Feasibility of zero carbon homes in England by 2016: A house builder's perspective

The UK government set itself a 60% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions target on 2000 levels by 2050. This commitment will require carbon reductions to be made by all industries including the housing sector which presently accounts for 27% of carbon dioxide emissions. The house building industry is the subject of numerous government policies and legislation, but none are as demanding as the Code of Sustainable Homes, which set a ‘world-beating’ target for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016. This paper sets out to investigate the feasibility of building zero carbon homes in England by 2016 from a house builder's perspective. A comprehensive opinion of the feasibility of zero carbon homes is gathered through a questionnaire survey and in-depth semi-structured interviews with the major UK housing developers. The research found that there are currently numerous legislative, cultural, financial and technical barriers facing house builders to deliver zero carbon homes in England by 2016. The house builders surveyed concurred that these challenges are not insurmountable provided that a swift, all-embracing and above all realistic strategy is adopted and implemented across the supply chain.