Byggfakta UK Awarded Carbon-Neutral Status

Byggfakta UK Awarded Carbon-Neutral Status

Nov 14, 2023 |NBS |2 Minute Read
  • NBS, Glenigan, and CIS Ireland have achieved carbon neutrality with significant reductions in operational emissions since 2019
  • Companies awarded certification by third party assessor, ‘Centre for Assessment’
  • Certification pushes parent company, Byggfakta Group, closer to Net Zero target

NBS, Glenigan, and CIS Ireland, comprising Byggfakta UK, have each been independently certified carbon neutral for their 2022 emissions.

The accomplishment recognises each company’s efforts to reduce its own carbon footprint whilst aiding the wider sector in shifting towards more sustainable outcomes.

Awarded by third-party assessor, ‘Centre for Assessment’, The Carbon Neutrality status recognises 2022 operations as being carbon neutral aligned to ‘PAS 2060: 2014 - Specification for the demonstration of carbon neutrality’.

NBS, a leading specification and product information platform for the construction industry, has measured emissions relating to its business operations since 2019 and has been certified as carbon neutral since 2021. Since its baseline year of 2019, it has reduced absolute emissions by 55% and emissions intensity per turnover by 68%.

Glenigan and CIS, leading experts in construction intelligence, have achieved reductions in emissions intensity per turnover of 16%.

As part of the carbon neutrality certification, each company has pledged a commitment to ongoing carbon neutrality throughout 2023 and beyond.

As well as reducing carbon emissions, Glenigan and CIS Ireland have joined forces with Carma and the Green Task Force Charity which provides therapy and a route to employment for ex-military veterans, sponsoring and planting 1000 native trees in Usk, South Wales. Glenigan’s team used the opportunity to join in with the physical tree planting through the company's volunteer days.

NBS is similarly committed to improving bio-diversity in the areas in which the company operates. In partnership with Forest Carbon Ltd, NBS has financed the planting of approximately 7,000 trees across two projects in the Northeast of England. 

Russell Haworth, Byggfakta Group UK CEO commented: “The construction industry is a huge net contributor to global emissions, and this achievement is a symbol of our ambitions to improve and educate the sector on the importance of carbon reduction, wherever possible. I’m delighted that Byggfakta has been awarded carbon neutrality across its UK portfolio, showcasing our commitment to leading from the front when it comes to sustainability.”

Lee Jones, Head of Sustainability at Byggfakta Group, added: “Achieving carbon neutrality is a significant milestone and a testament to the work of our employees and our commitment to both our customers and the wider environment. Our internal carbon reduction strategy has been a key driver of change - switching supply to 100% renewable tariffs, implementing a digital-first approach to meetings, and shifting platforms to the cloud amongst some of the changes we have made.”

Each company has also chosen to purchase and retire VCS carbon credits totalling their annual emissions for 2022 against international renewable energy projects, thereby offsetting its own residual emissions.

In addition, NBS has attained further accreditations, having secured a gold award from the UN Climate Neutral Now scheme for its efforts. NBS signed up to the initiative in 2021.
NBS has also been nationally recognised for its work to reduce its carbon footprint for a second year running, taking home the ‘Carbon Footprint ESG Performance of the Year’ Gold Award at the ESG Awards 2023 and 2022.

Glenigan, CIS Ireland, and NBS are committed to further carbon reduction in the future, in line with Byggfakta Group’s wider aim to become Net Zero. To find out more about Byggfakta’s sustainability efforts, click here.

For more information contact Jo Wilmot or Niamh Meyer at The Think Tank, or call 0207 831 225.

Our latest news

Visqueen supports one of the first Gateway 2 approvals under the Building Safety Act

The Dyecoats development in Leeds marks a major milestone for the UK housing sector. The £100 million flagship Latimer Homes scheme being delivered by GRAHAM is one of the first high-rise new-build projects in the country to achieve Building Safety Act Gateway 2 approval, a crucial pre-construction sign-off confirming that the design meets all safety and regulatory requirements before work begins on site.

Building Safety ActSponsored

Five questions to ask when specifying insulated panels

Selecting an insulated panel system for an industrial building should start with the building and application requirements.

Design and SpecificationSponsored

NBS and BDP join forces to improve generic carbon data in construction

Today, NBS (part of Hubexo), the platform for connected construction information, announces a long-term strategic partnership with BDP, a major global multidisciplinary practice of architects, designers, engineers and urbanists. The partnership recognises BDP's integral role in the development of NBS LCA, a new life-cycle carbon assessment platform providing professionals with high-quality, reliable and easy-to-use carbon data to ensure accurate tracking as construction projects evolve. BDP's primary contribution to NBS LCA has been the development of more than 1,300 pre-calculated generic assemblies, covering the most commonly used building fabric elements alongside key concrete and steel structural elements. These assemblies provide whole-element carbon data, giving designers consistent, UK-relevant carbon benchmarks from the earliest stages of project design. Users can easily and instantly apply carbon rates to a range of pre-configured common building elements, including walls, floors, and roofs. Developed by BDP and NBS, the assemblies remove the need for designers to manually build up material layers or calculate individual components at the concept stage. This saves significant time and effort, enabling proportionate and responsible carbon evaluation early in the design process, when decisions have the greatest impact on a project's overall carbon footprint. BDP also participated in collaborative workshops that directly informed the development of NBS LCA, helping to shape a tool that is practical, accessible and aligned with real-world UK construction workflows. Dr Lee Jones, Head of Sustainability at Hubexo, said: “BDP's contribution to NBS LCA has been invaluable. Their depth of project experience and technical knowledge has directly shaped the generic assemblies at the heart of the platform. These assemblies give designers a reliable, UK-relevant starting point for carbon assessment, without the burden of building everything from scratch. This is exactly the kind of collaboration that moves the industry forward, and we're proud to be working with BDP on a long-term basis.” Julia Yao, Associate, Sustainability Consultant at BDP, said: “Carbon assessment needs to be embedded in design from day one, not bolted on at the end. Working with NBS to develop its LCA product has been a genuine opportunity to put that principle into practice. The generic assemblies we developed draw on real project data and are designed to give designers meaningful, actionable carbon information at the concept stage. We're delighted to see them at the core of a platform that will be used across the industry.” With the UK Government outlining its commitment to responsible carbon reporting through its Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, professionals need reliable, easy-to-use tools to assess and report embodied carbon. NBS LCA addresses this need by integrating carbon calculations with live design work, drawing on structured data from Circular Ecology's ICE Database and more than 12,500 verified, specification-ready construction products with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) from NBS Source and ECO Portal. Over the coming months, NBS and BDP will continue to develop their partnership, with a shared commitment to improving the quality and accessibility of carbon data for construction professionals across the UK. NBS LCA is available now, with flexible subscriptions designed for all professionals. For more information, visit the website here.

Product update