Bureau Veritas and NZCBS announce the opening of UK NZCBS Verification

The UK NZCBS is a voluntary standard for new builds, existing buildings, and retrofits. It sets out clear, measurable requirements across 13 sectors to define what Net Zero Carbon Aligned truly means in practice.

For the first time, a building’s performance can be formally assessed against the Standard’s methodology and, from this, gain verification that confirms it is playing its part to meet the UK’s climate targets.
 

Bureau Veritas, NZCBS Ltd and its stakeholders have been working together for the past year to develop the Standard’s verification methodology. Alongside this, Bureau Veritas’s verification experts advised on the governance structure supporting the verification framework, and have trained the first UK NZCBS verifiers.

Bureau Veritas offers structural independence in the delivery of verification through its scheme leadership and administration. Its verification experts offer deep expertise in building performance and carbon assessment using science-backed, consistent methodologies. Using Bureau Veritas gives stakeholders confidence and lends global credibility thanks to its almost 200-year history.

The introduction of the UK NZCBS and its verification marks a pivotal shift in the industry, prioritising measured in-use building performance rather than predicted outcomes. The consistent methodology that it introduces encourages greater transparency and accountability across the industry.

The Standard also supports organisations on their journey towards net zero through its verified Performance Evaluation route, which robustly communicates which of the UK NZCBS requirements have been met and where further improvements are needed, providing a clear pathway towards future verification.

Depending on the building type, the UK NZCBS provides three approaches: whole-building, landlord-only or tenant-only. Following either of these approaches, each of the following verification routes can be pursued:

●    Net Zero Carbon Aligned. The main objective for in-use buildings is to achieve verification confirming that all of the Standard’s requirements have been met.
●    Performance Evaluation. This route is for in-use buildings that want to assess how their building performs against the Standard, whilst not expecting to meet all of its requirements.
●    Practical Completion On Track verified checks. Undertaken within six months of the completion of a new construction or retrofit, the main objective of this route is to confirm the building is on track to become Net Zero Carbon Aligned when in use.

As more buildings complete the verification process, the scheme will help establish a growing body of independently verified Net Zero Carbon Aligned buildings, providing greater confidence in building performance and supporting the industry's transition towards a low-carbon future.

As of 28 July, those who have registered their building with NZCBS Ltd can now approach Bureau Veritas for a quote and proceed with verification.