UK New Homes Sector Sets Out Shared Pathway to Decarbonisation

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The UK’s new homes sector has launched its initial Transition Plan, developed by the Future Homes Hub in collaboration with the Carbon Trust, to provide a unified roadmap for achieving net‑zero emissions in new homebuilding consistent with the Government’s carbon budget and housing delivery goals. The plan, unveiled in April 2025, outlines the scale of emissions and the sector’s strategy to reduce them through targeted interventions. It serves as a foundation for collaboration across leading homebuilders, suppliers, trades, financial institutions and government to drive sector‑wide decarbonisation. In early 2026, the plan is scheduled for review and update to ensure it remains on track amid evolving circumstances.

Baseline emissions from the new homes sector currently stand at just under 50 million tonnes per annum. The largest single contributor comes from construction products (50%), followed by operational emissions from new homes (39%), the construction process itself (6%), and a residual 5% from head office operations, staff and associated emissions.

To reduce these emissions, the plan details nine ‘emissions reduction levers’: achieving operational decarbonisation via the Future Homes Standard; deploying smart controls and energy storage; fuel switching and plant decarbonisation; energy saving at the compound level; low‑embodied carbon design and alternative materials; and targeted reductions in carbon from concrete, steel, bricks and other materials.

Governance of the plan involves the Future Homes Implementation Board co‑chaired by officials from MHCLG and Barratt Redrow and the Embodied Carbon Implementation Board, bringing together homebuilders, material manufacturers, government departments and other stakeholders to drive measurable reductions in embodied carbon.

Beyond the Transition Plan, the Future Homes Hub has introduced the ‘Homes for Nature’ initiative to embed biodiversity measures into new housing developments. Since September 2024, participating homebuilders have committed to integrating at least one bird‑nesting brick or box and hedgehog highways in every new home that goes through planning, aiming to install a minimum of 300,000 nesting features across developments. Additional enhancements like insect bricks, bat roosts and pollinator‑friendly landscaping are encouraged. This voluntary initiative complements mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain regulation and is supported by partnerships with organisations such as RSPB, Action for Swifts and Hedgehog Street, running until at least 2030.

Meanwhile, the government’s Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirement has become mandatory across England. From February and April 2024 for large and small sites respectively, developers must demonstrate that new developments deliver at least a 10% net gain in biodiversity to secure planning approval.

With biodiversity and carbon reduction agendas working in parallel, the built environment is integrating nature and climate objectives into a cohesive sustainable design framework.

In addition to guiding carbon and nature outcomes, the Future Homes Hub has released the report “Embodied and Whole Life Carbon of Future Homes Standard Options” (March 2025), offering a resource to support developers and designers in assessing both embodied and operational carbon in different home types. It emphasises bespoke calculation over simplistic assumptions based solely on structural materials.

The overarching sector Delivery Plan, articulated in the Roadmap to 2030, frames decarbonisation across four areas: home operation, construction, planning and placemaking, and business operations. The living roadmap reflects current sector‑wide projects and programmes active through to 2025, with ongoing feedback shaping its evolution.

What this means:
The new homes sector in the UK is consolidating its efforts around a shared vision for net‑zero delivery, backed by measurable pathways, governance structures and concrete actions. This includes energy standards, embodied carbon accounting, nature measures and a strategic roadmap to align the construction of new homes with both climate and biodiversity objectives. As the plan is revisited in early 2026, continued collaboration across stakeholders from large housebuilders to smaller developers will be essential to keep the sector on track.

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