New evidence to support a new clause to make Display Energy Certificates mandatory in commercial buildings has been published by the UK Green Building Council, as well as a list of signatories supporting the move.

Zac Goldsmith MP has been championed by businesses for his efforts to amend the Government’s Energy Bill, by tabling a new clause. This evidence was made public by the UKGBC.

Goldsmith’s clause would see all commercial buildings require a DEC, something only required for buildings occupied by the public sector over 1,000m2. According to the published evidence, DECs “can also help the non-domestic Green Deal to deliver the golden rule...” and that they “will help to ensure that energy efficiency improvements purchased under the Green Deal deliver on their anticipated savings, will ensure that easy energy management actions are adopted and over time will generate a set of robust benchmarks for buildings in-use (which the industry currently sorely lacks).”

Chief executive of the UKGBC, Paul King, said: “Zac Goldsmith has hit the nail on the head with this proposal. There is widespread business support for the extension of DECs to commercial buildings because they help companies save money on energy bills and they provide a level playing field for comparing the market. This is an ideal opportunity for Government to fulfill the commitment it gave as recently as March.”

The evidence suggests a number of points, including that the clause would create a market for refurbishment and sustainable building by “sending a signal to developers and investors that sustainable buildings are higher quality buildings,” which would in turn “create a market for refurbishment of commercial buildings and have a beneficial impact throughout the supply chain.”

It also strongly advises for mandatory DECs as relying purely on voluntary DECs causes sceptical landlords to opt out, as “they will disadvantage themselves in the marketplace by appearing to have poorer buildings than competitors who have unrated buildings. They do not wish to display their (possibly poor) DEC rating, risking bad press and putting off tenants or investment when others will not display their rating,” the evidence says.

It also recommends the DEC methodology needs improvement, particularly around benchmarking. It suggests that in year one, the Government should mandate DEC assessment, not display, to enable data collection and management to ensure DEC methodology improvements and “not suffer the consequences of displaying an artificially low DEC rating.”

The evidence also provides a list of signatories supporting the clause, and includes architects, consultants, energy companies and developers, including the RIBA, Igloo Regeneration, CB Richard Ellis and David Langdon.

http://www.ukgbc.org/site/document/download/?document_id=1120