European Property Sustainability Matters European Property ...

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King Sturge: European Property Sustainability Matters In October 2005 the CEO of Wal-Mart declared he wanted his company be supplied with 100% renewable energy, create zero waste and sell products that “sustain our resources and environment”. The UK Asda Dartford depot site is due to be fully re-cycling by 2010. In Cornwall, direct farm to retail store delivery (cutting out the main logistics warehouse) is on trial. In May 2006 Tesco launched its 10 point plan for CSR, including halving energy use by 2010, doubling rubbish re-cycling, helping small suppliers and selling more local produce. In the same month J Sainsbury also declared it wanted to source more of its products from local suppliers, rather than fly food from other parts of the world. Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains have also announced they will invest $3bn to fight global warming. In the built environment, partly to win hearts and minds, but also to be pragmatic and to obtain planning permission, both Gazeley (its Eco-Template warehouse at Bedford, UK) and ProLogis (its Sideways project, Stoke on Trent, UK) have developed and are now constructing warehouses which aim to capture grey water and use solar and wind turbine energy. • A sea-change in corporate positioning on climate change and sustainability is discernible over the past 18 months. Perceptions are changing most noticeably among US-based companies, many of which have publicly asked for greater regulatory certainty on greenhouse gas emissions, despite relative inactivity from Washington DC. • The European Commission, however, has begun infringement procedures against a number of states which have failed to notify it of sufficient steps having been taken towards implementation of Directives. European Directives Energy The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires all EU commercial buildings over 1,000 m² to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when they are bought, sold or let and be valid for 10 years (see page 14). Although new construction now requires far greater energy efficiency (see page 15), across Europe there is a very mixed and confusing picture as to who is doing what, and when governments will implement this directive. In the UK, the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) from 1 June 2007 will affect homes sold (or let on leases of at least 21 years) on the open market in England and Wales. Except for new homes sold with a National House Builders Certificate (NHBC) (or similar) warranty, all HIPs will have to include an Energy Efficiency Report and an EPC. EPCs will be issued after an audit by a certified inspector and will provide energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions ratings on a scale of A to G, rather like you find on white goods except that both current and potential ratings will be given A UK government announcement in June 2006 suggests that the public display of energy certificates will only be for buildings over 1,000m 2 ... “ …occupied by public authorities and by institutions providing publicly funded services to large numbers of persons…. We are committed to widening the display requirement to all public and private sector buildings where it can be demonstrated this is cost-effective to do so.” In the UK, various elements of the Directive have been implemented, largely by the adaptation of Part L of the Building Regulations in April 2006, which made energy efficiency requirements in new and refurbished buildings more stringent – 28% more efficient than the previous regulations. Similar regulations are being introduced across the European Union. It is estimated construction costs may rise by up to 10%.
In France building regulations changed on 1st September 2006. The major criticism is that Part L of the Building Regulations: • only measures energy “in use” • does not reflect the “embodied” energy wasted when an old building is demolished and a new building is constructed • does not reflect the transport energy used getting to and from the building • does not reflect how the building is used; well planned, densely occupied buildings will use far less energy per person than badly designed, less used building • could mean that extra construction costs will inhibit new building or building alterations, encouraging occupiers to carry on using old, carbon inefficient buildings. Property market implications include the fact that the mandatory requirement to have such insurance, whether it is locationally and/or functionally based, will add to the costs of undertaking potentially polluting activities. Changing laws … changing markets Slowly, laws will change; when the leases of buildings leased in 2006 come to an end in a few years time, there may be a very different legal, financial and ecological climate. In 2016 – • will it be easy to re-let these buildings? Or • will they be regarded as Grade B stock? • will obsolescence accelerate & capital values fall for some investments? Most developers and investors are not yet “future proofing” their financial decisions. Waste The 2003 EU Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) aims to increase the re-use, re-cycling and recovery of this kind of waste. WEEE Directive regulations came into force for most EU-15 member states on 1 July 2006. The rules require producers to finance the costs arising from the collection, treatment and recovery of anything from an extensive range of electrical equipment. As with the EPBD, there have been delays in implementing this EU Directive and it is now anticipated that new legislative proposals, based on a review of WEEE, will take place in June 2008. Environment The Environmental Liability Directive, one of the EU’s most controversial and potentially farreaching pieces of environmental legislation, came into force in April 2004. It attempts to prevent environmental damage by forcing industrial polluters (“operators”) to pay prevention and remediation costs.
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investments to cover the higher cos
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airport, the major airport of the A
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Bowling Alley with 16 lanes Climbin
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