New Homes Environmental Metrics by the Future Homes Hub

[edit] Background

The Future Homes Task Force was set up in September 2020 to develop a long-term delivery plan for the new build housing sector in line with the then Government’s legally binding net zero and wider environmental targets. The Delivery Plan was divided into four areas with a goal and roadmap for each area and a specification for the Hub. the goals being:

• High-quality homes that are zero carbon ready and sustainable.
• Places and developments that are consistently low carbon, nature-rich, resilient, healthy, well designed and beautiful by 2025
• Production and construction methods that are net zero and sustainable by 2050 with substantial progress by 2025 and 2030.
• Businesses that are recognised and rewarded for net zero and sustainability performance

[edit] Roadmaps and delivery plans

In July 2021 the "Future Homes Delivery Plan: The sector-wide climate and environment plan for high quality homes and places" a report of Future Homes Task Force, was published. It represented the homebuilding sector’s climate and environment plan as developed under the Future Homes Task Force. The plan wass divided into four areas: the operation of the home, production and construction, planning and place-making and the business as a whole, supported by a roadmap for each area. These roadmaps have become living roadmaps to guide sector-wide work towards the goals showing the current view of the sector-wide projects and programmes that will be undertaken through Future Homes Hub to meet the goals in the Delivery plan with a focus on the current business period 2022-2025. Feedback on the roadmap is welcome and it can be viewed here

On 20 October 2021 the Future Homes Hub was incorporated as a non-profit company limited by guarantee, a model which continues, as an independent organisation bringing together the homebuilding sector with the wider circle of supply chain, infrastructure, finance and government organisations that need to collaborate. Over 40 of the largest homebuilders committed and many other related organisations committed to working together through the Hub to achieve the goals on publication of the plan.

In December 2021 the Future Homes Hub published "Developing a Common Sustainability Metrics Framework for the new homes sector". The document sought feedback and collaboration on developing a unified set of sustainability metrics for the UK new homes sector to drive long-term environmental improvement and investor confidence. It aimed to align industry efforts with government climate goals and financial sustainability standards by creating a consistent framework for measuring and benchmarking performance. The need for such a framework arises from the growing expectations of government, finance institutions, and consumers for improved environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes, alongside the current lack of consistent measurement methods across the industry. The initiative is supported by collaboration between the Future Homes Hub, NextGeneration, and key stakeholders, including the Green Finance Institute, UKGBC, LETI, and Homes England. With multiple concurrent developments—such as the Future Homes Delivery Plan, the Treasury’s green taxonomy, and various sector-led sustainability standards—the timing is seen as ideal to establish a shared set of metrics that will provide clarity, consistency, and momentum for sustainable housing development.

[edit] New Homes Environmental Metrics

On 2 October 2025 the Future Homes Hub launched its 'New Homes Environmental Metrics', a framework for the new homes sector to provide a consistent and common language for environmental performance. The metrics focus on five core areas: carbon, energy, water, nature, and waste, aiming to simplify reporting for developers and help them meet investor and regulatory expectations. The framework includes a practical, ready-to-use set of metrics and a reporting toolkit to help developers measure and report on their homes' environmental impact. The metrics cover

• Carbon: Measures the carbon footprint of new homes.
• Energy: Tracks energy consumption and efficiency.
• Water: Monitors water usage and resilience.
• Nature: Assesses the impact on biodiversity, such as through Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG).
• Waste: Evaluates waste generated during construction and operation.

These aim to help the industry with various obstacles such as improving consistency by creating a unified approach to measuring and reporting on sustainability across the sector. Improving simplicity and clarity by providing a simple and practical way for developers of all sizes to measure and report on environmental performance, cutting through complexity and with common terminology. Finally it will help support developers and planners keep ahead of the changing regulatory landscape and meet the increasingly demanding criteria for access to investment. Below is an extract from the report describing the outlying metrics at this stage:

For further information see https://futurehomes.org.uk/climate-and-environmental-metrics and for other Future Homes Hub initiatives visit their library and reports pages here.

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