UKGBC publish guide to accelerate industry action on commercial retrofit

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published a guide to support the industry to retrofit the UK’s poorly performing commercial buildings, see Commercial-Retrofit-Report.pdf (ukgbc.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com).

Every commercial building in the UK from 2025 will require an energy performance certificate (EPC) which rates its energy efficiency from grade A to G. In addition, to strengthen these standards the Government has proposed that all commercial properties have a minimum EPC rating of at least ‘B’ by 2030, and is considering an interim requirement by 2027 of level ‘C.

Most commercial buildings in the UK were constructed before 2000, therefore,  in order for the UK’s 2050 net zero targets to be realised, there will need to be significant carbon reductions and energy efficiency  which will require some sort of retrofit across much of the sector.

UKGBC’s new guide, Delivering Net Zero: Key Considerations for Commercial Retrofits - UKGBC - UK Green Building Council, is aimed at supporting industry professional and stakeholders, from  landlords and building owners, as well as those that will need to be involved in the scoping, planning, delivery, and management of commercial retrofits including architects, engineers, planners and facilities managers.  Essentially, any group will benefit from this guidance who has the intention of supporting the successful delivery of net zero-focused retrofit projects.

In order to support the drive towards net zero in the UK’s existing commercial building stock, the guide provides a summary of the fundamental considerations for retrofit projects which include:

• ‘Definitions for light and deep retrofits’
  • It provides clarity on retrofit types such as ‘light retrofit’ and ‘deep retrofit’ therefore creating consistency across the industry to establish best practice approaches to support net zero alignment.

• ‘10 key considerations for low carbon commercial retrofits’
  • These considerations have been established to support property owners and key stakeholders with a transparent picture of their potential return on investment as well as the benefits of opting for a net zero focused retrofit versus standard practice.

• ‘Real-world case studies’
  • Examples of a mixture of light and deep real-world retrofit projects exemplifying the importance of the 10 key considerations and the benefits low carbon focused retrofits can have in the advancing net zero goals.

UKGBC will be producing further guidance to support the industry, focussing in more detail on the practical implications of achieving net zero focussed commercial retrofits. For the latest information, please see  Advancing Net Zero - UKGBC - UK Green Building Council

If you like to discuss any aspect of the guide in more detail, please get in touch with our experienced team to find out how we can help you.