Building for Climate Change update: January 2021
Posted: 7 January 2021
Some early results from the first Building for Climate Change consultation are now available.
The Building for Climate Change Programme was launched mid-2020, and the first public consultation covered the following two frameworks:
- The Whole-of-Life Embodied Carbon Emissions Framework, which looks at reducing carbon emissions across a building’s whole life cycle – from the production of building materials, all the way through to what happens to the building when it's at the end of its life.
- The Transforming Operational Efficiency Framework, which focusses on reducing carbon emissions related to the operation of buildings, such as the use of heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation.
We’ve received a huge amount of information from a number of respondents and are still working on the summary of submissions which will be released in the first half of this year. We are grateful for everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation. Here are some results we can share so far:
- We received 360 responses, both from across the building and construction sector and outside it. This included 61 written submissions and 299 survey responses. A total of 199 (55%) of these came on behalf of an organisation.
- 92% of the survey responses agreed that the building and construction sector needs to take action to reduce emissions, with 79% also saying that there are barriers currently preventing or discouraging them, or their business, taking action to reduce emissions. This result shows how important our work to remove barriers and make things easier for the sector will be to combating climate change.
- In terms of the two frameworks, 95% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the programme should include measures to improve operational efficiency, with 86% agreeing that operational efficiency requirements should be introduced gradually over time.
- 87% of the survey responses agreed that the programme should include initiatives to reduce whole of life embodied carbon in New Zealand buildings, with around three quarters (74%) supporting a cap on whole-of-life embodied carbon for new building projects.
We sincerely thank everybody who took part in this consultation. All of the feedback we received will help us shape the frameworks in more detail, and will support future policy proposals.
More information about Building for Climate Change