• Home
  • News
  • In-depth
  • Opinion
  • Energy
    • Wind
    • Marine
    • Solar
    • Biomass
    • Nuclear
    • CCS
    • Infrastructure
  • Policy
    • Politics
    • Legislation
    • Taxation
  • Management
    • Marketing
    • Risk
    • Skills
    • Incentives
    • Carbon Accounting
  • Technology
    • Waste
    • Recycling
    • R&D
    • Efficiency
    • IT
  • Investment
    • Carbon Trading
    • Offsets
    • Venture Capital
  • Net Zero Now
  • Events & Awards
  • SDG Hub
  • Industry Voice
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
    • You are currently accessing BusinessGreen via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

      Email: [email protected]

      • Sign in
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Free Trial
  • Subscribe
  • Events & Awards
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      NZF Pathway - Finance

      This exclusive half day online event will investigate how all businesses can support and accelerate the transition to low and net zero carbon buildings, while maximising the financial and productivity opportunities that will result.

      • Date: 16 Mar 2021
      • Online Event
      event logo
      Net Zero Festival 2021

      Net Zero Festival is the world's first business festival dedicated to exploring, advancing, and celebrating the global transition to a net zero emission economy. Join us at BusinessGreen's Net Zero Festival – for leaders who won't wait until 2050 to build a better business, and a better world.

      • Date: 27 Sep 2021
      • Worldwide
      View all events
  • SDG Hub
Business Green
Business Green
  • Home
  • News
  • In-depth
  • Opinion
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Management
  • Technology
  • Investment
  • Net Zero Now
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
  • You are currently accessing BusinessGreen via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

    Email: [email protected]

    • Sign in
  • Hot topics
  • Green recovery
  • Net Zero Now
  • Net Zero Leadership
  • Net Zero Finance
Bgnzf20 1125 125 leadership rebbon
  • Buildings

L&G vows to make all homes net zero carbon by 2030

An artist's impression of a L&G housing development. | Credit: Legal & General
An artist's impression of a L&G housing development. | Credit: Legal & General
  • Cecilia Keating
  • Cecilia Keating
  • @cecilia_keating
  • 01 July 2020
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

Firm chief executive argues that construction is "rocket fuel" for economic growth, but must be done sustainably in order for the country to build back better.

Legal & General has committed to making all the homes it builds operationally zero carbon by the end of the decade, a plan it says will slash customer energy bills and help the UK meet its 2050 net zero target.

The insurance giant said the target would apply to all homes produced by its housing business, including affordable housing, traditional properties, and later living units designed for retirees.

Related articles

  • Mars and DHL plot £350m UK logistics hubs to slash one million road miles
  • Drax launches green skills drive to 'boost social mobility for one million people'
  • Aegon commits to net zero across its default pension funds by 2050
  • Smart home energy market the focus of new consumer protection drive

Legal & General said it would gradually achieve 'net zero carbon' across the portfolio over the next decade by installing thermal building fabric and environmental control systems that feature a range of low- and zero-carbon technologies.

Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal & General, said the commitment was part of a plan to "build back better" after the coronavirus crisis.

"Construction is rocket fuel for UK economic growth: every pound invested delivers a three-fold economic multiplier and the housebuilding sector provides jobs and vital economic resilience," he said. "But as we accelerate building, we have to avoid stoking up a climate crisis that would be at least as serious as the Covid emergency."

Wilson added that the greener homes would save customers money on their energy bills, curb greenhouse gas emissions, and meet the needs of "investors increasingly focused on sustainable solutions".

The firm pointed out that homes developed by its modular housing business already meet EPC 'A' rating, the gold standard for energy efficiency, and its later living business has recently reduced utility consumption by 30 per cent across its properties, and had been built with space for on-site electric vehicle charging.

The announcement comes less than a week after the government's climate advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, urged the government to make a sweeping green building upgrade programme central to the UK's stimulus package, warning that the nation's 2050 net zero target was at risk if building energy efficiency efforts were not ramped up. Housing currently accounts for roughly 14 per cent of the nation's carbon emissions and just one per cent of new homes are EPC A, according to the advisory body.

In its progress report on the UK's progress toward net zero, the CCC said the introduction of a Future Homes Standard in 2025 was "long overdue."

The announcement also came on the same day as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a raft of planning reforms designed to boost home building across the country, as he vowed to "build, build, build" to drive a recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

Johnson pledged to "build back better" and "build back greener". But the proposals drew a mixed response from green groups, who lamented the lack of detail on the government's long-awaited building energy efficiency plans and warned attempts to streamline planning rules could excerbate environmental impacts.

Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive at trade body UKGBC, said "we asked for 'Build Back Better', but what we've got is 'Build Build Build'."

"We welcome a focus on levelling up the fortunes of individuals right across the country through investment in new homes and infrastructure, but a frenzy of building is not equivalent to building back greener," she added. "Such investment must be underpinned by the highest quality outcomes including efficiency, net zero emissions, waste avoidance, social value and biodiversity net gain. Yet on the basis of current Building Regulations and planning standards, none of these outcomes would be guaranteed."

 

The Net Zero Leadership Hub is brought to you in partnership with BT, as part of its support for the Net Zero Leadership Stream at the world's first Net Zero Festival this autumn. All the content on the Hub is fully editorially independent unless otherwise stated.

You can find out more about the Net Zero Festival and reserve your place here.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Buildings
  • Efficiency
  • Legal & General
  • Green building
  • zero carbon homes
  • Net Zero Now
  • leadership

More on Buildings

Green distilleries fund will help whisky production go green
    • Technology
Distilleries receive first phase of £10m green whisky fund
    • Technology
    • 08 January 2021
Around 24.5 million homes – 85 per cent in the UK - are currently heated by natural gas
    • Buildings
Tyne and Wear village to tap blended hydrogen from gas grid in green heating pilot
    • Buildings
    • 04 January 2021
    • Infrastructure
The impacts of 2020 that could ripple for years to come
    • Infrastructure
    • 30 December 2020
More than 22 million homes and businesses now have a smart meter installed
    • Infrastructure
'We're getting there': Smart meters on track to reach half of Britain's homes and businesses in 2021
    • Infrastructure
    • 16 December 2020
Ingrid Reumert | Credit: Velux
    • Management
The ghost of carbon past: Velux Group's Ingrid Reumert on tackling historic corporate emissions
    • Management
    • 16 December 2020
Energy efficiency upgrades are crucial to delivering the UK's net zero emissions goal
    • Buildings
Green Homes Grant scheme: MPs urge improvements in response to major teething issues
    • Buildings
    • 14 December 2020
Credit: NatWest Group
    • Efficiency
How NatWest Group is delivering on its operational climate commitments
    • Efficiency
    • 14 December 2020
    • Management
In the green corner: Joshua vs Pulev world title fight hooks top Albert sustainability rating
    • Management
    • 12 December 2020

More news

Global Briefing: Saudi Arabia plots car-free city stretching 100 miles
  • Management
Global Briefing: Saudi Arabia plots car-free city stretching 100 miles

Plus Danish diets, China climate policy signals, and all the top green business news from around the world this week

  • 15 January 2021
From taxes to targets: How can the UK curb its offshore carbon emissions?
  • Carbon Trading
From taxes to targets: How can the UK curb its offshore carbon emissions?

Major report makes the case for new carbon tax on imported goods and goods, as the Environment Secretary reveals the UK's climate targets could eventually cover carbon embodied in imported goods

  • 15 January 2021
Scaling up sustainable finance: How can investors accelerate the net zero transition?
  • Investment
Scaling up sustainable finance: How can investors accelerate the net zero transition?

As the sustainable finance sector booms, asset managers and owners are under increasing pressure to use their financial clout to steer a greener future

  • 15 January 2021
What will it take for 2021 to be a groundbreaking year for circular fashion?
  • Supply chain
What will it take for 2021 to be a groundbreaking year for circular fashion?

More than 100 billion garments are produced annually, and many end up in the landfill

  • 15 January 2021
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Mars and DHL plot £350m UK logistics hubs to slash one million road miles
Mars and DHL plot £350m UK logistics hubs to slash one million road miles
Terra Carta: Prince of Wales launches green recovery charter for business
Terra Carta: Prince of Wales launches green recovery charter for business
'Environmentally regressive': UK government approves use of bee-harming pesticide banned in EU
'Environmentally regressive': UK government approves use of bee-harming pesticide banned in EU
Unilever and Alibaba launch 'world first' AI-powered closed-loop recycling system
Unilever and Alibaba launch 'world first' AI-powered closed-loop recycling system
Essar and Progressive Energy plot £750m hydrogen CCS hub in Cheshire
Essar and Progressive Energy plot £750m hydrogen CCS hub in Cheshire
  • Contact Us
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms and conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Incisive Footer Logo

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading