Clear standards and ‘output focused’ targets called for in order to meet green development targets

BPF chief executive, Liz Peace CBE, will assure the government this week over the property industry’s commitment to meeting green building targets. It comes ahead of an announcement by planning minister Caroline Flint on all new buildings being zero carbon by 2020.

Peace listed the BPF’s priorities for action at the Ecobuild green buildings exhibition. The government’s consultation of zero carbon non-domestic buildings will be announced on Wednesday and is expected to commence in April.

It also follows the publication of the Code for Sustainable Homes which commits house builders to the introduction of zero carbon homes from 2016.

Emissions from the built environment make up nearly half of the UK’s carbon emissions, so the future shaping of the property industry will be instrumental in meeting Britain’s targets. However, with just one per cent of the UK’s buildings made up of ‘new build’, the focus will have to be very much on renovating existing buildings if targets are to be met.

The massive diversity between different types of commercial and industrial property make it far more complicated to standardise designs and measurements than with homes.

The BPF will tell ministers that the prerequisite for improving energy efficiency is an effective measurement system, something currently lacking in the UK. Without being able to measure the effectiveness of incentives or penalties, green targets would be likely to fail. The BPF is therefore urging ministers to look at how other jurisdictions, particularly the Australian Government, have tackled this problem and worked closely with their developers to create a consistent way of measuring energy use.

The property industry is calling for:

• Clear standards and targets which must be ‘output focused’
• A clear method for measuring/comparing actual performance, such as league tables or a mandatory listing in annual reports – (Energy Performance Certificates ignore operational use of buildings and in any case only cover energy)
• A way to ensure occupiers do their bit – green leases could be the solution
• Clear incentives and penalties for good/bad performance – and a way to make carbon pricing work in practice
• A sensible, coordinated approach to provision of green energy

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: 'There are a limitless number of questions that need to be answered, from how we get occupiers to focus on energy efficiency when energy accounts for such a small percentage of their costs, to what incentives will make the industry become greener. But what is clear is that we need a universal approach and not a dozen separate bodies and certificates burning public money and creating more needless red tape for business.

'It is vital that the government’s environmental policy is flexible and allows the construction and property industries to find the best solutions to problems – whether they are with new buildings or old ones. Eco towns could be a fine testing ground for new technologies, and while local authorities have a vital role to play in shaping our communities, it is important they don’t restrict investment by making developments unviable for investors.'