Event recap: UK Net Zero Carbon鈥� Buildings Standard鈥� 鈥� one year on
海角视频 brought together industry leaders to review progress made since the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard was launched in 2024聽and compare these against the Scottish Standard.
This聽event marked one year since the launch of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS),聽and presented a chance for聽industry leaders to review progress, share lessons from pilot projects, and explore alignment with the Scottish Government鈥檚 Public Sector Building Standard. The session covered聽the scope of the standard,聽operational energy and embodied carbon requirements, verification processes, and practical challenges in achieving compliance. Case studies from higher education and commercial sectors highlighted the complexity of meeting ambitious limits and the opportunities for innovation in design and delivery.
Our experts
Jeremy Murgatroyd
Associate Director
Jeremy is an Associate Director in the 海角视频聽Sustainability聽and Physics group with over 19 years of experience in the Sustainable Design and Construction space.聽
He has a wealth of knowledge of planning policies, building regulations, sustainable construction, net zero methodologies, and decarbonisation in the built environment.
Jeremy is experienced in key methodologies such as BREEAM, LETI, RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge as well as the UKGBC and emerging Net Zero Public Sector Building Standard (Scottish Futures Trust). A key interest of his is low carbon design consultancy. He is an accredited Passivhaus Consultant and is experienced in whole life carbon / embodied carbon modelling and analysis.
Delaram Moin
Associate Director
Delaram is a sustainability integrator and passionate advocate for all aspects of sustainable design. She sets high sustainability targets and KPIs on her projects, and challenges the industry to improve its performance.
Delaram鈥檚 skills transcend traditional boundaries. Highly adaptable with extensive technical knowledge, she offer insights and solutions; adding significant value to projects for her clients. She is skilful in weaving together sometimes disparate threads and themes into a coherent strategy.
She provides a wealth of her own technical expertise that span a broad spectrum of sustainability topics and environmental design principals, with in-depth knowledge of sustainability certifications, building performance, Passivhaus and embodied carbon. Since joining 海角视频 in 2022, her remit continues to expand: she leads the certification service offer for UK sustainability, and has taken on sustainability and environmental strategies.
What did we learn
1. The UK NZC Buildings Standard continues to evolve rapidly
After two years of collaboration, the pilot version was released in September 2024, with Version 1 due in Winter 2026. The standard sets clear limits and verification requirements for operational energy and embodied carbon, aiming to drive industry-wide consistency and transparency.聽
2. UK and Scottish Standards take different paths to Net Zero
The UK Standard is target-driven, focusing on carbon and energy limits, reporting, and verification for all building types. In contrast, the Scottish Public Sector Standard is process-driven, emphasising governance, feasibility, and estate-wide strategic outcomes beyond energy and carbon. Both aim to accelerate decarbonisation but through distinct methodologies.聽
3. Collaboration and innovation are essential for success
Case studies show that achieving compliance requires integrated strategies聽including聽fossil fuel-free systems, renewable energy, and lifecycle thinking. Industry engagement and shared resources will be critical to scaling adoption.聽
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