VOICES | JULIE GODEFROY CIBSE and COP26 With the COP26 Glasgow conference fast approaching, CIBSEs Julie Godefroy outlines the associated events and activities in which the Institution is taking part and supporting, as well as its upcoming guidance I t seems everyone will be at COP these days. In practice, professional institutions such as CIBSE typically do not attend COP, except on rare occasions as observers. COP itself is for the negotiating parties governments and approved representations from communities, NGOs and scientists. However, many associated events are organised alongside the conference, either within the UNs Green Zone or independently, outside the UN umbrella, in Glasgow or online. With so many organisations wanting to contribute in one way or another in the past few months, COP has certainly proved useful for raising awareness and catalysing action among industry and policy-makers. CIBSE took the view that the most effective and appropriate way to play a part was to: Support the efforts of others for a high-profile and coordinated representation of the built environment sector and what it can contribute to net zero Support our members with the ongoing development of guidance and events related to net zero. Theres nothing like a big deadline to make things happen, and CIBSE will be having a series of events during COP This column gives a summary of CIBSE activities and events during COP26; you can find a more detailed list and information on our wider action on climate change in our dedicated COP26 page: www.cibse.org/cop26 Collective action DR JULIE GODEFROY is head of sustainability at CIBSE CIBSEs work on climate action will be represented in the COP Green Zone as part of the Construction Leadership Councils (CLCs) event on 11 November, Built Environment Day. The Construction Industry Council will present Carbon Zero, the cross-industry climate action plan to which CIBSE signed up, and in which we have had an influential role from the start. The actions we have committed to in this plan are substantial, and range from a review of accredited degrees and CPD requirements through to joint industry targets, guidance and associated professional obligations. Some actions can be implemented in the short term and are within the remit of individual institutions, while others are more deeply transformative, requiring longer-term work and collaboration across institutions. All signatories have committed to publish an implementation plan by COP, and CIBSE will publish its plan on 11 November, to coincide with the CLC event. CIBSE is also supporting several organisations arranging events around the timing of COP for example, the UK Green Building Councils Build Better Pavilion, and a series of videos produced by the Royal Academy of Engineering on net zero. CIBSE net zero guidance and events Theres nothing like a big deadline to make things happen, and CIBSE will be having a series of announcements and events during COP to capture activities from the past few months. These will include the launch of a new publication on electrical engineering for net zero. The guidance will add to the CIBSE body of guidance on net zero, all of which is mapped on our net zero page against each step of the recommended hierarchy, from passive design through to monitoring and evaluation: bit.ly/CJNov21netzero The page is regularly updated. In the following weeks and months, you can also expect new publications, including: Embodied carbon in residential heating systems, following the huge interest in the TM65 methodology A revision to TM54 on energy-performance modelling: this recognises the development of advanced modelling expertise and increasing onus on energy-modelling predictions in the context of net zero targets, contractual performance requirements, and the new requirements for energy-performance modelling in the draft Approved Document L for new nondomestic buildings. Our regular Grow Your Knowledge webinars (cibse. org/growyourknowledge), which are free to access for all, regularly include themes relevant to the net zero agenda, and we will highlight those during COP. 16 November 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Nov21 pp16-17 Julie Godefroy.indd 16 22/10/2021 15:05