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Zero carbon homes and the carbon offsetting fund
How we offset carbon emissions as part of planning policy.
Our planning policies set high environmental standards for new-build homes. We need developers to cut CO2 emissions on new homes by:
- maximising the energy efficiency of the building fabric
- connecting to a decentralised heat network
- installing renewable energy technologies such as solar panels
Developers are also required to offset CO2 emissions to 100% or ‘zero carbon emissions’. If they do this, they will hit a 100% CO2 reduction target for new 'zero carbon' homes. If they do not, they must pay cash in lieu contributions to meet the savings off site.
We secure these contributions using S106 agreements to form our carbon offset fund. This money is spent on carbon offsetting projects around Southwark to achieve CO2 reduction savings.
We increased our carbon offset tariff from £60 in 2014 to £95 in 2020. This means that for every tonne of CO2 emitted per year, over a period of 30 years we will offset £2,700 per tonne in total.