Scottish Government has launched a consultation on building standards to further improve the energy and environmental performance of new buildings. It is intended that these new standards will acts as a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard. 
 
This consultation sets out the proposed form for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standards and seeks views on the principles and outcomes the standard should seek to deliver. A number of questions ask for feedback from those who have already developed to a Passivhaus (or similar) standard in order to benefit from experience already gained by developers. Significantly, the consultation aims to gather views on how a new standard can deliver energy and environmental outcomes in way that is deliverable at scale, while also aligning with other strategic policy objectives (including Heat in Buildings and Housing to 2040).
 
A second consultation, scheduled for Summer 2025, will build on responses from this consultation and will set out the detail on the extent of proposed changes.
 
There will be opportunity to hear more about the proposals and provide feedback at the next SFHA Development Forum (Thursday 22 August), an online roundtable with Scottish Government officials will also be taking place in September (details to be confirmed soon).
 
Full consultation details can be found online here. A high-level summary of the proposals, timelines, and consultation questions can also be downloaded by clicking the link under the 'Downloads' heading. 
 
This consultation will close on Wednesday 23 October 2024. Please contact Eli Harji at eharji@sfha.co.uk for any questions or to discuss further.