Verification Routes
When verifying a building to the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (the Standard), there are a few different routes available.
In use (after at least a year of occupancy):
Verification: Net Zero Carbon Aligned
Available if meeting all the requirements of the Standard
Verification: Performance Evaluation
Available if not meeting all the requirements of the Standard
At Practical Completion:
Each of the above can be pursued as a whole building, or using a landlord-only or tetant-only approach for applicable sectors. More on each of these routes is set out below.
In-Use Verification
In-use verification takes place after at least a year of occupancy and in-use measurement, and can result in two different outcomes depending on whether or not all the Standard’s requirements are met.
Appoint a verifier and submit evidence
Verification
Verifier determines: Are the requirements met?
Verified as meeting the UK NZCBS
Net Zero Carbon Aligned
Performance Evaluation
Yes
No
Report on pass/fail against UK NZCBS requirements, and how close
Net Zero Carbon Aligned
In-use verification
This is the purpose for which the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (the Standard) was created: to robustly verify that buildings are Net Zero Carbon Aligned.
Buildings achieving this designation meet all the requirements of the Standard and are achieving lower-carbon outcomes in line with the UK’s legally binding carbon budgets and targets.
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Credibly demonstrate low carbon outcomes
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Provides confidence to stakeholders on building performance
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Showcases industry leadership
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Futureproofs buildings in a decarbonising UK
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Shifts focus to in-use performance
Performance Evaluations
Performance Evaluations enable buildings to verify performance against the Standard’s requirements, even if they are not meeting all of them.
Key details of Performance Evaluations:
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Evaluate in-use, measured outcomes
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A “report card”, not Net Zero Carbon Aligned
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Shows pass/fail for each requirement
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Same depth of process and verification, different outcome
PC on Track
Verified checks may be carried out at Practical Completion to determine whether a building is “On Track” to meet the requirements of the Standard when in-use.
Undertaken within 6 months of Practical Completion, it is optional to pursue PC On Track, and it is not a pre-requisite for in-use verification. It requires independent, third-party verification in the same way as the in-use verification routes. Buildings achieving PC On Track are not Net Zero Carbon Aligned, and are committed to undergoing full, in-use verification once occupied.
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A milestone for development-linked funding
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Improved marketability
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Reassurance that Net Zero Carbon Alignment in-use can plausibly be achieved
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Facilitates data collection in design and construction