The guidance documents, known collectively as the RIBA Climate Change Toolkit, are primarily aimed at the construction industry though the first guide in the series – the Climate Change Briefing - is designed to have a broad, non-professional appeal.

The RIBA Climate Change Toolkit consists of the three downloadable PDFs, also available as A4 printed documents, alongside A5 summary versions:

Climate Change Briefing -  'setting the scene' on the relationship between buildings and climate change, this guide focuses on the range of fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions associated with new and existing UK buildings of different types and with different servicing systems, and identifies key factors that affect carbon dioxide emissions. The document emphasises the critical role of the existing building stock, and includes links to sources of energy and environmental benchmarking data. This document is an introduction to the key issues, and has been written to appeal to the consumer, as well as the construction professional.

Guide to Low Carbon Performance Methods and Assessment Methods – focusing on new and existing buildings, this guidance covers energy and environmental standards for the main building types (residential, commercial and public), and includes references and links for more detailed information.

Guide to Low Carbon Design Tools – the third guide covers performance simulation software for buildings of different types, post-construction performance testing, and performance monitoring and evaluation methods; and includes references and links for more detailed information.

Three further climate change guides – a Carbon Literacy Briefing, Guide to The Principles of Low Carbon Design and Refurbishment and Guide to Low Carbon Skills and Training - will be published over the following six months to complete a suite of six documents. The RIBA Climate Change Toolkit has been produced by a specialist consultant on behalf of the RIBA.

Publication of the toolkit forms part of a long-running programme of work by the RIBA on climate change.

The RIBA's Climate Change Toolkit will be dowloadable as a PDF from www.architecture.com/climatechange| from 18 October.