First steps to lifecycle legislation?

"Standardisation is the process of creating and issuing standards through testing, certification and accreditation." says gov.uk.

So is this article from MHCLG, which considers how embodied carbon assessments could be standardised in the UK, an early indicator that approved regulations for measuring the lifecycle of buildings is in the pipeline?

Lifecycle targets would encourage developers to use locally sourced, sustainable materials, and minimise steel and concrete imports.

The opening line admits government policies so far have only "focused on the reduction of operational carbon emissions of buildings.", which is the kind of thinking that isn't going to get us to net zero.

It goes on to suggest we need a consistent methodology and reporting approach, competent person schemes, a UK specific material database and a more accessible way of calculating embodied carbon so it can be available to all.

To recap:

🏡 Operational carbon is what's currently measured by Approved Document Part L through SAP and SBEM.

🏗️ Embodied carbon considers the environmental impact of all the materials that go into making a house, from the Brazilian granite mines that created our kitchen worktops, to the mountain of rubble that was once your house, 100 years later.

The lifecycle carbon of a new house is massive compared to the operational carbon, but we currently have no regulations in place to measure or reduce it. Is that about to change?

This is worth a read for anyone who works with, or is interested in, Whole Life Carbon assessing.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consideration-of-embodied-carbon-in-new-buildings/the-practical-technical-and-economic-impacts-of-measuring-and-reducing-embodied-carbon-in-new-buildings-executive-summary