COMMENT Prime minister Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, backed by government investment of £12bn and the creation of 250,000 highly skilled green jobs, is intended to propel Britain towards the goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. The list of initiatives, covering clean energy, transport, buildings, nature and innovative technologies, is expected to galvanise three times as much private sector investment by 2030.
For property owners and developers, the path to net zero presents an evolving challenge. With the built environment contributing around 40% of total global carbon, it’s time to move beyond greenwashing and take action to reduce the carbon emissions of real estate before costly regulation and enforcement takes over. The industry needs to make proactive, systematic moves towards targeting net zero for all buildings, whether new, undergoing deep retrofit, or refurbishment. But it’s important not to be daunted by the enormity of the task, because in line with the government’s new plan, it’s one we must now create a pathway to meet: even the smallest actions are steps in the right direction.
Unique journeys
While the moral case for sustainable real estate is self-evident, positive action towards sustainability also increases value and let-ability of assets. This has caught the eye of investors, with assets in sustainable investment products in Europe forecast to reach €7.6tn over the next five years, outnumbering conventional funds.
According to research by PwC, ESG funds, previously niche, will experience a more than threefold jump in assets by 2025, increasing their share of the European fund sector from 15% to 57%. Indeed, Johnson’s plan also outlines his ambition to make the City of London the global centre of green finance. For these reasons, real estate has become a major target of international efforts to reduce emissions. But creating a credible net zero carbon trajectory for individual assets will require practical action.
At Workman, we collaborate with clients to create and implement bespoke Net Zero Asset Plans to meet the carbon emission targets set by government, or their own corporate targets, which in many cases have been set for 2030 or 2035. Each net zero pathway is a unique journey to creating zero carbon buildings, providing practical recommendations and direction, while also collating existing data or identifying gaps to create the starting point for the net zero pathway.
Planned refurbishment work presents a valuable opportunity to specify cost-effective improvements to create better performing buildings. This is often achieved through steps such as improvements to thermal fabric, energy efficiency and behavioural change.
Opportunities for heating and cooling, a major element of Johnson’s plan, can also be leveraged through removal of gas-fired systems, energy efficient plants for heating and cooling, heat recovery to ventilation, natural or mixed-mode ventilation, solar thermal hot water and revisiting design standards for acceptable winter and summer temperatures.
LED lights are often 10 times more efficient than those they replace, with further efficiencies to be made by using daylight dimming options and using smart technology to ensure that only areas with occupants are active.
Proactive mindset
Intelligent buildings, using the cutting-edge tech needed to reach new energy ambitions, monitor energy use and identify where optimisation can be made, ensuring energy use gaps are resolved quickly. Smart building platforms utilise data gained from existing services in real time, gathered remotely into a dashboard showing energy usage 24/7/365.
Considering carbon-positive and cost-effective solutions at the outset of a project will create a more resilient, and therefore more valuable, asset in the longer term. Similarly, use of certifications such as BREEAM has demonstrated that sustainability performance during design, planning, construction, operation or refurbishment helps to reduce running costs and maximise value, by attracting and retaining tenants.
There must be a shift towards a more proactive mindset, along with reevaluation of the success of projects, with added data on how buildings perform. But it needn’t cause paralysing levels of bureaucracy. Each small, effective step will help create a clearer pathway along the journey to carbon reduction, and ultimately net zero.
Hedley Jones is head of ESG, refurbishment and development at Workman
