Zero carbon buildings from 2018

The country’s biggest property developers have welcomed government plans to introduce zero carbon commercial buildings from 2018, but have warned that carbon reduction targets will be missed unless existing buildings are tackled.
 
Property giants including British Land, Hammerson, Hermes, Land Securities, Legal and General. Prupim and SEGRO, which own and manage the country’s biggest shopping centres and offices, want to see display energy certificates (DECs) which clearly show the performance of building when in use, should be made mandatory for all buildings.
 
Patrick Brown, assistant director for sustainability at the British Property Federation, said: “We really need clarity now given that the development process can start over a decade in advance of a brick being laid. This is a welcome consultation but the bottom line is that our 2050 target of reducing carbon emissions by 80% will be missed unless a greater level of attention is given to existing buildings.
 
“The consultation prioritises energy efficiency which is a good thing since building regulations are readily understood by developers and the bar is raised over a gradual period of time. But the overwhelming focus on new buildings must be accompanied by a greater level of attention to existing stock. The majority of buildings with us now will still be in use in 50 years’ time and side-stepping the difficult questions will cause us more problems in the long term.”
 
Real estate is responsible for around half of the UK’s carbon emissions. The industry however, believes government policy has ignored the fact that the majority of commercial property is rented out.
 
This means landlords cannot simply walk into a tenant’s shop, for example, and turn the lights off. Therefore, any incentives and responsibilities for improving energy performance are widely split between the two groups.
 
The BPF wants to see measurement based on actual energy use made obligatory for the private sector. This could happen by expanding display energy certificates (DECs) – which measure the operational performance of a building – so that they do not just cover public buildings.