This toolkit is a co-production between West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council and Forest of Dean District Council.  Pulling on latest guidance and best practice, the Net Zero Carbon Toolkit is a practical, easy to follow guide to help plan a Net Zero housing project.

Aimed at small or medium-sized house builders, architects, self-builders and consultants, the toolkit covers a range of steps – from pre-planning right through to construction – for delivering net-zero carbon, low-energy homes.

The toolkit also provides homeowners looking to retrofit or extend their existing property, guidance and advice on what they need to consider and how they can implement energy efficiency measures and begin the process of decarbonising their homes in a more affordable, phased approach.

Implementing the measures laid out in the new toolkit will help reduce the carbon footprint of new and existing buildings. Making significant reductions to a home’s carbon emissions also means lower energy bills for homeowners, more people out of fuel poverty and homes that are comfortable and healthier to live in.

Who is it for?

 This toolkit has been created to make Net Zero carbon new build and retrofit more accessible. It has been created for building professionals (developers, contractors, architects and engineers) and is also relevant to self -builders, planning officers and other housing professionals. Although it can be used by homeowners, it is aimed at those who already have some knowledge or experience of construction.

Both new homes and retrofit

The toolkit tackles new build homes and the retrofit of existing homes in separate chapters. So whatever your project, you will find relevant information here.

Small to medium-scale housing

The primary focus is on small to medium-scale housing projects, but the principles are generally applicable to projects of any scale.

From site selection to construction to operation

It covers all stages of building design and construction, including maintenance and operation.

Understanding the complete picture

The toolkit aims to build the awareness and confidence of people implementing low- or zero-carbon projects and generally seeks to answer the following questions: 

• Why?
• What to do and how to bring it all together? 
• What does “good” look like? 
• What to specify and how to choose products? 

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