2050, and with improved building fabric and air tightness efficiency at the forefront of reducing energy emissions, the likelihood of overheating risk in homes is set to increase.

As a minimum requirement, the Playbook suggests the use of existing risk assessment tools such as BRE’s HQM standard temperature reporting tool or the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) to model the risk and identify areas for reducing this. As with addressing performance gap issues, the stretching requirement recommends implement a Soft Landings approach from ‘Phase 1: Inception and Briefing’ as per BSRIA BG 54/2018 Soft Landings Framework 2018 and put in place a recognised monitoring regime to allow the assessment of energy use, indoor air quality and overheating risk for the first five years of occupancy.

7 – Noise pollution

Whilst Approved Document Part E provides specific requirements for sound insulation between dwellings, these are designed to achieve a minimum standard for the protection of health and safety, and adhering to these requirements alone will not design out all unwanted internal noise. The Playbook looks to mitigate this, initially as the minimum requirement through recommending the use of “The ProPG Planning & Noise Guidance” document produced by the Institute of Acoustics, the Association of Noise Consultants and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

The stretching requirements go further, recommending setting targets above Building Regulations for certain building types and identifying development sites within the LPA boundary that will require extra noise mitigation. The stretching requirement also recommends that in the worst-case areas, LPAs should state that residential development will not be permitted.

If you’d like to find out more about how these updates could impact your upcoming projects, please contact our Assess team at Focus. To read the Playbook in full, visit the UK Green Building Council’s website here: https://www.ukgbc.org/ukgbc-work/new-homes-policy-playbook/