Understanding carbon in the historic environment : scoping study

The UK is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, necessitating fundamental changes in energy sources and end uses over the next three decades. As climate change mitigation policy continues to grow in importance, securing and communicating opportunities to improve …

Year: 2019 Authors: Duffy, Aidan / Nerguti, Aneta / Engel Purcell, Caroline / Cox, Peter Source: Historic England Type: Topic: , , , , Region: Language:

A study of architectural measures to reduce overheating

Historic England commissioned this report to identify historic architectural measures that can demonstrate and support England’s historic buildings in adapting to the changing climate. The purpose of this report is to investigate how passive architectural measures, such as awnings or …

Year: 2026 Authors: Ruhlig, Vanessa / Boddington, Jen Source: Historic England Type: , Topic: , , , , , Region: Language:

Heat pumps in historic buildings : air source heat pump case studies – large buildings

Electrifying heat is key to reducing reliance on fossil fuels for historic buildings. No technology is better placed to electrify heat for space heating than heat pumps. The technology is mature, and if the whole heating system is well designed …

Year: 2026 Authors: McNaughton, Dan Source: Historic England's case studies Type: Topic: , , , , , Region: Language:

Developing a Decarbonisation Plan

Developing a Decarbonisation Plan is a comprehensive guidance resource from Historic England that supports cultural and heritage organisations in planning the transition to net zero while safeguarding historic buildings. The resource includes practical guidance, templates, case studies, factsheets, and webinars …

Historic England Webinar Recordings

Historic England Webinar Recordings provides free access to an extensive archive of recorded webinars covering a wide range of topics related to cultural heritage conservation and management. The collection includes expert presentations on building conservation, climate adaptation, energy efficiency, heritage …

Decarbonizing the Built Environment through Heritage! The complete Toolkit

The Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage Toolkit supports education, advocacy, and policymaking on heritage-informed decarbonization from the global to the local scale. Heritage-informed decarbonization is summarized through five principles applicable to global-, urban- and community-level climate change mitigation efforts. …

Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage Atlas

The Decarbonizing the Built Environment Through Heritage Atlas— is a sortable repository of examples of heritage-informed decarbonization from around the world. These examples include tools, guidelines, materials, buildings, places, policies, and programs showcasing heritage-informed decarbonization across diverse contexts.

Year: 2026 Authors: Built Buildings Lab Source: Built Buildings Lab Type: Topic: , , , , , , , , Region: , Language:

Zero‐Emission and Zero Demolition: Promoting Conservation Interests Through the Implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

To achieve “zero‐emission” in buildings, “zero demolition”—keeping existing buildings in use—could be promoted to a greater extent. Continuous use can even prove to be beneficial for climate mitigation as well as for conservation of heritage values in the building stock. …

Year: 2025 Authors: Donarelli, Anna Source: Vol 10 (2025): Aligning Heritage Conservation and Climate Mitigation Through Adaptive Reuse Type: , Topic: , , , , , , Region: , Language:

Energy Efficiency and Retrofit in Historic Buildings

Well considered maintenance and repair work should always be the first step to ensure the longevity of our built heritage. However, it is becoming increasingly important to adapt historic buildings, to make them more resilient to the effects of climate …

Year: 2026 Authors: Historic England Source: Historic England Type: , Topic: , , , , , , , Region: Language:

European energy performance of buildings directive and cultural heritage

This report summarises the work of the ICOMOS Expert Group on the Implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in the Built Heritage Sector, established in 2023 to evaluate the impact of the EPBD recast on Europe’s historic …

Year: 2026 Authors: Alexandrou, Eleni / Berggren, Kersti / Bourgès, Ann / Broström, Tor / Brito, Nelson da Silva / Bruguerolle, Antoine / Donnelly, Jacqui / Erikkson, Petra / Foster, Jez / González-Longo, Cristina / Gould, Anthony / Hughes, David / Huttunen, Marku / Haas, Franziska / Karamyan, Anna / McDermott, Deirdre / Mirouze, Chloé / Paulus, Ave / Pissarides, Chrysanthos / Radivojević, Ana / Shaffrey, Gráinne / Silvestru, Claudiu / Stoškus, Liutauras / Villalba Montaner, Clara Source: ICOMOS Expert Group on EPBD Implementation Type: , , , Topic: , , , , , , , , Region: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Language: