Viewpoint: The Environment: Property’s Responsibility
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As the effect climate change is having on our planet pushes up the corporate and social agenda, the demand for an environmentally-responsible approach to commercial property development is becoming a more prevalent issue for occupiers and developers.
Most, if not all, organisations have implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan. CSR enables businesses to demonstrate to employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders and the wider community that they care about the environment and the management of their carbon footprint.
The facts
The 1990s were the warmest 10 years of the last millennium. The unfortunate fact is that UK and Ireland industry, including commercial property, consumes up to a quarter of all of the energy produced in the UK. This means the action, or lack of, taken by businesses, will have significant repercussions for the future.
What is being demanded of the commercial property market?
Not only is pressure being placed on commercial property to respond to the environmental agenda, but legislation and building regulations have been implemented to ensure our carbon footprint is addressed. On the 6 April 2006 revisions to Part L of the Building Regulations came into force, further increasing the energy efficiency standards required by buildings. The regulations, which are designed to drastically cut the carbon emissions of buildings, apply to all new buildings and existing buildings which have work carried out.
By the end of the year, all commercial properties will be required to have an Energy Performance Certificate detailing on an A to G scale how energy efficient it is.
To add to this BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) building assessments are required by various regulatory and government organisations. These include English Partnerships and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). English Partnerships require that all new developments involving its land, receive a BREEAM rating of ‘VERY GOOD’ or ‘EXCELLENT’.
For over a decade BREEAM has been used to assess the environmental performance of new and existing buildings and is widely accepted as a benchmark for measuring environmental performance.
Lambert Smith Hampton’s (LSH) Andrew Delaney, of LSH’s Manchester based Urban Regeneration team, said: “The rising environmental agenda and legislative pressures are seeing building design and construction standards become increasingly important. The planning system is placing greater emphasis on excellence and is looking for evidence of the use of renewable materials in construction and a low carbon footprint.”
What can be done?
Martin Treacy, LSH’s Building Consultancy Divisional Co-ordinator based in London, explained: “The green agenda will lead to occupiers demanding more energy efficient buildings. As such, landlords and developers alike will need to rise to the challenge by investing substantial capital in constructing more sustainable buildings or upgrading property which is no longer attractive to the market and past its sell by date.”
According to Martin, such an approach was taken by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) when it refurbished its London offices at Nobel House in 2005.
One example of an environmentally responsible property development is Easter Group’s office scheme, known as The Village, at Butterfield Business and Technology Park in Luton. LSH, who is instructed by the Easter Group to market The Village, regard the scheme so highly that LSH’s Luton office is planning to relocate to Butterfield Business and Technology Park in the summer of 2008.
Head of LSH’s office in Luton, Lloyd Spencer, explained: “The Village is a campus-style office development that has embraced sustainability at all levels of its design, construction and landscaping. It has been awarded the highest environmental BREEAM rating, “Excellent”, while also being awarded the 2007 OAS/Property Week Office Development Award for “Sustainable Achievement of The Year”.”
“As the effect climate change is having on our planet becomes more evident, the opportunity to occupy a sustainable office development seemed the natural solution for LSH. This clearly demonstrates to the wider community LSH’s commitment to sustainable development.”
In order to maximise a building’s full sustainability potential, it is essential that a strategy detailing the environmental and sustainability aspirations for the scheme is devised at the outset. Kevin Gleeson from LSH’s Planning team in London suggests four top tips for planning a sustainable development or refurbishing an existing building:
1. Design for climate change: Buildings and infrastructure should be designed for the climate change they will experience over their lifetime. For instance, buildings should be able to manage excessive rainfall, through sustainable drainage systems.
2. Be energy efficient: As part of the design process, energy efficiency should be maximised by installing mechanical and electrical systems to reduce energy consumption such as passive solar design, using materials with low life-cycle impacts, recycled materials or materials from sustainable sources, solar water heating, heat pumps and condensing boilers. Carbon emissions should also be reduced through the use of renewable energy technologies. Through the introduction of increased metering and monitoring, companies are able to benchmark energy consumption and set targets for further reduction.
3. Optimise location: The development should optimise the capacity of the site, while reusing previously developed land. The density of a development should be maximised based on the local context, public transport capacity and access to complementary services.
4. Consider the site’s micro-climate: The position of a building and its relationship with adjoining buildings affects its ability to take account of its micro-climatic conditions. The choice of materials, nearby vegetation and appropriate elevation treatment can all help to minimise dependence on artificial cooling, heating and lighting.
What next? A sustainable future.
A greater public awareness of climate change, combined with rising energy prices, legislation, building regulations, customer and employee attitudes and a business’s own desire to be seen as implementing an ethical approach to the environment, will result in an increased demand for sustainable property development.
The stricter regulations that are currently in place will gradually become more stringent and the advice to developers, funds and landlords is to embrace these principles now and construct more sustainable buildings, while occupiers need to appreciate the importance of understanding and embracing the need for sustainable development.
To find out more about this particular viewpoint please contact: Lloyd Spencer
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