BUILDING SERVICES FORUM Retrofit – the two trillion-dollar question
The need for a national building retrofit programme to cut energy bills and deliver Net Zero is at the heart of the general election campaign, but there are even wider economic and healthcare implications that should make it a top priority for the next government, says Ewen Rose, director of McGowen Rose Associates, a freelance writer and consultant to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).
T
he building engineering industry has been pushing retrofit for decades, but there is renewed focus on the issue in the run up to the general election in July.
The political debate tends to focus on
reducing the cost to consumers, improving the UK’s energy security and investment in renewables, but a recent study backed by hundreds of international businesses and economic experts showed that there are even greater economic implications. A report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the financial consultant PwC calculated that savings for international corporations could reach a mind-boggling $2trillion a year by focusing on energy efficiency – with upgrading buildings at the front of the queue. The report, which was prepared ahead of the last annual WEF meeting of the global finance industry in Davos, Switzerland, included a range of “doable today” business actions that would slash demand for energy, boost profits, and cut carbon. ‘Transforming Energy Demand’ was backed by over 120 CEOs of large global corporations and concluded that retrofitting buildings alone could cut global energy demand by 12%. Buildings were responsible for 30% of the world’s energy usage in 2022 but they also offer the greatest energy reduction potential of all economic sectors. WEF researchers calculated that energy intensity in buildings could be reduced by 38% using existing solutions. They also pointed out that retrofitting buildings
increased their value by up to 15%. ESG (environmental, social and governance)
reporting is another influential market driver with clients under pressure to be fully transparent
about their net zero strategies to bolster their corporate reputations. In addition, all newly leased commercial buildings will need to achieve EPC ratings of C or higher from next year – with existing leases required to meet the same target by 2028. Landlords who miss these deadlines risk being left with unlettable ‘stranded assets’ while their retrofitting neighbours can reap the commercial benefit of the 15% uplift in value estimated by the WEF’s researchers. However, retrofit to improve building performance should not be simply driven by economics. What about the healthcare implications? The WEF research also shone a light on
retrofit’s wider benefits including reduced staff absenteeism and improved productivity (because retrofitted facilities are higher quality) and the creation of 3.2 million jobs worldwide to deliver retrofit programmes. A leading respiratory illness expert has also claimed that building and facilities management could do more for fix building related health problems than the NHS and other care services around the world. Dr Philip Webb, chief executive of Respiratory Innovation Wales (RIW), pointed out that air quality was responsible for higher numbers of excess deaths than the Covid-19 pandemic, cancer, heart disease and mental health combined, but receives just a tiny fraction of the public money and resources allocated to health and wellbeing services. According to data from Public Health Wales, Covid-19 was responsible for 38 deaths per 100,000 of the global population, smoking annually accounts for 180, and cancer 278, but air quality is responsible for up to 1,400 excess deaths per 100,000 every year.
Ewen Rose, director of McGowen Rose Associates
Webb also pointed out that there were 3,000 new occupational asthma cases reported in the UK every year linked to the air quality in workplaces. “We are suffering from a legacy of poor building design dating back to the 1960s and 70s,” he says. “With people spending, on average, up to 90% of their time indoors, IEQ is the most serious issue. If properly supported, facilities and building management systems could have a far bigger impact on health and wellbeing than the whole of the health and social care system.” So, investing in retrofit is something of a ‘no brainer’ but how can we get the right political levers in place and the vital investment that would help the industry deliver the improvements that are clearly needed? Join our expert panel at the Building Services Forum on June 6th. Hosted by Ewen Rose, we will debate the issues surrounding retrofit and refurbishment – and analyse the barriers that are holding back progress.
Book your place
https://bseeforum.co.uk/ book-tickets/ .
BREATHING BUILDINGS B
reathing Buildings is a leading UK provider of controlled hybrid ventilation systems, the range of patented E-stack® and NVHR® products have changed how the UK construction industry thinks about low-energy ventilation. Our mission is to help commercial property owners or developers to create the lowest
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Breathing Buildings qp BSEE
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