Building energy reduction

Building energy reduction

There is now widespread agreement that DECs (Display Energy Certificates) - prominently displayed in every building - will, over time, create the necessary awareness amongst occupiers which will drive a desire for buildings with better energy performance among tenants. This will create differential rents incentivising landlords appropriately to undertake energy focused refurbishment.

Government may be willing to support such legislation, and will find this easier if there is a groundswell of support from major businesses and industry bodies.

The proposition has been developed and championed by Cal Bailey, the company’s sustainability director, with the active support of BSRIA, Buildoffsite and the UKGBC. It is also gaining backing from other businesses that see the value of demonstrating continuing improvement of their property assets.  We are therefore seeking to co-ordinate a list of leading property and construction businesses that support efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions from buildings and are willing to take a leadership stance by signing the proposition below.

THE PROPOSITION: Market incentivisation by visible DECs in non-domestic buildings

Carbon is invisible, out of sight and largely out of mind.  Buildings represent the single largest cause of carbon release but this is poorly understood, and it is hard to differentiate between good and bad performers.  This problem was overcome in the white goods market by making energy performance visible via the familiar energy label, which has successfully driven the development of greener products.

The property market needs stronger incentives to enable landlords both to build better new buildings and especially to refurbish existing buildings to higher energy standards.

If non-domestic buildings displayed their DEC performance prominently in circulation areas (especially receptions), this would:

1. raise the awareness of users to their building's energy performance
2. drive tenants to require higher performance from future premises
3. raise the value of better performing buildings
4. properly reward landlords who construct/refurbish buildings to high energy standards.

We recognise that government is properly reluctant to regulate.  However, we believe the prominent display of DECs will drive the right behaviour and incentives, and so call on the government to require this.

We are willing to demonstrate our support for this proposal and our leadership in this matter by committing to place prominent DECs in our non-domestic office buildings over 1,000m² by December 2011.

Signatories to date

• Armstrong
• Bovis Lend Lease
• BSRIA
• Buildoffsite
• Caledonian Building Systems Limited
• CBI
• Composite Limited
• Lend Lease
• National Australia Bank Group 
• NG Bailey
• The Oakleaf Group
• PRUPIM 
• SES
• Siemens
• South West RDA 
• TADEA
• UKGBC
   

Become a signatory

You are invited to put your organisation's name as a signatory to the proposition.  It involves a commitment to display voluntarily a DEC in all your office buildings over 1,000 m² by December 2011.

To commit your support to this, please email now with your company logo for the signatory list below. This proposition, with the list of signatories, will also be taken to Government through a variety of means.