AWARD WINNER | XCO2 XCO2 staff at the consultancys Farringdon headquarters THE X FACTOR CIBSE Building Performance Award Winner XCO2 was set up to provide MEP and environmental engineering, which has enabled a holistic approach to building design, focusing on passive design and barely there services. Andy Pearson speaks to co-founder Tom Kordel SHORTLIST FOR 2024 AWARDS XCO2 has been shortlisted for the 2024 CIBSE Building Performance Awards on 29 February, at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London. The company has grown in size to more than 55 employees in the past year so is on the shortlist for Building Performance Consultancy of the Year (51 to 300 employees). The other shortlisted companies are: ChapmanBDSP Design2Occupancy Harley Haddow For more information on the 2024 Awards and to book your place to see who wins, visit: www.cibse.org/bpa X CO2 is thriving. The engineering and environmental consultancy was formed in 2008 as a team of five architects and engineers, with a shared focus on reducing carbon emissions in the built environment. Since then, it has grown into a dynamic and diverse multidisciplinary practice of 55 staff split between its head office in London and satellite office in Singapore. When it won the Building Performance Consultancy of the Year (up to 50 employees) at the CIBSE Building Performance Awards 2023, the judges said the consultancy was a good example of a developing practice, adding that they were impressed by the entrants incredible focus on net zero carbon and by its demonstration of diversity, inclusion and equality. Our USP has always been a focus on cutting carbon; the clues in our name were all about crossing out [X] CO2, says Tom Kordel, a director of the practice and one of its co-founders. While cutting carbon is not new now, 15 years ago it was novel to have a business whose sole focus was to reduce carbon emissions within the built environment, From inception, the practice was set up to provide environmental consultancy and MEP design. That is still the case now, Kordel says, although, over time, it has added more strings to the environmental side of the business, such as daylight consultancy and overheating assessments, to provide a more holistic service. Similarly, its MEP services now include energy audits and post-occupancy evaluations, services that Kordel says help its engineers gain an insight into how buildings operate in reality. Without understanding how a building works in operation, engineering designs will never improve, he adds. It is the businesss focus on cutting emissions and on environmental issues that has made it attractive to engineers and A recent XCO2 Academy session, where graduate consultants learn the ropes 20 February 2024 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Feb 24 pp20-22 XCO2 Award winner.indd 20 26/01/2024 17:06