EVENT | BUILD2PERFORM LIVE COUNTDOWN TO ZERO Decarbonisation and building safety dominated the debates at CIBSEs Build2Perform Live conference and exhibition, at ExCeL London. Alex Smith and Molly Tooher-Rudd find out how CIBSE and the wider industry are rising to the twin challenges of cutting carbon and keeping people safe in buildings T he first Build2Perform Live event for three years focused on two areas that will change forever how building services engineers design and deliver buildings: the elimination of carbon and the guarantee of safety. Held at ExCeL London for the first time, the event attracted 80 speakers and 60 exhibitors, and offered 45 hours of CPD and other technical presentations. Nearly 3,000 people registered over the two days. CIBSE President Kevin Mitchell opened Build2Perform and said CIBSE was leading by action and not just words to deliver the changes required by the Building Safety Act. Speakers from government and the new Building Safety Regulator explained how the regime described in the Building Safety Act would affect everyone in the construction and management of buildings. HM inspector of health and safety Neil Hope-Collins said there would be severe consequences for individuals and companies that ignored the new regime. Non-compliant building works could result in unlimited fines and up to two years in prison, he warned. (For the session on dutyholders and competence, see page 20.) Zeroing in The cross-industry quest to define net zero through the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) kickstarted the conference programme. Other related sessions tackled the decarbonisation of heat, the transition from gas boilers to heat pumps, and the challenge of measuring embodied carbon. CIBSEs groups, societies and regions made substantial contributions, and held seminars on the new Code for Lighting, TM65 and TM66 embodied energy guides, and heat pump guidance. The Society of Digital Engineering hosted the Digital Engineering Awards see CIBSE News on page 12 and led sessions on the key issue of information management around fire safety. The NZCBS will set limits for operational and embodied carbon in new and retrofitted buildings, after assessing what reduction in emissions is needed, across 14 building sectors, for the industry to contribute adequately to The problem with a combined [hydrogen and heat pump] approach is having to deal with two sets of infrastructure the UKs carbon reductions. The standard will be the single point of truth and will help avoid greenwashing, said IStructEs Patrick Hayes. It will facilitate good design and it will target carbon reduction through the RIBA stages. In a call for evidence extended to January, the group requested operational and embodied data to help create benchmarks and understand what limits and targets should be set for different building types. CIBSEs head of sustainability, Julie Godefroy, said the NZCBS invited modellers to work with them from January, on energy performance models. The future of heat Delegates heard about the challenges of meeting consumption peaks, storing energy, and ensuring flexibility in the system. Tadj Oreszczyn, professor of energy and 18 January 2023 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan23.indb 18 03/01/2023 11:12