Credit: istock coldsnowstorm
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is asking for industry feedback on the public procurement of buildings before it updates Government Buying Standards (GBS).
It has launched a survey that covers 11 categories of procurement, including buildings, artificial intelligence, and cloud and data-centre services.
The GBS set mandatory minimum and best-practice standards for central government departments and the wider public sector to use in tender requirements and contract terms for construction and buildings-related projects.
The last updates for buildings was in 2015. Upcoming changes are likely to be influenced by the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025 and aims to increase efficiency, transparency and value for money.
GBS for buildings cover the full life-cycle of a project, with a strong focus on energy, water and material sustainability.
Defra said responses to its survey will inform the next iteration of drafts, which will be tested within government before the standards are published.
The government wants to gather views on how the GBS should be updated to account for environmental issues, while taking into account other factors such as value for money, market availability, economic resilience and domestic competitiveness.
To contribute to the CIBSE response, email your comments to technical@cibse.org by 26 September 2025. The survey closes on 6 October 2025.
Current GBS for buildings
There are buying standards for a range of building services, such as air conditioning units, where a mandatory and best-practice level for coefficient of performance has been set.
Projects must have a mandatory Breeam Excellent rating for new builds and a Very Good rating for major refurbishments. Best practice requires Breeam Outstanding for new projects and Excellent for refurbishment projects.
There are also standards for lighting systems, lighting control gear, and showers, taps, toilets and urinals, as well as for boilers and combined heat and power systems – but not for heat pumps.
