Gareth Atkinson, Director at Civic and Chair of NLA’s Net-Zero Expert Panel, outlines the key topics that emerged from this panel’s first meeting of the year.  

Our new cycle of the Net Zero Expert Panel (NZEP) kicked off in February with our first session focused on getting acquainted with new members, a new chair (me), and launching the theme of study for the year ahead. 

Over previous years, the NZEP focused on driving policy change through the New London Agenda. This resulted in draft policies being prepared for the introduction of Demolition Impact Statements at the planning stage to shift the emphasis towards reuse ahead of demolition (the City of London now has their own carbon optioneering policy, which is based on similar principles) and Carbon Review Panels to give support to Local Authority planning teams from industry professionals on some of the more complex carbon and sustainability aspects of planning applications. 

During our first panel session of 2025, three focus topics emerged from the group for the forthcoming year. These are :

 

During the session, the group shared some of their experiences on the current shape of the ‘circular economy’ in the industry. A key aspect of this was a focus on the supply chain. Matt Webster discussed some of the insights from British Land’s ‘Full Circle, Full Potential’ report, and Rachel Hoolahan from architectural firm ORMS explained the importance of identifying monopolies in the supply chain and accelerating material reuse in construction through Material Passports. 

It was acknowledged that there are risks associated with material reuse. Addressing cost and time differences between demolition vs dismantling is a hot topic with contractors who are also being asked to provide warranties on reused buildings and materials which no longer have a manufacturer/owner.

The consensus was that unlocking and accelerating the circular economy will inevitably be data driven. Although there are currently adhoc exchanges between developments, such as the success between The Elephant at 318 Oxford Street and FORE’s TBC London, the circular economy needs to mature and grow into its own profitable and thriving market. In the meantime, Local Authorities, developers (and their financiers through ESG driven funding streams), consultants and contractors need to help lead this transition through continued innovation of process, advancing material reuse technology, driving system change in procurement and changing policies to support the reuse of buildings and set embodied carbon targets for developments.

In terms of policy, the recently launched Pilot Version for the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (UKNZBS) sets targets for the future in reducing carbon in the industry. Adopting circular economy principles and reusing buildings will be key to meeting these targets.

Emphasis on the role of social inclusion in driving the green transition is also key. There is a need to reskill the workforce for maintenance and circular economy activities. Kirsten Haggart, from Waugh Thistleton, set a vision of cities of the future that need to be treated like “Urban Forests”.  Materials would be mined, as buildings need adapting or replacing, and then reused in new buildings. This will create a huge opportunity for a new employment market in the future, as more local hubs will be needed to fix, upgrade and make good materials ready for reuse. Therefore, in addition to carbon counting, there is a need to measure the social value associated with this potential of newly generated workforce opportunities.

 

Another hot topic discussed was the complexity of getting low-carbon new homes built. The current financial viability for housing schemes, particularly in London, is very challenging. Add to that the potential additional cost for designing “greener” has resulted in some new developments not being as low carbon as they should be.

Embodied carbon and retrofitting in residential schemes are being grappled with. Compared to the commercial sector, the residential sector is behind when adapting and reusing buildings, often favouring new builds as a solution. Becoming innovative and comfortable with reimagining the buildings, space and places around existing high-rise housing stock will be key to help lower future carbon emissions in the residential sector.

This will be a key focus area, where the NZEP intends to collaborate with the NLA Housing and Retrofit & Conservation Panels over the course of the year.

Driving strong leadership and systems-led thinking is critical to help accelerate Net Zero in the industry. The built environment, real estate and construction industry is incredibly complex, with many different actors playing their parts. The shift to turn the industry to Net Zero is going to need a tremendous effort by all involved. Understanding the collaboration needed and having the skill sets to lead on a holistic approach to problem-solving that focuses on understanding the interrelationships and interactions between different parts of a system are what’s needed in a Systems Thinking approach.  

The panel intends to explore what Net Zero Leadership is over the course of the year. We look forward to sharing our findings with the wider NLA community.

 

Looking ahead to our next session in May, the group will be reviewing case studies on examples of where circular economy principles are beginning to be successfully implemented into the industry, what the future is for estate-wide residential retrofits, and collectively responding to the question "What is Net Zero leadership?"