The Delivering Net Zero service reviews the energy efficiency of each property within a portfolio and provides strategic advice on high, medium and low priority changes in line with regulatory demands to ensure owners can spread the cost of the upgrade investments over a number of years.
It also identifies the best ways to optimise return on investment, as well as how to make buildings more attractive to tenants — for example, making improvements to reduce energy costs or carbon footprint.
Once the recommendations have been discussed and agreed with the asset owner, design solutions can be explored and all of the proposed works can be costed in readiness for a commercial evaluation determining the optimum timescales for the work5s.
This comes as a research study from Mace found that only 35% of UK businesses surveyed have a carbon reduction strategy in place to address the emissions from their property and estate portfolio.
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Darren Edwards, partner and head of sustainability at Fisher German (pictured above), said: “It isn’t necessarily always clear how commercial property owners can best improve their buildings to achieve compliance.
“While EPCs show improvements that can be undertaken, these are theoretical, often basic and take little account of the practicalities associated with commercial lets, including fundamental asset management considerations, such as presiding lease terms between a landlord and tenant.
“To achieve net zero, property owners first need to understand the current carbon footprint of their built assets and, once this has been established, have a clear pathway of measures which can be implemented over a pre-agreed period of time to enable those assets to achieve a net zero status — or get as close as possible to this — by 2050.
“As well as measures to improve the building’s EPC rating, our service considers other factors, including the ESG commitments of the property owners and their tenants, the long-term management plan for the asset, and the all-important contractual terms as set out in the lease, which can either help or hinder progress.
“Our multidisciplinary approach means that we can also combine our energy expertise with commercial property management, planning and building surveying services to provide a seamless process when implementing any strategies.”
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