Amy Punter
Associate Director, Hoare Lea
Co-author: Matthew Daniel, Senior Associate
How long is a piece of string?
Common- sense carbon reduction for retrofit.
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The concept of producing a plan to reach an end goal is not rocket science and certainly nothing new, nor is the concept of keeping something ‘alive’ by reinventing and re-using, so why then is this not routinely done for buildings?
Strategies and pathways to net zero tend to focus on just that – the route to net zero. However, the long-term plan for the life of a building should address the entire life of a building.
It is well documented and widely understood that all buildings need to use less energy and decarbonise to meet net zero carbon targets for the good of the planet and those that occupy it. Throw into the mix the increasingly stringent legislation (such as EPCs), and the drivers are not just environmental but also social and financial. As such, all parties should have a vested interest.
Plan for everything?
A common-sense approach to achieving a long-term goal (in any walk of life) is to define a plan – in the context of the built environment a plan can ensure the approach to reach that goal is efficient, both financially and in terms of carbon consumed. So, it’s no surprise that having a long-term plan is supported by the recent UKGBC publication in relation to commercial retrofit. The UKGBC publication focuses on the commercial sector but the principles of the approach can be translated to other sectors too, e.g. higher education and science & research.
Simple? Unfortunately, not. Each building will be unique and the aspirations of each building owner, landlord, tenant and occupier will also be different. It won’t be possible to do everything at once! Cashflow, lease rights, the age of existing components and disruption to tenants will likely prohibit owners doing everything at once. Each building requires a long-term data-led strategy to plan in when they can upgrade certain elements over time to align with the moving target of industry expectations.
Furthermore, strategies and pathways to net zero tend to focus on just that – the route to net zero. However, the long-term plan for the life of a building should be data-led and address the entire life of a building. Given the drive to refit/reuse, how long is this piece of string? We need to develop mechanisms for the building to continually evolve and have an overarching plan (with associated trigger points) to facilitate this.
Plan for everything?
In the same way we’d consider the payback of an investment, the payback of carbon from upgrades and alterations should be considered. ‘Fabric first’ isn’t necessarily the most appropriate response when carbon payback is considered.
These questions can be key:
- Is there a long-term aspiration / vision for the building (net zero and beyond)?
- Is the building currently being used efficiently, not just from an energy perspective, but also spatially?
- What is the utilisation rate of the building? Does this vary through the week / month / year? What is the carbon consumption per person per m2? Should the approach to tenancies be adjusted to maximise this? Can alternative uses be introduced on different days, in response to a post-pandemic utilisation profile?
- What are the most suitable uses for the building as it currently stands? Avoid ‘square peg round hole’. Should / could this change over time?
- What are the trigger points at which interventions could occur? What scale of intervention could be introduced at each different type of trigger point?
- Do the building users / occupants understand the overarching aspiration for the building?
Ultimately, the built environment is at an inflection point and it’s a ‘best and the rest’ market. In order to unleash the maximum potential of a building while minimising the carbon impact, it’s essential to have a data-led long term plan.
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