FAQs

It is absolutely free! 

Organisations can sign up at a global, national, regional or other level but this must be clearly stated in the application.  

We aim to confirm compliance as soon as possible and within 30 days of application.

The CRCBE is relevant to organisations working throughout the built environment and was developed by the cross-industry cross-government Achieving Net Zero Working Group convened by CSIC.

The CRCBE is intended for both public and private sector projects.

Our definition of net zero carbon aligns with UN definition and the UK Government’s legislation and Net Zero Strategy reducing emissions by 2045 (we are using the Scottish Government’s commitment to 2045) by reducing emissions to as close to zero as possible, with the small amount of remaining emissions absorbed through natural carbon sinks with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This approach is aligned with the SBTi Net Zero Standard.

We encourage an ambition for emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) to be reduced by at least 45% by 2030 in order to reach net zero by 2045 but this is not a requirement of the CRCBE. The baseline would be 2021 emissions levels OR the first year post 2021 for which organisations have verified and reported data. If an organisation has adopted an earlier baseline year, targets can be adjusted accordingly. However, we hope that most organisations will have a more ambitious target than a 45% reduction.

Both the ConstructZero Performance Framework and the CRCBE are branded by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and CO2nstructZero. Please refer to the following document to explain the alignment between the two:

CRCBE_CZPF.pdf 

With a broad range of projects and activities, it can be difficult to know which initial commitment level is appropriate. Several organisations have submitted a completed CRCBE compliance spreadsheet for review before formal application enabling a conversation:

CRCBE_compliance_spreadsheet.xlsx 

Compliance with the CRCBE is assessed annually from the date of an application being accepted. At the end of the year, each organisation will be assessed according to the requirements/commitments of the current issue of the Code (currently Issue 4.0 February 2025).  It is expected that an organsiation will meet all commitments for the level of sign up sought and show a reduction in emissions on the previous year in line with its published plan to meet net zero by 2045 and its interim target to reduce emissions by 2030. If an organisation fails to meet this reduction after one year, it will be issued a warning. If it fails to meet its commitments after two years it will be struck off the list of organisations in compliance with the Code. No other penalties will be imposed. Moving forward we understand that in any given year it may not be possible to show a reduction in emissions but over time the trajectory must be in line with the published plan.

The names and logos of compliant organisations are displayed on our website. Upon completion of a successful application, each organisation will be sent the corresponding CRCBE badge which may be used on their website. 

The Supply Chain Sustainability School, working in collaboration with CSIC and its Code Advisory Group, have mapped some of the essential materials and resources that organisations will find useful to navigate their way through demonstrating compliance with the Code.

Organisations can find the resource on the School's website here.  In order to access this and other School resources users must sign up to the School as individuals or through their organisation.

We recognise that at any given moment in time, a consultancy may have thousands of live projects across multiple sectors, lifecycle stages and locations. As such, it is not practical to demonstrate a detailed or verified metric at every lifecycle stage for all projects. The evidence for Commitment 3.3 just needs to show the organisation is endeavouring to "proactively recommend carbon measurement and adoption reduction methodologies on all their projects". This could be demonstrated through policy, for example, adopting the Value Toolkit (or equivalent). 

Offsetting should be the last resort not the first port of call for reducing emissions. A useful resource is the following report and accompanying resources by The Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research Programme: Achieving Net Zero carbon emissions: a review of the evidence behind carbon offsetting.

The current version of the CRCBE is Issue 4.0 February 2025. The next version is expected to be issued in 2026. Organisations must be in compliance with the current issue of the CRCBE at the point of application or review. If within three months of an update, organisations must be in compliance with the previous issue of the CRCBE instead: CRC_v3.pdf 

The CRCBE is updated periodically as relevant policies, guidance or other new information is published. Additionally, updates may be made based on community feedback (e.g. preferable wording to increase accessibility). Updates are suggested, discussed and implemented with the Code Advisory Group (CAG) which consists of some Champions, the CRCBE administration and other industry partners. 

For Pledger level, we require that you have reported on your annual carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) since your last renewal date (or initial approval date). This should be reported publicly, and you should show that you are meeting your carbon reduction targets and are on track both to reach your interim target by 2030, and to reach net zero by 2045. 

For Signatory and Champion levels, as well as the above, you also need to update us on the additional commitments made in your initial application, by updating your answers to the questions in the application form.