Report by Green Construction Board and Property Industry Alliance says green policies are too complex

Co-op Manchester

Government policies on green construction are too complex and the property industry lacks a clear understanding of the importance of a building鈥檚 environmental performance, a report has found.

The report on the impact of green policies on the commercial building sector says there is a need for better data on the environmental performance of buildings in order for inform owners and occupiers when they choose business premises.

鈥淭his is currently not routinely collected and buildings are not routinely labelled,鈥� the report says.

The report, produced by the Green Construction Board and the Property Industry Alliance, also says the policy framework for green construction is too complex and calls for government policies to require 鈥渄efined actions鈥� from the industry, rather than policies that 鈥渟et in place processes or gather information without any compulsion to act on the findings鈥�.

The report, which is launched today, adds that policies that focus on setting standards are 鈥渃ost-effective for government to implement and relatively easily understood by the industry鈥�.

The report adds that real estate professionals must develop a better understanding of the importance and benefits of green construction and energy efficiency, including retrofit, such as lower operating costs, lower risk exposure and increased marketability.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: 鈥淭he energy performance legacy of the existing commercial stock is a challenge too large for the industry or government to face alone and we need to be well equipped with the knowledge of what works and what does not, if we are to tackle this head on.

鈥淭his research allows us to consider fully the effectiveness of current policy instruments and provides a platform for the future course of government and industry initiatives.鈥�

Bill Hughes, managing director of Legal & General Property and chairman of the steering group overseeing the report, said: 鈥淭he conclusions have been striking, since they show a clear preference for regulation of markets and policies which articulate clear trajectories toward 2050 emissions targets.

鈥淚t is essential that industry works together with Government to ensure that policy that is implemented doesn鈥檛 lend itself to unintended consequences in behaviour and instead is carefully aligned to driving real and achievable results throughout the sector.鈥�

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