If Britain is ever going to meet its national carbon-reduction obligations, its commercial, industrial and public buildings need to improve from an average of an E energy rating today to C by 2020 and A by 2050, warns the Carbon Trust.
It says that 18% of the country’s emissions can be attributed to the non-domestic building sector and these emissions have remained static for the last 20 years.
What the trust is calling for is blindingly obvious, yet a quick drive around the industrial estates of Aberdeen – and it is Europe’s Energy Capital – demonstrates the point perfectly. Even new buildings occupied by companies in the cost-conscious oil&gas supply chain pay mostly lip service.
The CT says that, if the right strategy is followed, the carbon footprint of non-domestic buildings can be reduced by more than one-third by 2020 and a net benefit of £4billion can be delivered to the UK economy through energy savings.
Central to this strategy is the roll-out of Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to all non-domestic buildings by 2015 to provide transparency of energy performance across the sector.
The Carbon Trust also proposes in new research that all cost-effective energy-efficiency measures, such as lighting and heating controls, must be implemented across all 1.8million non-domestic buildings in the UK within the next 10 years.
“Beyond 2020, more costly measures – such as triple-glazing and ground-source heat pumps – must become standard in both new and existing buildings, alongside continued decarbonisation of the UK’s electricity grid,” says the organisation.
“Designers and developers of new buildings will need to take a more holistic and integrated approach, reducing energy demand by making better use of natural light and ventilation.”
The CT identifies barriers that must be overcome, such as energy costs being seen as marginal by building developers and operators; non-compliance with building regulations, and the landlord-tenant divide.
Stuart Farmer, head of buildings strategy at the trust and lead author in the new research, Building the Future Today, said: “Commercial and public buildings offer the UK a big bang for its carbon-reduction buck.
“But it won’t just happen on its own; energy efficiency needs to be the first and second priority.
“Policymakers and business need to work together to capture this opportunity. Policymakers need to set a clear direction, show leadership and provide the necessary policy and regulatory support.”
Policy options advocated include:
Tighten the building regulations to ensure that all cost-effective carbon-reduction measures are implemented in new-builds and major refurbishments by 2020, including zero-carbon new buildings by 2019.
Implement a minimum building standard to ensure that almost all non-domestic buildings achieve an F-rated EPC or better by 2020.
Show public-sector leadership by ensuring that large public-sector buildings implement all cost-effective measures recommended in DEC reports within the seven-year lifetime of the report.
Tighten the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) cap to incentivise businesses to take up cost-effective energy-efficiency measures.
Develop a national programme led by the energy suppliers to instal simple, low-cost energy-efficiency measures in SME buildings.
Supporting the CT stance, John Sauven, director of Greenpeace, said: “Buildings are responsible for a massive 44% of our CO emissions. It is clear that climate change cannot be tackled in the UK unless energy use in our homes and commercial buildings is massively reduced. This report from the Carbon Trust, calling for non-domestic buildings to improve their energy rating from an average E today to A by 2050, will be key if we are to decarbonise our economy.”
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