Campaign steps up calls for mandatory display of energy performance in offices
Greenwise Staff
1st September 2010
A campaign to get landlords to display energy certificates prominently in non-domestic buildings is stepping up its efforts to get the Government to make it a legal requirement – as it already is in the white goods market.
Those behind the campaign believe the UK will not meet its overall target of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 without tackling the
non-domestic building sector, which makes up a sizeable 18 per cent of the UK’s current emissions. They say landlords need to be incentivised to improve the
energy performance of their buildings and visible energy performance displays, much like energy labels on white goods work, is the way to do it.
The campaign is being led by
building services provider NG Bailey and has the backing of the UK Green Building Council and the construction and building services association BSRIA. They are calling on leading property and construction businesses to join them in taking a leadership stance to reduce
CO2 emissions from buildings.
Those behind the campaign have drawn up a 'proposition’ and are inviting other organisations to sign up to it. By doing so they are committing to displaying voluntarily Display Energy Certificates (DECs) in all their office buildings over 1,000 metres square by December 2011.
"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 campaigners state in their proposition.
BSRIA said that mandatory DECs would over time "create the necessary awareness among occupiers and drive the desire for buildings with better energy performance. This will create differential rents incentivising landlords appropriately to undertake energy focused refurbishment."
Those behind the campaign said the proposition and its list of signatories would be taken to Government "through a variety of means".
To commit your support to the proposition, please email
graeme.owen@bsria.co.uk.
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