Will the new Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) impact life sciences?

The Savills Blog

Will the new Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) impact life sciences?

The real estate industry has long sought clear and robust guidance to ensure that building designs deliver fit-for-purpose spaces by the time they become operational, aligning with net zero targets.

The pilot version of the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS) provides this guidance and has gained industry attention. Intended to be the one true definition of a ‘net zero carbon’ building, the standard has taken nearly three years to develop and covers all sectors, including science and technology.

What does it mean for science and technology?

Below are some of the observations regarding its implementation that this sector should be aware of:

  1. The NZCBS is based on actual data, not design stage predictions. This means assets can only claim certification after at least a year of operation
  2. Assets will be required to adhere to limits on embodied carbon, operational energy, fuel sources, refrigerant gases and heating demand. There are also targets for renewable energy production
  3. Targets vary for newly built or existing assets
  4. Targets also vary for different asset sectors

It is these last points that are most interesting for the science sector. While industry bodies, including Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) and Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor (CRREM) have introduced energy and carbon targets for sectors such as offices, residential and education, the science sector lacked similar guidance. It’s encouraging that we have now been provided with a definition of what good looks like for the science sector. 

However, while other sectors have different sub-divisions to reflect varying tenant activities, these are absent for science and technology. At first this seems strange, given that there’s a huge range of diverse sub-sectors such as wet labs, dry labs, digital technologies, and so on. Given that the NZCBS is largely based on data already gathered from the industry and the numerous case study projects, sharing data on different science sub-sectors will help the UK NZCBS refine their targets as it gathers data over time. 

It is also worth reflecting on the fact that for the science sector, building energy consumption is driven by tenant activity. Thus asset owners will need to think about how their relationship with tenants could be enhanced by pursuing certification.

Moving forwards

As we move through the pilot phase, asset owners and investors will no doubt be keen to explore the potential viability of the UK NZCBS and how it relates to other certifications such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) and Energy Performance Certificate (EPCs), which are commonly used to differentiate assets from one another in the market.

The planning sector will also need to stay alert to local authorities who may decide to copy and paste elements of the standard into emerging planning policy. This is a potential risk, given that the UK NZCBS is still in a trial phase. Local plan policies need to incorporate flexibility to allow standards to respond to different building types.  

With the essential and clearly defined performance metrics established by the Standard for both new and existing life science assets, we now have the opportunity to future proof these buildings and confidently redefine the path towards net zero in the UK.

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