From replacing outdated equipment, to reducing energy demands, we take a crash course in reducing workplace climate footprints.
Sustainability has become a major focus for businesses in recent years, with ESG reporting crucial to securing funding, clients and talent. The built environment is no different.
Whether it’s your board, your employees or potential tenants, developers, landowners and landlords are having to ensure that environmental policies are not only in place but regularly evolving to meet the changing legislative landscape.
Perhaps one of the key drivers of sustainability within the property sector is demand from occupiers who are not only looking to support their own ESG activity but are also being challenged by the next generation of talent. A recent sustainability survey by Prospects at Jisc found that 86% of the young people questioned said it was vital that the company they work for has a positive environmental impact, while 85% said it was important that a company has sustainable practices.
It’s clear, therefore, that in an economy with a highly skilled younger workforce, where job offers are being considered just as much on how an organisation approaches ESG as the role’s pay and conditions, that a business’s office emissions and energy use have never been more important.
In fact, this focus from employees means that occupiers are challenging developers and landlords even more to disclose and improve the carbon credentials of their buildings. In turn this creates a carrot approach and drives sustainability within the built environment, as those who want to attract the best occupiers have to be seen to be decarbonising their estates.
On the opposite side, national and local government are focused on decarbonising the economy through legislation, a more stick-like approach. This has led to changes such as Part L of UK Building Regulations (soon to welcome the Future Building Standard) and MEES (governing minimum EPC ratings for landlords) regulations, all of which are impacting planning applications and building values overnight.
You would imagine based on the above, that all building owners and developers are rapidly addressing issues in their portfolios; the truth is they’re not.
At Ridge, we’re working with building owners and organisations to deliver tangible results which maximise the value and performance of assets which can help to attract tenants, whilst improving the asset’s resilience to climate and legislative change.
This leads us to the most common interventions we’re suggesting to clients: integrating retrofitting into their net zero strategy. To update and replace old and less efficient equipment may sound obvious, but our own research found that 86% of organisations underestimate the complexities around retrofitting non-domestic buildings to make them more energy efficient.
We believe that if property owners want to shift their sustainability dial and as a result attract tenants who in turn can attract talent, they need to be embracing a practical approach to decarbonisation. This means turning rhetoric into reality and surveying a building to understand its existing systems and then costing solutions to reduce demand on heating, ventilation and air conditions systems (HVAC).
The ‘fabric-first’ approach is well referenced and whilst the capital cost combined with rental loss caused by a wholesale refurbishment of the façade and/or roof is typically deemed unviable, there are numerous less-intrusive improvements to insulation, glazing and air tightness that are frequently overlooked.
Tackling this step first, means that prior to large cap-ex investments into new systems’ solutions including air source heat pumps, you should already have made a positive shift in your energy demand. The next practical step focuses on being realistic about the timescale, acknowledging upcoming lease events. We advocate where possible upgrading HVAC systems as they reach the end of their lifecycle. Not only does this enable clients to factor in and prepare for the expenditure more effectively and collaborate with the building users/tenants, but also ensures you’re not wasting the embodied carbon within that equipment.
Ultimately as a national business with a network of offices, we aren’t just doing this with clients – we are ensuring we practice what we preach. We are collaborating extensively with our own landlords across the country and have already implemented additional measures, including improved energy monitoring, analysing carbon reduction opportunities within our supply chain and encouraging behavioural changes within our own teams, in line with our own net zero commitment.
In 2025 sustainability accountability will only increase further. It won’t just be your board, your talent, or the Government taking notice it’ll be future generations of customers, employees and advocates. Remember it’s no longer about ticking a box – we all need to do our bit and failure to do so will likely leave you, your business and your asset behind.
Phil Kelly is the Leeds-based national head of sustainability, net zero and circularity at multi-expertise property and construction consultancy Ridge and Partners.
Image: Ridge & Partners
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