Several leading design and construction firms in the UK have signed onto a new appeal urging Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to halt his program of delayed implementations of key environmental building regulations in the interest of protecting a net-zero carbon emissions future in the country.

The Guardian first shared news of the letter, which called these delays “simply reckless,” just days after issuing a damming analysis of the benefits reaped by some builders as the ambitions of the climate movement have been vastly forestalled.

“We are disappointed at your narrative that delaying climate action would reduce costs to households. The longer we delay and the more we see stop-start piecemeal policy making, the harder and more expensive the task becomes,” a portion of the text reads.

SOM, Perkins&Will, and WilkinsonEyre were amongst the 114 signatories, joining AECOM, Buro Happold, and Arup on a docket that was formally organized by the UK Green Building Council. Along with expressing a concern for the costs passed on to consumers from a non-investment in home insulation, the letter calls for the tenor of the 2025 Future Homes and Buildings Standards to be honored in unison with an aggressive push on adaptive reuse methods that has grown in popularity since the end of the pandemic. 

The letter also aligns with some of the points included in RIBA’s newly-released manifesto, wherein new President Muyiwa Oki stated “the next government must lead the way and set ambitious building regulations to address sustainability, reform public procurement, and enable greener infrastructure.”

“While we understand the challenges posed by the cost of living crisis and approaching elections, we must not compromise our long-term sustainability goals for short-term political gains. I urge the incoming government, especially in the context of the forthcoming general elections, to reconsider this regressive stance on net-zero policies and demonstrate a genuine commitment to tackling climate change,” Avison Young real estate executive Jonathan Gibson reiterated.

Still, Sunak's party remains “absolutely determined” to do away with much of the existing green-building legislation in the interests of constructing 140,000 new homes, according to other recent reports. A general election could be called as soon as November. 

The UK Green Building Council’s full document can be accessed here.