An initiative by the University of Bath and Bath & North East Somerset Council features in a new climate change report.
The joint project to reduce carbon emissions in construction, by connecting local planning policymakers with academic experts in sustainable construction, is one of six innovations proposed by the Key Cities Innovation Network (KCIN) in ‘Civic Partners in Net Zero’, a collection of peer-reviewed studies detailing ways in which universities are working with their local places to achieve Net Zero targets.
In January 2023, B&NES was the first UK local authority to implement local planning policies requiring that all new building developments must achieve Net Zero operational energy, and that major developments would have to meet an embodied carbon target.
Both these requirements go far beyond national building regulations, but now represent a growing trend among local authorities.
The council has worked with the University of Bath to review the impact of the policies in the first few months of implementation and consider how they can be further developed and refined.
What they have found is a significant improvement in the projected outcome in new applications and broad industry support for the policy aims, as well as a clear understanding of the support and monitoring that will be required to ensure the policies are effective in achieving the intended outcomes during and post-construction.
Professor Ian White, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, said: “Sustainability is priority research theme for the University of Bath and I am delighted to see the University and Bath and North East Somerset Council collaborate in this way to help meet the challenge of achieving Net Zero in our home city.
“I want to thank Dr Will Hawkins and his collaborators for their innovative and important work in this area. This report shows the high potential that exists when Key Cities and their civic institutions work together to tackle important challenges.”
Cllr Kevin Guy, leader of B&NES Council and deputy chair of Key Cities, said: “This is a landmark report as it sets out how collaborative working between universities and their places across the Key Cities is unlocking the innovation we need to achieve our net zero goals.”
The other projects included Coventry University and Coventry City Council pioneering new technology to enable recharging of electric vehicles (notably heavy goods and public service vehicles which will still be required in car-free cities) by dynamic recharging while driving on power-enabled public roads.
