By Stuart Funiciello, Partner at Hartnell Taylor Cook
Stuart Funiciello
Commercial property managers have been set an unprecedented challenge as part of the UK’s net-zero ambitions. According to recent guidance from the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), the country needs to see a 59% reduction in energy consumption in the office sector by 2050 to hit net-zero targets.
Pressure is being applied to landlords through the increasingly burdensome Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), with properties now requiring an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B or above by 2030. Those who fail to hit this target risk financial penalty or having the right to rent the property rescinded. This need for compliance led to a record number of retrofitting planning applications being approved in the Square Mile last year, with landlords rushing to get their assets in line with regulations.
However, retrofitting is not the only solution on the table. Energy efficiency data must be increasingly harnessed to inform decisions and landlords need to start harvesting data that can adequately inform their energy management strategies. Given the scarcity of immediately implementable solutions, and the economic challenges that landlords have faced in recent years with rising interest rates and high inflation, bespoke software should be the go-to in the face of ever-toughening regulatory demands.
Coming up: it’ll be less daunting if we’re data-driven
Understandably, reaching energy efficiency can feel like a challenge rendered insurmountable by costs – as evidenced by 59% of respondents to the UK Net Zero Business Census stating it as the biggest barrier in the way of achieving net-zero.
Given the lack of government support in the space, businesses should seize the opportunity to integrate new technologies into their software system to aid carbon-reduction processes. Software programs that collect and report continuous energy usage data for properties can make a real difference in identifying energy inefficiencies within a built environment, and with the right data informing budgeting decisions and uncovering hidden inefficiencies where solutions are begging to be implemented, overall costs will be reduced in the long haul.
Awareness, accuracy and advancement
Net-zero carbon energy software is set to play a crucial role in achieving sustainability goals, but it remains critically underutilised. Thousands of buildings remain worryingly behind, with a survey provided by Statista reporting that 735,221 commercial properties currently fall under an EPC rating of D and below – requiring substantial improvement if they hope to meet the regulations by 2030.
Landlords need to act now to collect data on carbon and energy output, so they can implement action plans to improve energy efficiency and ultimately increase their chances of getting buildings where they need to be, or face the repercussions. There are an array of applications and platforms currently on the market which have been designed to monitor, analyse and implement carbon strategies effectively. Some of these applications can even process and pinpoint exact data points for improvement, which can then feed into this carbon-reduction process and inform decisions in the long-run.
One such example is Autonomy Energy: a bespoke piece of property software that benefits from intuitive dashboard features, integrates within existing working systems to collect energy data, and offers real-time insights into energy consumption as well as suggesting actionable strategies for optimisation.
Without the accurate data that interactive, bespoke software and hardware solutions offer, companies working towards environmental goals will soon realise that net-zero strategies will be far from straightforward to action. What’s more, if there isn’t effective energy data available, efficiency strategies prove near impossible to enforce and measure. This in turn impacts how companies meet required reporting standards, such as the carbon reduction commitment (CRC) and energy saving opportunity scheme (ESOS), often resulting in costly misfires of time and money.
Investing now
Bespoke software is setting the precedent for sustainability and data tracing efforts, acting as a solution rather than just a mere mitigating strategy. Easing the worry of mismanaging budgets, new technology can empower businesses and individuals to make data-driven decisions that propel their sustainability initiatives and protect their assets. Investment into such developments in technology can play an invaluable role in shaping a greener future and will be a crucial part of any commercial manager’s toolkit in the coming years as regulations intensify.
