Bosses call for level playing field in green energy policy

Executives from Britain’s biggest property companies want ministers to force commercial landlords to publish the energy efficiency of their buildings.

They have proposed an amendment to the Energy Bill. The bill is due to be scrutinised by the Public Bill Committee in the House of Commons today.

Only public sector buildings are currently required to reveal their energy performance but in a letter to David Cameron last month, the industry warned that without a “level playing field” the green credentials of other non-domestic buildings, would never be improved.

Cal Bailey, sustainability director at Ilkley-based building services firm NG Bailey, who was one of 19 business leaders to sign the letter, warned that if the Government ignored the group’s proposal to make certificates compulsory for private sector buildings, it would take further action.

He said: “We are getting advice from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) that this is additional and unnecessary regulation. However, our proposal shouldn’t be considered heavy. It is very light touch and much more effective than what is there at the moment.”

Non-domestic buildings currently account for 17 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions. However, only public sector buildings of more than 10,764 sq ft, such as schools and hospitals, are required to provide Display Energy Certificates (DECs) which rank their energy efficiency from A-G.

Mr Bailey added: “This is an extraordinary alliance of property professionals. Both non-governmental organisations and industry leaders in property are agreed as to what the right course of action is.

“We are convinced we have got a good way of helping to deliver the Government’s target to reduce national carbon emissions by half by 2025.

“At the moment we have ineffective regulation that is complex and expensive.”

The letter, which was initiated by the British Property Federation and the UK Green Building Council, said: “Put simply, one needs to know how a building is performing before being able to take steps to reduce its energy use.”

It added: “Unfortunately, a voluntary approach to take up in the private sector will not work, because without that level playing field there is a reputational risk for those businesses that voluntarily adopt certification and achieve poor ratings.”

The letter was signed by executives from British Land, the joint owner of Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield; Trinity Leeds developer Land Securities; and Hammerson, the developer behind the Eastgate Quarters retail development in Leeds and Sevenstones retail project in Sheffield. Mr Bailey said the proposed approach to cutting carbon emissions would boost the impact of policies such as the Green Deal, which is designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes, and Green Investment Bank, which invests in projects such as renewable energy, which he believes would be modest at best

“They will have some impact but they are complex and I don’t think they will have a big impact overall,” he said. “The real challenge for the energy certificates is to engage the vast bulk of people who own and occupy properties.

“They will make people aware of the energy performance of the building they work in and they will, in turn, demand better buildings.”

The property bosses believe there are cost savings associated with the certificates.

They said evidence suggests savings resulting from the scheme significantly outweigh any costs from the outset and additional help could be given to small businesses in publishing their certificates.

Nobody from BIS was available for comment.

NG Bailey’s war on waste

BUILDING services firm NG Bailey has committed to halving the waste it sends to landfill by the end of 2012.

With the construction industry responsible for almost a third of all waste in the UK, the Ilkley-based firm, which is the UK’s largest independent building services provider, is implementing a number of measures to prevent the generation of waste material by storing and re-using smaller materials, such as brackets, pipework and cable ends.

NG Bailey has saved £300,000 since the project started 18 months ago. Measures include establishing a logistics centre in the north west, providing a purpose-built material storage facility close to many project sites that allows the required volumes of products to be delivered ‘just in time’, which avoids the problem of materials being damaged on site.

As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to reducing waste, a site waste policy has been put in place to further categorise waste products, offering clearer definitions of re-useable and recyclable material for staff.

The commitment follows an existing sustainability campaign within the company. Target 2012 asks NG Bailey’s employees to help reduce the company’s carbon footprint by 20 per cent by the end of 2012 and save the firm £1m a year.

In addition to reducing the emissions from its national estate, NG Bailey is also committed to reducing its impact on sites through the development of a suite of eco-friendly site cabins, which it says can reduce cabin emissions for its main contractor customers by up to 40 per cent.

Cal Bailey, sustainability director, said: “It is critical that the entire construction industry plays its part in reducing waste.”