Part Z is a potentially transformational proposal to address the ‘elephant in the room’ of embodied carbon in UK construction, with no mandatory regulation on reporting and measurement of embodied carbon yet achieved. While significant moves have been made to reduce operational emissions and increase energy efficiency of buildings, such as in the Future Homes Standard and Part L changes, the challenge of an enforceable embodied carbon Building Regulation for materials used has so far seemed a bridge too far.
Part Z has been a live proposal for many months, developed by a multidisciplinary construction industry group including developers, engineers, architects and funding institutions, but it has recently been revived to present to the Labour administration. The proposed regulation would importantly include a requirement for whole-life carbon assessments, and would eventually impose limits on embodied carbon for building projects. Initially, it would require developers to measure and report the full carbon emissions across a building’s lifecycle – covering material production, construction, operation, and end-of-life scenarios.
Under the proposed Part Z, whole-life carbon assessments (WLCAs) would be mandatory for larger developments, submitted as part of planning. However, it is claimed to be a regulation that “balances ambition with industry achievability,” only imposing limits on upfront embodied carbon (as it has “the most consistency in current industry data”).
This move would still be challenging for the construction sector, not least on providing the credible information on specific products that would be required. But it would consolidate what is currently a patchy framework of requirements and give clarity to developers; for example two-thirds of UK local planning authorities now mention ambitions to reduce embodied carbon – but only 20% use measurable WLCAs.
While other endeavours such as The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) provide credible, science-based methods for reducing whole-life and embodied carbon, Part Z would move this beyond voluntary goals to legal requirement.
Our round table will bring together voices from architecture, construction and the wider supply chain including sustainability experts, to discuss the need for this Regulation, the likelihood of it becoming law, and the impact it will have across the sector. Will it provide unprecedented transparency and rigour for projects, or potentially another data mountain to climb for specifiers, and loopholes to potentially be exploited?
Supply chain attendees will be able to discuss their challenges for providing the necessary embodied carbon detail on products, but also on the positives for both the net zero agenda and for driving better, evidence-based specification of products. This collaborative discussion will help underpin a new Regulation which plugs a major gap in UK construction sustainability.