As the general election looms ever closer, EIC continues to make the business case for the highest standards of environmental protection, says Sean Lockie, sustainability director at Atkins (Faithful+Gould).
A key part of EIC’s 2010 general election strategy is the launch of a new working group “election manifestos”. EIC Sustainable Buildings and Energy Efficiency Group’s election manifesto calls on the next government to adopt ambitious policies for improving energy efficiency in new and existing buildings, perhaps the most cost effective solution to meeting the UK’s carbon reduction targets.
EIC fully supports the UK’s far-reaching commitment for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016 and all new non-domestic buildings to be zero carbon by 2019. These long-term trajectories provide market certainty and will help the UK create new and innovative technologies, services and skills that far exceed anything achieved elsewhere. Establishing this technology and skills base will help to create new business and, potentially, thousands of new jobs. It will also position the UK as a global leader in the delivery of low and zero carbon buildings, opening up huge global business opportunities.
The recent report Investing in a Low Carbon Britain – which identifies areas of the low carbon goods and services sector “where the UK has the potential to take a leading global role” – ranks the low carbon building technologies sector third out of 23 sub sectors of the UK environmental industry in terms of forecast growth rates – 45% over the next eight years.
The greatest opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings is to retrofit existing stock. This also represents a huge business opportunity.
Our election manifesto sets out a series of recommendations for how the next government can secure these huge opportunities, including:
• A strategic approach to sustainable buildings: construction on brownfield land, a clear trajectory towards achieving “zero waste” to landfill from construction projects by 2020 and ambitious targets for water efficiency in buildings
• Providing leadership on low carbon and sustainable buildings policy through the creation of an Office for Zero Carbon and Sustainable Buildings, which should be tasked with, inter alia, developing a skills strategy
• Introducing a range of new measures to drive vast improvements in energy efficiency in existing non-domestic buildings, including:
a) Long-term carbon reduction targets for non-domestic buildings
b) A Code for Sustainable Buildings to provide a national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new buildings
c) Mandatory energy efficiency requirements that all non-domestic buildings over a certain size must meet when refurbished
d) The introduction of a UK Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Programme based on the C40 initiative
e) Large-scale low carbon building models that will open up new energy efficiency opportunities across the UK, similar to the Retrofit Ramp-Up and the energy performance contracting market in the USA
f) Extending Display Energy Certificates to all public buildings
• Ensuring that the definition of “zero carbon” for all new homes and non domestic buildings drives the highest standards of energy efficiency
• Adopting a regulatory aim for “zero carbon” for non-domestic buildings and a clear trajectory towards achieving zero carbon building targets
• Improving the existing Enhanced Capital Allowances scheme by introducing an open competition for new technologies to be added to the energy technology list and increasing the value of ECAs to 150% for the most innovative technologies
• Introducing a range of new financial incentives including a green building allowance on the whole building linked to EPC ratings, extending the Stamp Duty exemption to zero carbon non-domestic buildings and incentivising local authorities to reduce Council Tax for households making energy efficiency improvements
• Leading by example by driving the highest standards on energy efficiency in all new and existing public sector buildings, including a requirement for all social housing and public sector building projects to meet the low and zero carbon targets one year before industry is required to do so, and establishing a national framework for sustainable public buildings
Recommendations on financial incentives for improving energy efficiency in buildings were also included in EIC’s report: Stimulating Green Growth, Creating New Jobs and Business Opportunities: Recommendations for Supporting the UK’s Environmental Industry in the 2010 Budget. The report called on the Government to make smarter use of existing fiscal policy to encourage the purchase of environmental goods and services. Current political debate is likely to restrain any substantial investment, therefore EIC called on the Government to use the 2010 Budget to reform existing fiscal measures to put a price on pollution and better reward environmentally sustainable behaviour, while facilitating funding mechanisms such as Tax Increment Financing.
EIC believes the UK must maintain its commitment to high environmental standards and deliver on policy objectives that will see the country playing a world-leading role. There may be pressure brought on by the current economic situation to water these standards down but, in strategic terms, this would be a mistake, as it would be tantamount to giving away the UK’s leadership position. This could damage our first mover advantage and jeopardise the £3 trillion economic opportunity that is being presented by the move to a global low carbon economy.
EIC has always had a very powerful message to take to political parties: that environmental protection can yield significant business opportunities for the UK. In addition to publishing its wide range of election manifestos, EIC’s 2010 general election strategy progresses at the highest levels, with a full workload of briefing ministers and their advisors, shadow ministers and cross-party MPs.
As part of the general election campaign EIC will also mobilise its members to lobby their local Parliamentary candidates, in addition to providing advice on how companies can engage with their prospective MPs during the campaign. To find out more about this work, please contact Clifford Harris (Clifford.harris@eic-uk.co.uk).
Sean Lockie
Sustainability director
Atkins (Faithful+Gould)
Chair of EIC Sustainable Building and Energy Efficiency Working Group