Minister explores radical new thinking on building design for New Zealand

A world-first proposal to require assessment of the overall carbon cost of producing, maintaining and using new buildings is the centrepiece of a new discussion document released today by Building and Construction Minister Clayton Cosgrove.

The Minister has invited feedback on the discussion document – the second in the Building Code review - which includes a proposal to require the ‘embodied energy’ of building components to be taken into account when designing buildings. Embodied energy is the total amount of energy used to produce a final product from raw materials.

The new proposal raises the idea of factoring into the design of new buildings the embodied energy of the building’s components, as well as the building’s lifetime energy use, as a requirement of the New Zealand Building Code. Such an approach would hold the potential to substantially reduce the ‘whole of life’ costs of buildings and would have significant environmental benefits.

"The Labour-led government believes New Zealand should aim to be the world's first truly sustainable nation," Mr Cosgrove said. "We know the way we design our buildings and homes will be central to that effort.

“Every building component, even the humble nail, has a carbon cost, or simply the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that were created in making it. In a truly ‘green’ building, that cost might be included in the building's overall energy efficiency.”

Mr Cosgrove said the government is conscious of the world-wide research underway into the environment impact of buildings, and New Zealand needs to be exploring these issues in-depth to ensure it is on the best possible path. “Using the projected lifetime CO2 emissions of buildings as the principal measure of resource efficiency under the new Building Code is worth considering. This approach would take into account energy and water efficiency, construction materials and construction waste.”

Mr Cosgrove said public feedback on the review’s first discussion document found that there is widespread support among New Zealanders for a more sustainable and energy efficient approach to building. He said the new Building Code must be able to stand the test of time by supporting sustainability measures while also keeping costs down and houses affordable.

“Innovations in building technology and construction techniques have advanced significantly since the Building Code was introduced in 1991, and as a result, we expect a lot more from our buildings than we did 16 years ago,” he said.

“Ideally our buildings of tomorrow will be more energy efficient and therefore cheaper to run through having lower electricity and gas bills, while also being reasonably-priced to build from materials that collectively have the least impact on the environment.” Other key points in the discussion document include: a new Building Code structure with clearly set out minimum performance standards that buildings must meet. This will better meet the needs of Code users, especially architects, building designers, builders and building consent authorities, and help improve their decision-making. updates and clarifications of existing requirements, to ensure the Code is clear and understood by people involved in building work. a new way to design buildings for people to be safe in the event of a fire. a new system recognising that buildings need to meet different performance requirements depending on their importance and the risks to the building users and society (this takes account of the impact of flooding and climate change). For example, a school would have different performance requirements to those of a garden shed. consideration of internal space requirements for housing to improve peoples’ well being and to also better meet the needs of people with disabilities

The Building Code sets the minimum performance standards that New Zealand’s buildings must meet. That means, for example, the strength of buildings to resist earthquakes or wind, or the maximum temperature of hot water from taps so people do not get scalded .The Code applies to all new building work on structures as diverse as houses, apartment blocks, commercial buildings, dams, bridges and farm buildings.

Mr Cosgrove urged New Zealanders to get involved with the review.

“Our buildings are part of our national identity, as well as places that we live, work and play in, and the building and construction sector is a large part of our economy. This is an exciting opportunity to help ensure our future buildings meet our needs and suit our climatic conditions, way of life and our communities,” he said. “I urge people to explore the important changes being considered and to comment on this discussion document.”

Copies of the discussion document are available from the Department of Building and Housing website www.dbh.govt.nz or by phoning 0800 242 243. Submissions close on 28 September 2007.

This discussion document, along with the public submissions received, will form the basis of a report to the Minister for Building and Construction by 30 November 2007. Following further consultation with the public and the building sector, the new Code could be in place by the middle of 2009.

The review of the Building Code is part of the Labour-led government's suite of reforms to transform the building sector. Other reforms include the introduction of occupational licensing, the accreditation and registration of Building Consent Authorities, the revamp of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, product certification, new measures to make homes and workplaces more energy efficient, and investigation of a home warranty insurance scheme.

Why is the Building Code being reviewed?

The Building Act 2004 requires a review of the current Building Code. This is to ensure that the Building Code: meets the requirements, purpose and principles of the Building Act is stated in sufficient detail to provide clear guidance on the performance requirements that buildings must achieve supports innovation in building systems while also meeting quality standards.

A report must be prepared for the Minister for Building and Construction by 30 November 2007. This will include recommendations for amendments to the Building Code considered to be necessary or desirable. This is the first major review of the Building Code since it was introduced in 1991.

What is embodied energy? The embodied energy of a building product, e.g. glass, is the total amount of energy used to produce the final product from raw materials.

What does this mean for buildings in New Zealand? All building materials have embodied energy. Some materials have more embodied energy than others. The government proposes doing more development work on the concept of CO2 emissions and embodied energy, and consulting with the building sector, before making specific recommendations about this. This will include a full assessment of what this would mean for buildings in New Zealand.

What would setting an annual maximum design CO2 emission mean? The possibility of assessing the resources used by buildings through the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with their construction, operation, maintenance and demolition is being considered under the review. If CO2 emissions are a suitable measure of the ‘whole of life’ impact of using resources, then designing for CO2 emissions could lead to buildings being designed and constructed to be more environmentally and economically sustainable. It could also provide an incentive for building product manufacturers to offer more environmentally sustainable products. This would be a new measure for building codes internationally. Further work is required on the detail of how this might be calculated, and how it might work in practice. The discussion document seeks broad feedback on the overall approach.

Has the ‘embodied energy’ idea been used in a real building? Yes, the new 55 storey, 2.2 million square foot Bank of America Tower currently being built at One Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, is said to be the ‘greenest’ high-rise in the United States and uses ‘embodied energy’ principles in its design and construction. Check out: http//newsroom.bankofamerica.com (click on press kits) and www.cookplusfox.com (project architects).

What is the global picture on consideration of embodied energy in buildings? There has been a considerable amount of research undertaken worldwide on the environmental impacts of building materials including carbon emissions, embodied carbon, and life cycle assessment. However, to the government’s knowledge, no jurisdiction has included consideration of embodied CO2 in its building code. In other words, there is no mandatory requirement to take embodied energy into account when designing buildings.

Voluntary sustainability rating schemes for buildings have been developed overseas that include a relatively basic assessment of the environmental impacts of the materials used in the building. Embodied energy (and in some cases embodied CO2) is one of the environment impacts taken into account. Life cycle analysis, the characterisation of environmental impacts from cradle to grave, is the subject of significant research and development internationally.

How does this second discussion document fit in with the consultation that has already taken place? This is a major review and will propose significant change to performance standards for buildings. Consultation has included an earlier discussion document on the scope of the review which received 265 submissions from the building industry, local and central government, individuals and the community. Focus group meetings with local and national community organisations took place to ensure the views of building users were sought, in addition to workshops with individuals and organisations who made submissions.

What were the main issues identified in the first discussion round? Key points raised by the submissions include: there was widespread support for a more sustainable and energy efficient approach to building. the Building Code should provide a clear lead by setting performance requirements for buildings there was support for a performance-based Code, although there were different interpretations of what this meant new provisions should be balanced with affordability and careful consideration of costs and benefits the Code should be aligned with other legislation (submitters specifically referred to the Resource Management Act) buildings should be designed to cope with the rigours of climate and weather change patterns, but warning systems rather than engineering solutions were more appropriate for less frequent hazards such as tsunami, volcanic eruption and wildfire

How does this discussion document differ from the first? The first document was concerned with the scope of the Code – i.e. which features of building work the Code should address, bearing in mind the need for buildings to address sustainable development and promote safety, health and wellbeing as set out in the Building Act 2004. This document seeks comments on performance requirements for a building that specify how features of buildings should perform.

What will happen after the review is completed in November 2007? Once the Minister has considered the recommendations and decisions have been taken, proposals will be developed to amend the Code and Compliance Documents or further development work undertaken where changes to the Code are proposed. The overall impact of the Building Code Review will be to bring greater clarity to the performance requirements for buildings and more certainty about the quality of buildings for people in New Zealand.

ENDS

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