Stage 0: Strategic Definition

Work Stage Actions & Internal Guidance

01
Net Zero Operational Carbon Dioxide emissions

Net Zero operational carbon for new build and retrofit, measured as kWh/m²/year and kgCO₂e/m²/year, validated in use.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Define operational carbon ambition and scope

Set project operational energy + carbon metrics (kWh/m²/y, kgCO₂e/m²/y).
Write a Sustainability / Energy Brief.

Identify context constraints affecting performance

Assess overheating risk, noise, air quality, and heritage constraints.
Log initial mitigation direction.

Set operational energy performance targets

Define metrics for Energy Intensity, Heating Demand, and Airtightness.
Assign ownership of targets.

Define modelling and verification strategy

Select modelling method (e.g. TM54, PHPP).
Confirm verification plan (Airtightness, Commissioning, POE).

Define controls and usability requirements

Determine controls strategy (Manual/Automated).
Specify user interface requirements.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Operational Energy Brief
✓ Performance Gap Risk Register
✓ Stage 7 POE One-Pager
✓ Controls & Usability Checklist
02
Net Zero Embodied Carbon

Net Zero embodied carbon across the building lifecycle, measured in kgCO₂e/m², using whole-life carbon assessment and verified data.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

The single biggest embodied-carbon decision is whether to build at all, and if so, how much.

Challenge the brief: retain, reuse, extend, intensify before new build.
Set an embodied carbon target (kgCO₂e/m²) aligned to RIBA 2030 / LETI benchmarks.
Define scope and methodology for whole-life carbon assessment (e.g. RICS).
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Embodied Carbon Brief
✓ Reuse / retention feasibility note
✓ WLC scope definition
03
Sustainable Water Cycle

Minimise potable water use and manage surface water sustainably, measured through litres/person/day, runoff rates and flood-risk compliance. Achieve 40% reduction in potable water use per person per day

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Early decisions determine whether water is treated as a compliance issue or a spatial and environmental asset.

Identify flood risk (fluvial, pluvial, groundwater) and drainage constraints at site-selection stage.
Set project water-use targets (e.g. l/p/d) and SuDS ambition level.
Confirm whether rainwater/greywater reuse is viable or disproportionate.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Water & drainage constraints summary
✓ Water efficiency targets schedule
04
Sustainable Land Use & Ecology

Achieve biodiversity net gain and responsible land use, demonstrated through measurable habitat uplift, soil protection, and long-term management.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Land use decisions at this stage determine whether biodiversity outcomes are achievable or fundamentally constrained.

Identify site context: brownfield/greenfield status, designations, habitat value.
Set biodiversity ambition (e.g. minimum 10% BNG or higher).
Establish need for early ecological input.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Land use & ecology constraints summary
✓ Biodiversity ambition statement
05
Sustainable Connectivity & Transport

Maximise sustainable travel and minimise car dependency, demonstrated through mode share, accessibility, and reduced transport-related emissions.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Location decisions lock in transport emissions and accessibility outcomes.

Assess site accessibility to walking, cycling, and public transport.
Identify risks of car dependency and mitigation options.
Set transport and parking ambition early.

Transport objectives must be embedded in the brief to resist late-stage parking creep.

Include sustainable transport and parking strategies in the Project Brief.
Confirm requirement for Transport Assessment or Travel Plan.
Align proposals with Local Transport Plan policies.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Transport accessibility appraisal
✓ Sustainable travel ambition statement
✓ Project Brief (transport section)
✓ TA / Travel Plan scope note
06
Sustainable Health & Wellbeing

Deliver healthy, comfortable, and safe environments, demonstrated through indoor environmental quality, thermal comfort, and occupant wellbeing indicators.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Health risks and comfort challenges are often locked in by site context and building typology.

Identify environmental risks: noise, air quality, overheating, safety.
Set health and wellbeing performance objectives.
Establish need for specialist input (acoustics, environmental design).

Health objectives must be explicit to avoid being eroded by cost or programme pressures.

Include IEQ, comfort, and safety requirements in the Project Brief.
Agree assessment methods (e.g. TM59, daylight analysis).
Identify occupant profiles and vulnerability.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Health & wellbeing risk summary
✓ Performance objectives schedule
✓ Project Brief (health & wellbeing section)
✓ Assessment methodology note
07
Sustainable Communities & Social Value

Deliver measurable social value and inclusive community outcomes, demonstrated through access, use, safety, participation, and long-term community benefit.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Social value is fundamentally shaped by what is built, where, and for whom.

Identify local community context, needs, and vulnerabilities.
Define social value ambitions aligned to client, policy, and place.
Establish engagement requirements.

If social outcomes are not in the brief, they will not survive cost and programme pressure.

Embed social value objectives into the Project Brief.
Identify access, safety, and inclusivity priorities.
Define consultation and engagement approach.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Social value ambition statement
✓ Community context summary
✓ Project Brief (social value section)
✓ Engagement strategy outline
08
Sustainable Life Cycle Costing and Procurement

Achieve demonstrably lowest whole-life cost consistent with performance objectives, assessed through structured life cycle cost analysis.

Stage Goals
Design Team Actions

Life cycle cost outcomes are largely fixed by the brief, procurement route, and performance ambitions.

Define value priorities (capex vs opex vs longevity).
Identify high-risk cost drivers (energy, maintenance, replacement cycles).
Set scope for life cycle cost analysis.

If whole-life value is not embedded in the brief, short-term cost cutting will dominate.

Include life cycle cost objectives in the Project Brief.
Align cost strategy with sustainability and performance targets.
Agree reporting format and assumptions.
REQUIRED OUTPUTS
✓ Value and cost drivers statement
✓ LCC scope definition
✓ Project Brief (whole-life cost section)
✓ Cost assumptions register

Recommended Reading

LETI Climate Emergency Design Guide (2020) • Net Zero Operational Carbon Dioxide emissions
RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge • Net Zero Operational Carbon Dioxide emissions
ICE Database (v3, 2020) • Net Zero Embodied Carbon
CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) • Sustainable Water Cycle
DEFRA Statutory Biodiversity Metric - User Guide • Sustainable Land Use & Ecology
CIEEM Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) Guidelines • Sustainable Land Use & Ecology
PAS 2080 – Carbon Management in Infrastructure • Sustainable Connectivity & Transport
WELL Building Standard v2 • Sustainable Health & Wellbeing
WHO Housing and Health Guidelines • Sustainable Health & Wellbeing
UKGBC Guide for Delivering Social Value on Built Environment Projects • Sustainable Communities & Social Value
UK Government Social Value Model • Sustainable Communities & Social Value
BS ISO 37106 – Sustainable Cities and Communities • Sustainable Communities & Social Value
BS EN 15978 – Environmental Performance of Buildings • Sustainable Life Cycle Costing and Procurement
HM Treasury Green Book (2022) • Sustainable Life Cycle Costing and Procurement
BREEAM New Construction – Technical Manual • Sustainable Life Cycle Costing and Procurement