FEATURE


TE MANAGEMENT


their local communities.” Concurrently, Councillor Randall Brew, cabinet member for Finance at Birmingham City Council, which has started implementing these changes, noted: “Through a combination of these new buildings and work practices, and managing buildings more effectively, we’re already reaping the rewards and surpassing our expectations” So the real world seems to be in


support.


GOING GREEN Aside from the UK’s legal requirement to cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, investment into environmental sustainability represents an important business opportunity. The escalating cost of carbon means that cash and carbon savings are intricately linked. To produce a tonne of carbon emissions, the energy cost lies somewhere


Carbon Trust – Top 12 most effective measures in carbon reduction


1. Modify building fabric (glazing upgrades, draft proofing and improved insulation)


2. Heating, ventilation and cooling efficiency and control


3. Lighting specification and controls (including street lighting and building lighting)


4. Installation of Variable Speed Drives (on major motors and pumps)


5. Building and equipment rationalisation


6. Voltage optimisation 7. Server virtualisation or server rationalisation


8. Waste management and recycling 9. Fleet management and green travel policy


10. Environmentally efficient procurement policy, equipment and new building design


11. Planning policy, district heating & local generation (e.g. Combined Heat and Power)


12. Renewable technologies and alternative fuel transport


Peter Jones, Head Researcher, Westminster Sustainable Business Forum


in the range £150 to £200. The Carbon Reduction Commitment, introduced in April 2010, will build on this cost, charging an extra £12 per tonne emitted. Although small change in light of the initial outlay, the average cost to participant organisations will be £200,000 a year from 2012. The annual costs for one London Borough is estimated to run to £224,000, while for a Unitary Council, the total cost is approximately £162,000. For local authorities, any opportunity to reduce carbon emissions should be embraced as a money saving exercise. The Carbon Trust estimates that the first 10–15% of carbon emissions can be effectively decreased through good housekeeping and low cost green solutions. A further 20-30% of carbon can be shed through longer term Spend to Save measures like retrofitting existing buildings and efficient design of new buildings. Carbon reduction measures of this scope represent a cost reduction of a significant £650k for an average participant in the Carbon Reduction Commitment. Richard Rugg, Head of Public Sector at


Carbon Trust: “the Carbon Trust’s carbon management programme has helped local authorities save £367million over five years as well as cut carbon footprints by an average of 30%.”


Meanwhile, continuously updated building regulations also demand ever lower carbon emissions from the public property. The 2010 building regulations amendments require a 25% decrease in carbon emissions from the previous 2006 version; a forthcoming update in 2013 will require a further 20%, and perhaps ambitiously, by 2018, all new public sector buildings will have to be zero carbon. Again, this enhances the incentive for local government to go green. The report’s findings clearly demonstrate that there is a strong business case for environmental efficiency. The outcomes of the inquiry show that the introduction of ‘green’ measures for a standard administrative building, with staff on average public sector wages, can deliver financial savings in the range of


£180-£200 per m² per year from lower energy spending. Moreover, not only do these green measures save money, but they also deliver additional ‘soft benefits”, including improved productivity and reduced sickness, all of which only add to the quality of service and economic efficiency.


Richard Grass, Head of Public Sector at Colliers International: “These findings showing a strong business case for environmental efficiency when it comes to estate management are extremely valuable.”


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© Southwark London Borough.


This is the new environmentally efficient building which is now the HQ for Southwark London Borough. This building was the centrepiece of a rationalisation exercise, in which 20 buildings were relocated to a single centrally located building, thereby significantly improved the sustainability of the Council’s estate. Improved operational cost delivered efficiency gains of about £3 million per year. Environmental efficiency, mainly through energy savings, has resulted in a reduction of 1,781 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Capital receipts from the sale of vacated assets represented £39 million.


SUSTAINABLE FM | FEBRUARY 2011 |19


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