New thinking is needed on reusing old buildings
LAST year served up a stark warning regarding the climate emergency and, while COP26 may not have driven as much action as the world had hoped for, it did underline the level of determination the private sector has when it comes to playing its part.
In Birmingham, business and public sector leaders are stepping up, with the city’s Route to Zero (R20) taskforce setting out a programme to achieve net carbon zero status by 2030. Great strides are undeniably being made.
Yet, Birmingham City Council itself acknowledges that bolder action is needed, particularly when it comes to the enormity of the retrofitting challenge.
For a significant number of businesses in Birmingham, and in cities like it, the biggest obstacle to achieving net zero is the very buildings they occupy.
Our recent report, Sustainability and Value in the Regions, found that the vast majority of Birmingham’s office stock – 85% – isn’t yet on track to meet the Government’s target for all non-domestic properties to meet energy performance certificate band B by 2030.
Forthcoming schemes will help to set a new standard for sustainable office space in the region.
But we can’t rely on building our way out of the problem – razing an entire city to the ground and starting again is hardly that sustainable.
The question, then, is how does Birmingham and its business community hit its own target of net zero status by 2030 if existing commercial property isn’t fit for that purpose?
Quite simply, retrofitting office stock must become more of a priority than it has been to date.
However, upgrading older offices isn’t without its challenges, particularly when it comes to some of the city’s beautiful heritage buildings.
The character of the building must remain intact, and several consultations must be taken with a range of planning authorities before works can be undertaken.
Once complete, however, the end result can be as beneficial to the individual tenant as it is to the landlord.
Through the retrofitting process and supporting an occupier to reach net zero ambitions well in advance of the 2030 deadline, the landlord is left with a future proofed asset that will mitigate devaluation risk as legislation evolves and maximise its appeal to would-be investors.
The current guidance from bodies such as the UK Green Building Council, doesn’t distinguish between new buildings and retrofits when setting out targets for achieving net zero status. This may be addressed in
Retrofitting office stock must become more of a priority than it has been to date
due course, as net zero retrofits can be completed to alternative targets and still have the same outcome.
Until then, it is advisable for landlords and business occupiers to agree their own way forward by identifying which changes would most likely set them up for future success.
Landlords and developers have the potential here to be future heroes. Tenants too must also play their part in sharing the cost of upgrading existing buildings if we want Birmingham to lead by example but prosper in the future.
This shared burden may well appear in the form of green leases where the environmental management and costs of the property, such as utility bills and energy green energy choices, are factored in.
What we’re hearing from landlords is a clear desire to include green credentials in their leases but a hesitancy too – conscious of making them too onerous.
In future, though, we’re expecting a shift towards tightened lease clauses to support this drive to operationally net zero carbon buildings. If the will from the business community, evidenced by the numbers that participated in the COP26 conversation, continues in the same direction then embedding sustainability into clauses can only be a good thing for everyone.
Birmingham has some way to go as it makes strides towards its net zero goals, but it can be achieved if bolder action is taken in 2022.
We should be encouraged by the momentum that is already being built as businesses continue to be inspired by Andy Street and regional leaders in the council who are already taking action.