Part Z Launches in Westminster
Part Z launch booklet - March 2022
MPs, civil servants, industry leaders, major developers and asset managers join the Part Z authors in Westminster for the launch event of the proposed regulation of embodied carbon emissions in buildings.
The 22nd of March marked the public launch of Part Z, the proposed amendment to the UK building regulations to regulate embodied carbon. The event, held in the Palace of Westminster and hosted by Lord Ravensdale, Director of Peers for the Planet, was attended by MPs alongside civil servants, major developers, asset managers, and other industry leaders.
The event followed Duncan Baker MP’s private member’s bill in February to introduce reporting and subsequent limits on embodied carbon on all major building projects, which has been positively received across the construction industry.
Duncan Baker MP attended the launch event, as did his Environmental Audit Select Committee and private members’ bill co-signatory Jerome Mayhew MP. Duncan was recently promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary within the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and, although he therefore cannot pursue private member’s bills on a topic related to his new department, he remains supportive of the agenda of embodied carbon regulation. It is expected that the Environmental Audit Select Committee’s report on Sustainability of the built environment, due soon, will further underscore the importance of measuring and limiting embodied carbon in construction.
Jerome Mayhew MP outlined the scale of the embodied carbon problem and the importance of Part Z in his welcoming address at the launch. The Part Z authors were joined by speakers from industry calling for embodied carbon regulation: abrdn Investments, Lendlease, igloo Regeneration, and the UK Green Building Council.
The speeches emphasised the fundamental role of embodied carbon regulation in supporting the delivery of national carbon reduction targets and the benefits of the level playing field it would create. With other countries, such as the Netherlands, France and Sweden having already set a precedent for embodied carbon regulation, the time is right for the UK to follow suit.
The concept of regulating embodied carbon in construction now has the support of over 85 major firms and industry bodies in the construction industry, including Royal London Asset Management, Grosvenor Great Britain & Ireland, Stanhope PLC, Landsec, British Land, Willmott Dixon, Multiplex Europe, BAM Construct UK Ltd, Laing O’Rourke, Morgan Sindall Group, Arup, WSP, SOM, Atkins Limited, Mott Macdonald, The Institution of Civil Engineers, The Institution of Structural Engineers, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Town Planning Institute and many others.
The Part Z authors said:
“The launch event was a platform to show MPs and civil servants the broad industry support for the initiative. We welcome continued constructive discussions on embodied carbon regulation and remain available to advise government on the topic.”
This parliamentary event was a key milestone in the Part Z initiative to raise carbon awareness across Westminster, set to continue through 2022.
The authors wish to thank the Institution of Structural Engineers for organising and funding the launch event, and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios for producing the launch booklet, available here. Hard copies are available on request.
