Looking for green credentials in your next office?

The environment, and sustainability, are becoming increasingly important to organisations as they consider their real estate solutions. In this post we introduce a few topics that occupiers can consider when approaching an office relocation, and how this can affect their overall business strategies in improving their carbon footprints. But how easy is it to target a property that might offer suitable “green credentials”?

‍What type of building to move in to – a beautiful new development, or considered refurbishment?

It used to be perceived that it was better for the climate to demolish an old energy-hungry building and replace it with a well-insulated modern construction. However, recent research now firmly supports this as being a serious mistake due to the amount of carbon emitted during the construction of the new building. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) estimates that 35% of the lifecycle carbon from a typical office development is emitted before the building is even opened, meaning it will be decades before some new buildings pay back their carbon debt, irrespective of their improved performance going forwards.

So, do you choose to move into that wonderful new development of towering glass and steel, or focus on options that have been “improved rather than removed”?

Sustainability in building design and construction

Applying not only to new developments but to refurbishments also, building owners can choose to have their building projects follow structured paths towards achieving certain standards in their pursuit of improved sustainability throughout the entire lifecycle of that project. BREEAM certification is the most widely recognised pathway operating within the UK, and sets best practice standards for the environmental performance of buildings through design, specification, construction and operation. The BREEAM rating benchmarks enable an occupier to compare the performance of a building with other BREEAM rated buildings of the same type, and the typical sustainability performance of a stock of buildings.

In this respect each BREEAM rating broadly represents performance equivalent to:

• Outstanding: Less than top 1% of buildings (innovator)
• Excellent: Top 10% of buildings (best practice)
• Very Good: Top 25% of buildings (advanced good practice)
• Good: Top 50% of buildings (intermediate good practice)
• Pass: Top 75% of buildings (standard good practice)

However, if a relocation project were to focus only on those buildings that can demonstrate a BREEAM result, then this will result in only a small supply of options that you could be considering as, according to figures from BRE (Building Research Establishment), only around 3.5% of London office buildings having a BREEAM rating.

So, unless you are prepared to ignore all options without it, perhaps BREEAM (or other) building certification becomes a “nice to have” rather than a “must have”.

Technology cuts the bills

An office building that is designated a “smart building” is one that uses sensors to automatically control the building’s operations including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, water, security and other systems. This infrastructure helps owners, operators and occupiers improve asset reliability and performance, which reduces energy use, optimizes how space is used and minimizes the environmental impact of buildings.

Building automation systems can be retrofitted too, so properties that have not yet benefitted from a comprehensive refurbishment or rebuild can still realise these benefits.

The efficiencies need not stop at utility costs. Tech can also assist the occupier in understanding how their real estate footprint is being utilised by their team by providing analytics on how your spaces are being used, and where there may be inefficiencies that could be improved upon.

Understanding the existing energy performance of a building

One of the easiest, but often most overlooked, opportunities for an occupier to consider the carbon footprint of their real estate element is that of the EPC – Energy Performance Certificate.

An EPC is a mandatory rating, valid for 10 years, of the energy efficiency of all buildings throughout the UK. The property is evaluated and graded on a scale from A to G, with ‘A’ being the most energy efficient.

Since 1 April 2018, it has been illegal for landlords to grant a new tenancy of commercial property with an EPC rating of ‘F’ or ‘G’ – a property must be rated ‘E’ as a minimum for both new leases and renewals (subject to occasional exemptions).

By way of context, when looking for a new space, recent research has shown that under 20% of central London offices can be classed as A or B on the EPC rating, with an estimated 57%falling into the D to G categories (the remaining properties being exempt from rating).

However, the onus is not always on the building owner. It is important to note that if you are a tenant and wishing to sub-let space or assign your lease, it will be you that is responsible for ensuring that the demise is rated no lower than ‘E’ when you start advertising the space to the market.

Real estate has a long way to go

Commercial property is a significant contributor to the global carbon impact, and an organisation that places sustainability and the environment high up on its agenda will want to ensure that its own real estate solutions offer optimal performance in helping to maintain an appropriate ESG position.

As we have seen in this brief review, there are routes to securing a property that can offer excellent environmental and sustainable credentials. But, at the same time, commercial real estate has a long way to go before this becomes mainstream, and finding these carbon efficient buildings is not straight forward.

At SpacePoint Real Estate we have access to every available office space throughout Central London and the UK. Where required, we can tailor your location project to specifically target those properties that meet your environmental requirements.