An opinion piece by Kevin Mitchell, Mott MacDonald Building Services Global, Practice Leader, CIBSE President

COP27 demonstrated the scale and urgency of the action required to avoid climate catastrophe. The UN’s Emissions Gap Report 2022 states that without a dramatic transformation, the current trajectory would see temperatures rising by as much as 2.8 degrees. But we already have the solutions to bring about the transformation we so desperately need.

After lengthy negotiations, COP26 ended on an optimistic note, as global leaders agreed on taking important steps to address the climate crisis. However, the subsequent year has introduced new turmoil, with climate disasters around the world, the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, and a renewed search for new sources of fossil fuel. Following COP27, we are faced with the harsh reality that even if countries meet their climate commitments, emissions will only be reduced by 10% by 2030. Collective and multilateral action is critical to avoiding climate catastrophe.

The cross-industry coalition developing the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS) sets a precedent for the type of collaborative approach required. The coalition is made up of leading industry organisations including CIBSE, IStructE, LETI, RIBA, and UKGBC. BBP, BRE, the Carbon Trust and RICS.

This year’s CIBSE Build2Perform programme centres around climate action and building safety, taking place on 29 – 30 November at Excel London. I will be chairing the opening session, focusing on the Net Zero Carbon Building Standard. Julie Godefroy, CIBSE Head of Sustainability, is leading CIBSE’s involvement in developing the standard and will be taking part in the panel discussion alongside Clara Bagenal George, Associate for Elementa Consulting and Patrick Hayes, Technical Director, IStructE. 

At the beginning of the month, the NZCBS coalition released a call for evidence to help inform and guide the development of the standard. Having established governance and delivery teams, the NZCBS coalition is now calling on UK built environment industry practitioners to supply operational energy and embodied carbon performance data for their buildings to support creating an evidence base.

The NZCBS’ first request is for operational energy data for buildings. Following this, the team will be seeking embodied carbon data from new construction and retrofit projects. The data will enable the NZCBS development team to set benchmarks for embodied carbon emitted in the construction process of different building types across the UK. The deadline for submitting data is 16 December 2022. I encourage you to prioritise sharing your data to contribute to developing the NZCB Standard.

The UK NZCBS is one of many collaborative endeavors that CIBSE is engaged in. In 2021, CIBSE launched the first Embodied Carbon Calculation Methodology (TM65). This methodology was developed with and for industry, acknowledging that only through considering both embodied and operational carbon can we truly mitigate global warming. The methodology was recently expanded to support engineers internationally, driving global consistency in how embodied carbon is calculated and reported for building services systems. It now forms part of a suite of resources available via the CIBSE website.

The challenges of climate change demonstrate an urgent need to address the engineering skills shortage and attract more people into the industry. The skills shortage spans a variety of sectors and specialisms, made ever more evident by the requirements of meeting net zero targets and with the implementation of the Building Safety Act.

CIBSE strongly supports the National Retrofit Strategy, emphasising the need to focus on skills and competence. With 80% of 2050 building stock already in existence, we must focus on providing the training needed to deliver on current climate change targets. This must incorporate upskilling built environment professionals and recruiting people from outside the sector to address the current shortfall.

The decarbonisation of our buildings and infrastructure over the next 25 years must also reflect the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022 and the new Building Safety Regime. Working to achieve net zero carbon imperatives must be synonymous with delivering safe and healthy buildings.

The CIBSE Climate Action Plan maps current and planned activities in the areas where we have a duty and the ability to act as a professional institution. The plan reflects the ongoing work and impact that building services engineers have in finding innovative ways to make buildings perform for individuals, communities, and the planet. CIBSE has started a strategic review of training offered to support the net-zero agenda and is implementing mandatory CPD on climate change and building safety.

This year, CIBSE celebrates its 125 anniversary, and in building on this impressive legacy, I set 5 challenges at the start of my presidency. The #CIBSE125Challenges encourage engineers to Celebrate their building services icons; Inspire early career engineers; Boost the development of early career engineers; Share their building services story, and Engage with others to highlight the role of building services engineering in reducing the impact of climate change.

Last month, I had the pleasure of opening the CIBSE Young Engineers Awards. This event has long been a highlight of my year, celebrating the achievements, insights, and innovative ideas of those in the early stages of their careers. In providing a platform for early career engineers entering the industry by various routes, the Young Engineers Awards complement the #CIBSE125Challenges perfectly.

The CIBSE Young Engineers Awards shine a light on the future thought leaders within our industry, giving insight into the priorities, direction, and innovative approach that we need to overcome the challenges we face. It is an opportunity to celebrate young engineers who are already making a difference, to highlight the various routes into a career in engineering, and to celebrate those employers that prioritise and see the benefits of boosting the development of their employees.

In setting my aims as CIBSE President, I wanted to focus on inspiring the next generation of engineers. Building services engineering presents opportunities to directly and positively impact climate change and improve people’s lives. It’s down to us to communicate this effectively and to demonstrate the vital role engineers working in collaboration with others have in delivering a safe and sustainable future for all.