UKGBC Task Group for Renewable Energy Procurement and Carbon Offset Guidelines

A new task group has been formed by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) to develop guidance on the procurement of renewable energy and carbon offsets for the built environment sector.

The group will develop guidance for procuring renewable energy, provide a set of principles for offsetting outstanding carbon balance and set a transition plan for phasing out the future use of offsets. This guidance will support those using UKGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework to develop net zero carbon buildings and built environment businesses setting their own net zero strategies.

The project forms part of UKGBC’s Advancing Net Zero Programme, with the first draft of the guidance being put out for consultation in Autumn 2020 to capture perspectives from across the industry.

Emily Huynh, Technical Advisor at UKGBC, commented: “The importance and urgency for the built environment to decarbonise cannot be understated. This new task group will work together to develop guidance that provides clarity on how best to address residual emissions, through the procurement of renewable energy and the use of carbon offsets where applicable. The group’s work will help demystify how practitioners can go about procuring quality renewable energy and offsets as the industry pursues a consistent and ambitious trajectory to net zero carbon.”