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The green movement is no longer a woolly notion
From the 1st April 2006 new regulations will require energy efficiency to be at the centre of any property professional's thinking. The measurement of carbon emissions will become a necessity and the improvement of existing building stock will become mandatory when undertaking alterations or when changing ownership*.
The measurement and recording of energy use will be central to this new ideology and with a mounting public appreciation of these matters it is considered that many organisations will now seek to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility as the link between sustainability and the bottom line becomes increasingly linked.
Britain is in its last days of cheap energy and as we increasingly become dependent on Eastern European and Russian gas reserves, our political and economic allegiances change focus. Increasingly, events outside our own boundaries have a direct affect on our economy (e.g. recent fuel prices following Katrina). Clearly, the pursuit of a stable, secure and clean energy source (zero carbon emissions) is a goal for all nations.
And yet, green technology, even if fully optimised on a large scale basis, falls short of the mark (20% of gross production?) and nuclear power still carries unresolved stigma (and practical problems) on the disposal of spent fuel. Successive governments have not had the will to invest the income from North Sea oil into a long term energy strategy, placing other properties over this growing need.
Therefore, if the will is not there at government level (surely, to change?) to address the supply problem, the only way forward is to regulate demand.
The principal instrument for achieving the government's sustainability agenda is The Building Regulations, which will regulate energy use in both new and altered buildings together with existing buildings when they change occupancy.*
In deed, the proposed changes are only the start, it is intended to reduce carbon emissions by 20% and for this to be increased again in 2010 by another 20%. It is considered that this level of improvement will not be achievable without the adoption of low and zero carbon energy sources.
Other sustainability matters are also on the agenda and these will provide a fundamental challenge as we start to measure embodied costs of the construction process, including the extraction of minerals, product manufacture and transport.
The proper management and recycling of waste and water will be addressed in coming years. Presently the reduction and reporting on carbon use will more than occupy our minds.
- *To be confirmed as current version is only draft. Full publication expected 1st January 2006.