Sustainable Outcomes: Measurable & Manageable Outcomes for Day-to-Day Practice

This concluding lecture in the series provides built environment professionals with practical, measurable outcomes and clear timelines needed to address the climate crisis. With only ten years remaining to achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the session presents RIBA’s comprehensive guidance framework that translates sustainability principles into actionable metrics across operational carbon, embodied carbon, water use, transport, ecology, health, community value, and lifecycle costs. The lecture emphasises the critical importance of in-use verification and post-occupancy evaluation to close the performance gap between predicted and actual building performance, supported by multiple UK case studies demonstrating that net zero is achievable across all building typologies.

As the world embarks upon a Decade of Action in which to achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Commonwealth Association of Architects has recognised an opportunity to provide mutual support by means of a structured programme of knowledge exchange in the form of a pilot CPD series and, with nearly 50% of the projected increase in the world’s urban population to 2050 forecast to be in the Commonwealth, architects and built environment professionals have a critical role to play in helping to achieve a more sustainable future for all.

This webinar is the seventh in the series and will be delivered by Gary Clark, Regional Lead EMEA, Science & Technology, at HOK London Studio and Chair of the RIBA Sustainable Futures Group. With only 10 years remaining to achieve the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals and avert a climate crisis, it’s vital for built environment professionals around the world to understand the targets we need to meet and the timescales within which they need to be met. In the concluding lecture of the current series, Gary will describe, in practical terms, a set of measurable and manageable outcomes that practitioners can use on a daily basis on projects of all scales.

Outline 

• Global context: 7.7 billion people producing 37 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, with one-third from buildings and construction, requiring urgent action to flatten the emissions curve by 2030
• Introduction to RIBA’s four integrated guidance tools: Sustainable Outcomes (10 key outcomes), 2030 Climate Challenge (clear metrics and deadlines), Plan of Work 2020 (sustainability embedded throughout design process), and Plan of Use (aftercare and verification)
• Detailed presentation of specific metrics and targets including 70% operational energy reduction by 2030, 50% embodied carbon reduction, 40% potable water reduction, and associated strategies for achieving these goals
• Case studies across multiple building typologies (residential, student housing, higher education, laboratories, offices, cultural buildings) demonstrating that net zero targets are achievable at standard construction costs
• Universal principles applicable globally including contraction and convergence, retrofit first approach, fabric first strategy, design for performance methodology, and mandatory post-occupancy evaluation

Learning Outcomes

The sessions learning outcomes were:

• Understand the urgency and scale of the climate crisis including the need to flatten the carbon emissions curve by 2030 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, recognizing that buildings and construction account for one-third of global CO2 emissions and that developed Commonwealth nations must achieve net zero faster to enable equitable development elsewhere.
• Apply specific measurable targets for net zero operational carbon including 70% minimum reduction by 2030 (compared to current UK benchmarks of 146 kWh/m² for residential and 225 kWh/m² for non-domestic), achieved through fabric first approach (high insulation, airtightness, high-performance glazing), regenerative engineering (heat pumps, thermal recovery), and onsite renewables, with up to 30% offset permitted.
• Implement embodied carbon reduction strategies targeting 50% reduction by 2030 from current benchmarks (approximately 600 kg CO2/m²), prioritizing retrofit first to preserve existing embodied carbon, specifying low-embodied-carbon locally-sourced materials, designing for disassembly and future reuse, and conducting whole-life carbon analysis using standardized measurement methods.
• Integrate sustainable water cycle principles achieving 40% potable water reduction through low-flow fixtures, leak detection, significant seasonal rainwater storage, and understanding that large-scale storage serves dual purposes of reducing potable water demand and providing sustainable urban drainage capacity.
• Design for health, wellbeing, and social value recognizing that small investments in design quality (factor of 1) can reduce operational costs (factor 15) and dramatically improve staff costs and productivity (factor 200+), while creating inclusive communities through mixed-use development, territorial identity, secure yet social spaces, and high-quality pedestrian environments.
• Understand and close the performance gap through mandatory post-occupancy evaluation using graduated approach (light-touch review at year 1, diagnostic assessment at year 2, forensic investigation at year 3 if needed), recognizing that UK buildings have consistently failed to achieve predicted energy performance due to lack of verification and commissioning issues.
• Apply the Plan of Work 2020 sustainability overlay embedding outcomes throughout all design stages from strategic definition (setting goals) through concept and detailed design (integration and monitoring) to construction, handover, and building-in-use (validation and dissemination), creating a circular feedback loop that informs future projects.
• Recognize universal sustainability principles applicable across all climates and contexts including net zero operational and embodied carbon, sustainable water use, healthy indoor air quality (non-negotiable), protection of old-growth forests through increased density, enhanced biodiversity where development occurs, and designing new cities for future climate and population that must be net zero from the outset.

Core Curriculum Topics

• Sustainable Architecture – The lecture provides comprehensive coverage of climate change mitigation strategies including detailed metrics and targets for operational carbon (70% reduction by 2030), embodied carbon (50% reduction), whole-life carbon assessment, renewable energy integration, circular economy principles, nature-based solutions, and the critical principle that no new buildings should be constructed that are not net zero. It emphasizes measurement, verification, and closing the performance gap.
• Design, Construction and Technology – The session presents technical strategies including fabric first approach (insulation, airtightness, high-performance glazing), regenerative engineering systems (heat pumps, thermal recovery), passive design principles, sustainable materials selection, design for disassembly, post-occupancy evaluation methodologies, and the importance of commissioning and fine-tuning to achieve predicted performance outcomes.
• Legal, Regulatory & Statutory Compliance – The lecture addresses professional responsibility in the climate crisis, ethical obligations to achieve sustainability outcomes, importance of aftercare and post-occupancy evaluation as professional duty, collaborative working across disciplines, knowledge sharing through feedback loops, and leadership in advocating for policy change including building codes, in-use verification requirements, and rapid decarbonization targets.

SDG Learning Outcomes

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – The lecture presents strategies for sustainable water management including 40% potable water reduction targets, seasonal rainwater storage systems, sustainable urban drainage, and recognition that water efficiency must be balanced with health metrics to avoid unintended consequences.
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The session emphasizes net zero operational energy through fabric first approach, renewable energy generation (onsite solar, heat pumps), energy efficiency measures, demand reduction strategies, and the importance of moving from predicted compliance to in-use verification of energy performance.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The lecture addresses sustainable urbanization through increased density to protect virgin land, mixed-use development, quality public spaces, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, green transport plans, enhanced biodiversity and green cover, and creation of inclusive communities with social value.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – The session presents circular economy principles including retrofit first to preserve embodied carbon, whole-life carbon analysis, sustainable and ethical materials selection, design for disassembly and reuse, protection of old-growth forests, and responsible lifecycle cost analysis balancing investment with long-term benefits.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The entire lecture focuses on urgent climate action with clear deadlines, emphasizing that developed nations must achieve net zero by 2030 for new buildings to enable equitable development elsewhere (contraction and convergence), mandatory performance verification, and the principle that we cannot build any new buildings that are not net zero.

The following CPD questions forms part of the learning guide for this session. As different Institutions of Architecture across the Commonwealth have different CPD reporting requirements, it is suggested that you retain a copy of your responses to these questions for your records.

1. Measuring Your Practice: Review your recent projects and calculate their operational energy intensity (kWh/m²) and embodied carbon (kg CO2/m²). How do these compare to the 2030 targets of 70% operational reduction and 50% embodied reduction, and what specific interventions would close this gap?
2. Performance Gap Challenge: Have you conducted post-occupancy evaluation on completed projects to verify actual versus predicted energy performance? What barriers prevent you from implementing mandatory aftercare, and how could the graduated POE approach (light touch, diagnostic, forensic) be integrated into your fee structures and project delivery?
3. Retrofit vs New Build: For your next project opportunity, have you conducted a carbon comparison between adaptive reuse of existing buildings versus demolition and new construction? What would it take to make “retrofit first” the default approach in your practice and advocate for this with clients?
4. Net Zero Now: Given that the lecture states “we cannot build any new buildings which are not net zero,” what would you need to change immediately in your design approach, specification standards, and consultant team to ensure every new project achieves net zero operational carbon from 2020 onwards?
5. Climate Justice and Equity: How does the principle of “contraction and convergence”—where developed nations must decarbonize faster to enable equitable development in rapidly urbanizing Commonwealth nations—change your understanding of professional responsibility and the urgency of achieving the 2030 targets in your region?
6. Tools and Advocacy: What steps will you take to implement RIBA’s guidance framework (or equivalent) in your practice, and how can you work with professional bodies, government, and industry to advocate for mandatory in-use energy verification, updated building codes, and policy changes that make sustainable outcomes the norm rather than the exception?

To discover more about this project, please feel free to visit:

• https://www.riba.org/campaigns/climate-action/2030-climate-challenge/
• https://www.riba.org/work/insights-and-resources/sustainable-outcomes-guide/
• https://www.riba.org/work/insights-and-resources/riba-plan-of-work/
• https://globalabc.org/
• https://www.unep.org/