The government’s zero homes policy has caused a huge uproar in the construction industry over the last few years and since the Queen’s Speech in June there’s been some amend to the proposed legislation but it’s certainly not going away – as an industry it’s important we understand the implications and it’s also important we question some elements of the policy.

The most controversial, if obviously beneficial policy announcement is that there will be an exception made for smaller sites from the Allowable Solutions dimension, which is crucial due to the disproportionate impact the zero-carbon homes policy could have on smaller building firms.

Allowable Solutions are part of the strategy which allows carbon emissions which can’t be cost effectively offset onsite to be dealt with remotely (think carbon offsetting). This main problem with this is affects the smaller firms because they don’t have the economies of scale to make this cost effective, in turn this means they are either less likely to win the business or have to dramatically reduce their profit margins in order to compete, ultimately reducing competition in the marketplace.

Although this exemption remains a positive step for smaller house builders there’s still a problem in the pipeline that needs to be resolved. Smaller house builders want to build quality homes that are energy efficient and they want to be competitive.