If there’s a documented plan in place for your building to reach Net Zero, don’t leave it on the shelf. Property managers and asset managers need to action the recommendations and make headway on the path to Net Zero, writes Hedley Jones, Partner and Head of ESG Refurbishment and Development.
Over the past few years, Workman’s ESG experts have created Net Zero Asset Plans (NZAPs) across 4.4 million sq. ft of commercial real estate. By collaborating with clients and property management teams to create commercially viable – and crucially to implement – bespoke NZAPs to meet carbon emission targets, our teams have gained a wealth of boots-on-the-ground experience.
The overarching realisation among enlightened investors has been that without action, the plans cannot take effect. The key must be in the implementation of the findings, followed by tracking of the results to check that projected goals are being achieved.
At one 238,000sq. ft Bristol office, the Workman NZAP led to a retrofit programme of gas removal, implementing VRF heating and cooling, hot water from an air source heat pump, lighting and controls improvements, as part of a phased transition around lease events.
Meanwhile, at two purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) schemes in Exeter and Birmingham, a retrofit project is underway to replace gas hot water heating with air source heat pumps alongside roof mounted solar PV to generate renewable energy on site .
Follow the plan to reach results
While a decarbonisation plan is now becoming more readily understood – including efficient lighting, moving away from gas and efficient controls – learning how to implement this in a strategic way around lease events and planned maintenance, is the key to a good Net Zero Asset Plan.
Plan for end-of-life opportunities to make changes, rather than replacing kit for new when there is still usage left in the existing fabric or services, which can lead to unnecessary waste. It’s important to schedule changes strategically as part of planned maintenance, lifecycle replacement, or as part of refurbishment work, to maximise the existing embodied carbon already in situ.
However, this should always be sense-checked. By implementing carbon modelling and whole-life carbon assessment strategies, investors are able to balance the operational and embodied carbon impacts helping to maximise energy efficiency whilst minimising embodied carbon – a win-win in financial terms.
It is also important to consider the broader carbon impacts from operational assets including optimising controls so that M&E systems run efficiently (an ongoing requirement rather than a one time set up that can be forgotten about as settings change as well as user occupancy patterns). Water use, operational waste strategies, refrigerants, transport, green lease clauses and tenant engagement all have a part to play and can often be overlooked if “energy” becomes too much of a focus.
By Hedley Jones, Partner and Head of ESG Refurbishment and Development
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