Welcome to the latest edition of Sustainability Matters, a regular wrap from EG to make sure that you and your business is up to date with the latest news views and opinion about all that is important in the world of ESG in the built environment.
In a time when the president of the United States can get up on stage and tell an audience of ultimately billions that mandating net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices and all new buildings by 2030 “basically means no windows”, getting true political buy-in for ESG is going to be tough.
But encouragingly – as we see each week in these wraps – industry isn’t letting a lack of political will get in the way of doing the right thing.
This week, Lambeth Council gave a big green nod to one of London’s first net zero office buildings (pictured). Designed by Fielden Clegg Bradley and owned by Bywater Properties – the investment business of Iceland Foods MD Richard Walker – the scheme at 30-34 Old Paradise Street, SE11, will see a former Costa Coffee roastery demolished and rebuilt using timber frames as an 80,000 sq ft office block.
The cross-laminated timber structure means the carbon footprint of the building would start in negative carbon and would be net zero for 57 years.
It is another example of developers committing to a sustainable future. Walker is certainly committed to doing his bit for the planet. Iceland was the first major retailer to commit to eliminating plastic packaging for all of its own products by 2023 and at Old Paradise Street and with Bywater Properties, he is keen to do as much as he can to promote sustainable property development.
You can read EG’s interview with Walker here: https://www.egi.co.uk/news/meet-the-iceland-boss-building-green-offices/
Elsewhere this week, mixed-use developer Urban Catalyst has appointed professor Trevor Davies, director of Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, as its chief sustainability adviser. He will help the business make sure sustainability is a central facet of its business.
Ken Dytor, executive chairman of Urban Catalyst, said: “There has never been a more opportune time to push property development in a direction that is both good for our planet and our wellbeing. People are realising how interlinked environmental and public health issues are in lockdown and already we are seeing more and more cities push ahead to make themselves greener and cleaner.
“Creating places that promote sustainable and healthy living has always been our aim and by having professor Davies on board as an adviser we hope to benefit from his immense expertise and knowledge and find real-world applications for his research and long-standing interest in carbon reduction to our developments.”
Davies added: “Sustainability has fallen up and down the agenda for the past few decades but there is now a clear potential for building on the widespread change in attitudes during the pandemic. Lockdown has made many realise the negative effects we have on our environment as a species and, in turn, how that impacts our own health.
“I will be working closely with Urban Catalyst to see how use of technology – both at a large-scale but also at a more granular level – combined with intelligent urban design can create places that are more sustainable, resilient and healthier.”
And to help the industry procure renewable energy and offset carbon in the best way, the UK Green Building Council has launched a new task group to develop guidance, a set of principles around offsetting and a transition plan to phase out the future use of offsetting. Offsetting carbon is often seen as a weak form of sustainability.
Emily Huynh, technical adviser at UKGBC, said: “The importance and urgency for the built environment to decarbonise cannot be understated. It is critical that action is taken now to promote a more rapid step change in our transition to net zero, and many businesses are now grappling with the practical steps they will need to take.
“This new task group will work together to develop guidance that provides clarity on how best to address residual emissions during this transition, through the procurement of renewable energy and the use of carbon offsets where applicable. The group’s work will help demystify how practitioners can go about procuring quality renewable energy and offsets as the industry pursues a consistent and ambitious trajectory to net zero carbon.”
The task force includes representatives from Acclaro Advisory, AECOM, amber energy, ARUP, BRE, Burges Salmon, Carbon Intelligence, Carbon Trust, The Crown Estate, Currie & Brown, Hilson Moran, Hoare Lea, JLL, Landsec, Max Fordham, Peel L&P, Syzygy Consulting, Turley, Verco and Willmott Dixon.
The need to properly procure renewable energy should be high on the agenda of business as we start to creep our way back to offices as lockdown eases. Commercial use of energy is rising as the economy reopens. New data from the Savills-Pinergy Energy Monitor shows that energy across commercial property rose dramatically in June – albeit it still down on pre-Covid levels.
Looking at Ireland alone, the monitor shows that between March and May, energy consumption in the country’s retail sector fell to 57% of 2019 levels. Last month, however, that figure rose to 86% and it is expected to continue increasing as more retailers re-open. Energy consumption among office occupiers rebounded from 53% of 2019 levels between March and May to 74% in June.
Hungry for more information? Make sure to visit EG’s Sustainability Hub to keep up with all things ESG at www.egi.co.uk/sustainability
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
