The Stirling Prize jury will be advised by a sustainability consultant for the first time, BD has learnt.

Simon Sturgis of Sturgis Carbon Profiling will accompany the judges as they tour the six buildings on the shortlist later this month. He will not take part in the final discussion and vote.

The decision to put sustainability centre stage is understood to have been made at the behest of new RIBA president Ben Derbyshire who took up his post this month.

He is chairing a jury whose members are Anupama Kundoo of Anupama Kundoo Architects, Peter St John of last year’s winning practice Caruso St John, Jane Hall of Assemble and BBC presenter Evan Davis.

Sturgis told BD it was high time sustainability was made one of the judging criteria for Britain’s best building.

“It’s a really important thing that the RIBA is seeing sustainability as a key issue for reviewing buildings,” he said.

“Sustainability has been around for a long time but it seems to have jumped in importance, with people really beginning to realise it’s not just a side issue.”

He said he will be giving the jurors his views on the buildings’ environmental performance but also their social and economic sustainability.

He added: “What I particularly want to bring to the party is a holistic approach to thinking about energy and carbon from a sustainability point of view – so thinking about the life cycle of buildings and how they perform in all senses over time.

“It’s not just about insulation and trees growing on top – there’s a bigger picture.”