CABE - Public building can do more to tackle climate change, CABE tells MPs

The government must take the opportunity of its massive building programme to ensure that all new public buildings meet the carbon challenge, both at completion and in use. That was the message to ministers and members of parliament at the official launch of the 2007 Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award on Monday, 26 March.
Public buildings would contribute much more to climate action if their performance was measured and understood. CABE chair John Sorrell said: ‘It is impossible to judge how we are doing when no one knows what our energy performance is.’
Capital expenditure will rise from £43 billion this year to £60 billion in 2012. Ensuring that all public buildings actually match their predicted energy consumption is critical to achieving government targets on environmental sustainability, including reduced carbon emissions. Constructing and running public infrastructure and services – such as schools, hospitals, libraries and airports – account for approximately one third of all carbon emissions (see editor’s note).
Much progress has been made in housing policy over the past year. The government has published the Code for Sustainable Homes, called for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016 and launched the ‘carbon challenge’ to house builders. But in the National Health Service, for example, carbon emissions rose by 11 per cent between 1999 and 2005 and targets for reduced carbon emissions by 2010 are unlikely to be met.
The government has already made an ambitious commitment for all government offices to be carbon neutral by 2012. Its advice is to prioritise whole-life value over initial capital costs.
But there is a missing link: whole-life value needs to be understood in action. Government departments need to invest more in assessing the actual performance of new public building.
How well a public building performs in practice – including its energy performance – should be measured, monitored and reviewed. This will need comprehensive post-completion and post-occupancy evaluation. Crucially, the results should be analysed before clients, developers, architects and designers embark on their next public building project.
John Sorrell added:
‘Government departments need to ensure that every public building project is evaluated as it is being used. There are too many gaps between ambition and reality and we must find out why. This is the only way to drive the continuous improvement in construction that will ensure public building really can mitigate and adapt to climate change.’
The Jubilee Library in Brighton, winner of the 2005 Prime Minister’s Award, shows what can be achieved. A clear brief and the design team’s rigorous initial proposals have resulted in ambitions being fully realised: post-occupancy energy assessments indicate emissions 20 per cent lower than the industry norm for a naturally ventilated building.
Adding his support for the award, Culture Secretary David Lammy said:
‘Great design makes sense economically, socially and environmentally. And the challenge of sustainable development demands the sort of creative and innovative design solutions that the Prime Minister’s Award showcases across the UK. I'm looking forward to a diverse and inspiring shortlist for this year’s award.’

Email: GCrisp@cabe.org.uk