Report demonstrates EPCs not sufficient in delivering Government's decarbonization targets

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Jones Lang LaSalle and the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) have published a new report which emphasizes the importance of measuring and achieving reductions in energy consumption.

For the past four years, Jones Lang LaSalle has been working with the BBP to measure the actual energy performance of its member’s managed properties in London – over 200 buildings. The report, entitled ‘A Tale of Two Buildings’ – looks at the actual energy consumption of two offices, one with a good Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, one with a poor EPC rating and asks which one is actually more energy efficient.

Nick Hogg, senior consultant in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Sustainability team, said: “We have been working together to understand the true environmental impacts of buildings. Our objective in this report is to demonstrate how Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) alone are not sufficient to deliver the Government’s targets to ‘de-carbonize’ the UK’s built environment. EPCs focus on ‘design intent’ or theoretical energy efficiency”

He continued: “In the report, we consider the actual energy use of over 200 office buildings in London and compare their performance with their EPC ratings. Our findings demonstrate the issue of correlation between EPC ratings bands and actual performance. We emphasize the importance of measuring and achieving reductions in actual energy consumption in buildings. In doing so, we present the case for the introduction of mandatory Display Energy Certificates (DECs) for commercial property.”

The research also explores how successfully the property industry is tackling the issue of reducing actual energy consumption. The BBP’s members have achieved an 8% reduction in CO2 emissions in the last two years along with compelling financial benefits - a reduced spend on energy bills totaling over £4 million (approx. €4.9 million).

Christopher Botten, program manager at the BBP, added: “There are still sizeable barriers to overcome in order to ensure continued and even greater improvements in the energy efficiency of our commercial building stock. It is therefore vital that owners and occupiers collaborate to share good practice and develop mutually beneficial common solutions.”


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