COMMENT While it might be cold outside, the heat is on for offices to be brought up to scratch on sustainability requirements. Significant advances are being made in terms of embodied carbon, with building reuse and regenerative materials making huge strides when it comes to cutting construction waste and bringing down emissions. However, this is only one part of the story.
The total energy consumption associated with operating existing buildings is responsible for almost three times the carbon emissions of global construction. This means that improving the efficiency of buildings in use must go hand in hand with reducing embodied carbon if we want to truly future-proof our built environment.
From EPC and MEES, to NABERS, WELL and more, there are a growing number of ways to benchmark and measure operational energy. While NABERS is perhaps the one getting it the most right in terms of ongoing tracking, as the alphabet soup of accreditations shows, there’s still a gap between institutional standards and effective strategies for the efficient use of our buildings. In fact, according to the British Property Federation the lack of quality data for informed decision making is one of the key factors holding back policy around energy consumption.
Give tenants the tools
So, how are occupiers supposed to know what they should and shouldn’t do? How can we, as developers and building owners, go beyond standards for operational performance and work with our tenants to encourage best practice?
There are a number of different approaches. While some, like green leases and digital twins, try to stipulate conditions for low operational carbon from the offset, sometimes the simplest approaches, like right-sizing and monitoring energy use on an ongoing basis, can be the most effective.
22 Bishopsgate, for instance, uses smart technology to monitor power consumption across different floors and identify ways to optimise expenditure. Meanwhile, the Edge in Amsterdam has an LED lighting system that can be controlled from smartphones.
Buildings are starting to be treated as energy producers rather than consumers. This can take the shape of heat pumps and solar panels, generating energy on and in buildings. When combined with embodied carbon savings, these approaches can have a dramatic impact on a building’s carbon footprint.
Take the example of Metropolis, General Projects and Henderson Park’s restoration of the former Woolworth HQ on Marylebone Road. Working with architect AHMM, the building has been designed to run on 100% fossil-free electricity with 10% of that energy produced on the roof by air-source heat pumps, all while saving over 4,500 tonnes of carbon through the repurposing of the existing building.
However, these in-built strategies are only one part of the equation. Just like giving someone the keys to an electric car, giving a tenant the lease on a sustainable building doesn’t always mean that they will “drive” it in the most sustainable way.
We need to put the user back into the spotlight to truly understand what sustainable behaviours look like and what this can mean for the occupier experience.
This is why we work hard to help tenants use our spaces as efficiently as possible. At Metropolis, an on-floor traffic-light system will be used to indicate the outside air quality and temperature and therefore signal when windows can be opened for natural ventilation. This can reduce annual cooling demand by two thirds if used correctly, while educating users in a straightforward, low-tech way.
Another of our projects, Technique, has its lighting run on reduced circuits, preventing whole floors from lighting up when only a handful of people are working. It also uses passive infrared sensors to make sure lighting is dimmed during the daytime and no lights are left on at night.
These kinds of strategies are particularly important for SME occupiers, who often don’t have the same sustainability charters or resources as bigger corporations.
Effective incentives
While this might sound small, all the small things add up and can make a big difference in helping occupiers to change their mindset when it comes to saving energy. This is not only important for the environment but also saves them money in the process.
You could argue that we shouldn’t need to incentivise energy efficiency as the economic benefits of a building that enables tenants to lower and monitor their energy use is incentive enough.
But if the built environment is serious about sustainability targets in the short and long-term, these kinds of collaborative approaches need to be adopted more widely to give occupiers clearer guidance and support when it comes to cutting operational energy.
Just as initiatives to cut embodied carbon are driving progress in the industry, we need to lay down the roadmap for reducing operational emissions. We won’t have all the answers and work will be ongoing, but we need to start now to avoid leaving tenants behind in the race to net zero.
Jacob Loftus is chief executive of General Projects
