Approaching absolute zero

The latest government energy white paper predicts that North Sea gas will run out in five years and North Sea oil in 10. Thereafter, UK plc will be entirely dependant on fossil fuel sourced from some of the most politically unstable countries in the world – with big financial foreign policy strings, uncertain supply and ever increasing carbon taxation, as Kyoto signatories fail to meet their emissions targets. If we are to run society off the limited amounts of renewable energy sourced within our national boundaries, we have to achieve a major reduction in our need for heat and power.

All over Europe, the most advanced delivery teams are working to a zero-heating specification building (as defined in the governments' Housing Energy Efficiency Best Practice Guide: General Information Leaflet 072, page five, "Advanced standard"). This performance specification works well for homes and low-energy workspaces and makes it possible to meet 100% of a new development's heat and power demands from renewable energy sources generated within the site boundary. Compare this with the rather mediocre reduction in carbon emission achieved by the BRE's Eco Homes "excellent" performance specification – a 35% saving in carbon emissions compared with the standard set by the Building Regulations.

A zero-heating specification building sets important standards for all building components since a step-change reduction in energy use means manufacturers have to consider the carbon embodied in a building element, its anticipated lifespan and its maintenance cycles. Equal attention needs to be given to a component's overall environmental impact, such as destruction of natural habitat, toxicity of the overall production process, and toxicity in use. The BRE Ecopoints environmental impact grading system provides a good holistic impact analysis. It is irresponsible for manufacturers not to provide an official Ecopoints analysis with their product data – and it should be assumed that those who do not have something to hide.

Toxicity to humans should not be underestimated: male sperm counts in the UK are falling, respiratory diseases are increasing and cancers are becoming more commonplace. How many manufacturers really understand "off-gassing" from plastics and solvents? How many developers really care about indoor air quality? Finally, it is important to maximise the reuse of reclaimed material to avoid the environmental costs of extracting new material as we move towards a zero-waste, zero-carbon society.

ZEDproducts is a new generation of building products that meet all of these criteria. They make it easy to meet a carbon-neutral specification. Any manufacturers interested in supplying components for the ZED supply chain, please email zedproducts@zedfactory.com.