Code for Sustainable Homes 'should be made mandatory'

The Code for Sustainable Homes should be made mandatory for new builds as part of an effort to promote environmentally-friendly building practices, it has been suggested.

Currently the code, launched in December of last year, is a voluntary guide through which developers can obtain 'star ratings' for environmentally friendly homes.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) has made the suggestion as part of a report which analyses governmental achievements within the planning sector as well as outlining its thoughts on future policy.

Existing measures such as the proposed simplification of planning permission regulations represented a good start but should by no means signal the end of the drive towards sustainability, the report noted.

"Since 2005 a remarkable political consensus has arisen about the nature of the climate change challenge, and decision makers realise that in order to tackle emissions they must find ways to reduce the impact of buildings on the environment. There's been some good progress but much more can be done," Riba president Jack Pringle commented.


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