2009 the Year That Commercial Property Goes Green
The recent passing of the Energy Bill and the Climate Change Bill mean that commercial property is going to have an increasingly environmental focus throughout 2009. The UK has committed to cutting down greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and as property is currently responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions it should quite rightly be one of the main areas of focus. The actions taken by all stakeholders within the commercial property industry are going to be at the forefront of helping the UK to achieve this target.
Since January 4th 2009 Energy Performance Certificates have become mandatory for almost all commercial properties that are sold. The EPCs have been developed in order to provide purchasers and tenants with detailed information on the energy efficiency of their property and hopefully encourage businesses to update and modernise energy inefficient commercial property. The current reality however, is that the cost of modernisation is likely to outweigh the increased energy efficiencies resulting from any updates and modernisations, therefore, landlords are unlikely to see a cost benefit through undertaking these changes. In order to counteract this it is likely that the government will bring in environmental commercial property taxes in the future, in order to further incentivise businesses into making their commercial property more energy efficient.
It is not just commercial property that is going to be under environmental scrutiny and all new homes are going to be carbon neutral by 2016, with new commercial property following a couple of years later in 2019. Targeting new commercial property and any properties on the market is all a step in the right direction however; serious thoughts and considerations need to be made regarding how to make changes to existing commercial property not just new properties. If we are to achieve the 80% reduction serious measures need to be undertaken throughout the properties market in order to achieve this ambitious target.
Despite the current economic downturn new and existing businesses are likely to develop products, services and advice led packages that will enable and make it easier for companies to make their commercial property more energy efficient, with the upside of reducing long-term energy costs for landlords and tenants.
About the Author:
Matt Grimes is a commercial property agent in London and has considerable experience in the industry after working in the commercial property sector for over twenty years. He has written numerous articles regarding the commercial property area and is seen as an authoritative figure in the industry.