Carbon action condensed: what’s on the cards for 2026?

Improving the measurement and reduction of built environment emissions is an even greater priority in 2026. BCIS executive director, James Fiske, dives into the biggest regulatory and industry updates pushing this ambition forward in the coming 12 months.

Carbon action condensed: what’s on the cards for 2026?

2026 is in full swing. 2025 introduced several major milestones on the carbon front for our sector and in the coming months, we’re expecting a few more.

This is a year for building momentum, to push for stronger standards on whole life emissions reporting and reduction and bring more people into the carbon conversation – from asset owners and investors to quantity surveyors and project managers.

Here’s a brief take on the big updates approaching in the year ahead.

1. UKNZCBS

First up on the agenda is version one of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UKNZCBS). The rollout is due in early 2026 and will provide technical criteria that buildings must meet to be deemed net zero carbon aligned.

It’s huge progress – a shared language that will cut a clearer, standardised path for measuring and limiting carbon in every construction project.

Thanks to efforts from the Institution of Structural Engineers, updated guidance on the embodied carbon aspects of the official UKNZCBS will be available post-publication.

This will make the standard more digestible and therein applicable, breaking down everything from its definitions of embodied carbon limits to what best practice whole life carbon in design and construction looks like.

2. Future Homes and Buildings Standards

The government has been teasing publication of the Future Homes Standard (FHS) and Future Buildings Standard (FBS) for some time. Their arrival is imminent (1Q2026) and expected to introduce tougher rules on the energy efficiency and heating of new homes and non-domestic buildings via changes to the Building Regulations.

This includes mandatory solar panels and high standards for insulation and heat pumps in most homes.

Again, another big moment for carbon cutting but not one without potential limitations.

Earlier this month, reports emerged suggesting FHS would not enforce batteries in new housing, which would be a significant oversight.

Homeowners with access to their own renewable energy and battery storage would see lower bills, help to reduce national reliance on overseas gas and lessen residential emissions as a result.

Mandated battery storage wasn’t part of the original FHS. But reducing carbon across the whole lifecycle of the built environment and improving domestic energy security necessitates taking advantage of the new tech now available. Policy must keep pace with progress.

3. Home Energy Model

Also on the cards is the new Home Energy Model (HEM) – the government’s answer to simulating building energy use with greater realism and accuracy. Better model, better data for Energy Performance Certificates and measuring regulatory compliance is the idea.

‘Wrappers’ that add steps to the core HEM calculation component and satisfy different policy needs are in the works too. For example, the Home Energy Model: Future Homes Standard (HEM:FHS) assessment.

This will add pre- and post-processing steps to HEM to calculate FHS compliance metrics – i.e. data that confirm whether a building’s energy consumption complies with FHS.

These are progressive but difficult endeavours to execute – industry feedback on HEM has been broadly positive but exposed certain challenges, such as a potential inability to fully incorporate smart technologies and simulate energy flexibility.

Ultimately, until HEM and subsequent wrappers are finalised, it’s a waiting game to see how the new energy monitoring regime in its entirety will play out in practice.

4. Warm Homes Plan

Hot off the press, the newly launched Warm Homes Plan is effectively the other side of the coin to FHS. Eligible households will have access to a £15 billion public funding pot to fit existing homes with solar panels and other green tech.

This includes grants for heat pumps as part of an extension to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The plan is badged as a solution to fuel poverty and cutting household emissions. It’s a positive, flexible step forward that should make renewable power more accessible to more people.

As with any new policy, it comes with setbacks including the high cost of running a heat pump for those that choose to buy one without their own renewable energy source.

The 2035 ban on gas boilers has also been removed which may impact the near-term adoption of green tech. Only time will tell but there’s certainly a lot to be said for giving more households a proper chance to make sustainable choices.

5. Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Last but by no means least is the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). First announced in 2023 and due to be introduced from 1 January 2027, the CBAM is a new tax on specified, carbon-intensive goods, such as aluminium, steel and cement products.

Certain imported goods will have a carbon price imposed on them that’s comparable to the carbon price placed on similar goods produced in the UK. As it stands, the CBAM rate calculation will be based on how much UK producers must pay under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, after adjustments for free allowances or discounts.

The goal is to stop carbon leakage – levelling the playing field between UK producers and importers so the former are not undercut by cheaper, less sustainable imports.

On the surface, a UK CBAM seems a reasonable move. It could help shift domestic demand toward greener, potentially more affordable building materials. However, the devil is in the detail and several industry bodies have warned that using an average to calculate tax risks some carbon-intensive producers not paying a fair price.

On the upside, the EU CBAM is now fully implemented. If the UK government plays its cards right, learnings from the EU counterpart could ensure its own CBAM delivers the right impact.

Cost and carbon data on your doorstep

Using reliable carbon data accurately is the best way to better measure and control whole life carbon in buildings.

And that ability is at the fingertips of many in the built environment.

BCIS is already extensively used by a range of construction professionals to forecast, measure and benchmark project costs.

Those with CapX, OpX and TotX subscriptions can go one step further – using BCIS Life Cycle Evaluator (LCE) to calculate carbon impact at the same time.

BCIS LCE is part of those subscriptions, an incorporated tool that requires no extra commitment.

It’s about simplifying processes for the industry, ensuring both project costs and emissions can be measured, compared, reported and reduced with equal consistency, transparency and confidence.

Taking advantage of these kinds of opportunities, and engaging clients and other stakeholders with their impact, is how we, at an industry level, can continue contributing to the wider progress on carbon in 2026.

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