Designed to create zero carbon emissions, it was the first large scale community to do so.

[1] The project was led by the Peabody Trust in partnership with Bill Dunster Architects, Ellis & Moore Consulting Engineers, BioRegional, Arup and the cost consultants Gardiner and Theobald.

[1] The 82 homes and 1,405 square metres (15,120 sq ft) of work space was built within the period of 2000–2002.

However, a few significant failures were highlighted, for example: The results show that the average ecological footprint of a BedZED resident is 4.67 global hectares (2.6 planets), which is 89% of the baseline.

However, a keen resident at BedZED (if the CHP was working) could achieve an ecological footprint of 3.0 global hectares (1.7 planets) which is 57% of the average.