24 THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE
technology that wasn’t and still isn’t commonplace in the UK. We know what specifi cation tweaks make a difference, and how to deliver reliably at scale. That confi dence makes us a better housebuilder, not because we chased the easy wins, but because we leaned into the complexity.
PERFORMANCE IN USE VS PERFORMANCE ON PAPER
Another challenge is that the SA metric is a design stage model that doesn’t guarantee performance in use. A home may be capable of operating at ero carbon, but only if the homeowner uses it as designed. Switch off the heat pump because the controls confuse you, and the whole balance collapses. That’s why we’ve invested in homeowner education and post- occupancy follow-up. We give customers a walkthrough of their systems and are always available to answer questions and iron out any teething issues. The results speak for themselves – we know our customers enjoy very low energy bills.
LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD At Newland Homes, we’ve chosen to invest ahead of regulation with insulation close to assivhaus standards, high-spec heat pumps and solar arrays that are 10 more effi cient than any other technology on the market. None of this is the cheapest option.
The uncomfortable reality is that not every housebuilder is making the same choices. any are still scraping past
the regs, waiting for the Future Homes Standard to force their hand, despite local authorities declaring climate emergencies. et we’re all competing in the same marketplace. Early adopters shoulder the cost while others profi t from outdated standards. Buyers often don’t grasp the difference when they’re comparing homes side by side.
Government, lenders and industry bodies need to recognise and reward leadership, as this is lacking. ortgage providers could offer green discounts on genuinely ero carbon homes. ocal authorities could accelerate planning for schemes that go beyond compliance. Without these levers, we risk innovators being undercut by those dragging their feet, when the climate imperative demands the opposite.
LOOKING AHEAD
This journey continues to evolve. As I write this, provisional et ffi ce data confi rms that summer 2025 was offi cially the warmest summer on record for the UK, with heat building quickly and lingering. When I fi rst entered the industry, our challenge was keeping homes warm. Now, the same airtight insulation that minimises heat demand in the winter risks turning rooms into ovens in the summer. We’ve been building to art standards since 2022, ahead of the Future Homes Standard, and we’re pushing further. ur homes use glaing with a G-value of 0.4 to cut solar gain, but we recognise this isn’t enough on its own.
We’re lucky to have an in-house team of professionals who know their stuff. We’re about to embark on a redesign of several of our house types to hardwire climate resilience into the architecture. ur houses may well look very different in the coming years as we wrestle with this challenge. Nevertheless, adapting designs to cope with new climate realities is part of being a responsible developer.
DEVELOPMENT AS CLIMATE ACTION Every new ero carbon home reduces emissions, slashes energy bills, and chips away at the UK’s fossil fuel reliance. If we do not build them, we lock families into draughty, ineffi cient housing stock for another generation. It’s rewarding to know that we’ve now completed over 300 ero carbon homes, with hundreds more in the pipeline to come. However, the hard truth is that, even with the Future Homes Standard in place, most new homes won’t reach the level of carbon neutrality we’ve already achieved. As a company we have more than halved our operational carbon emissions and cut carbon intensity by almost two-thirds in the last four years, underlying our commitment to being one of the UK’s most climate considerate housebuilders. I’m proud of what Newland Homes has delivered. We’ve proved ero carbon can be done. The challenge now is for the rest of the industry to catch up.
Rob East MCIAT is associate technical director at Newland Homes
GOVERNMENT, LENDERS AND INDUSTRY BODIES NEED TO RECOGNISE AND REWARD LEADERSHIP ON ZERO CARBON HOMES, AS THIS IS LACKING
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