Building & Design

Research from the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University indicates that refurbishing existing housing in the UK to make it more energy efficient could reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 75% versus current levels, as well as creating a £3.5-6.5 billion market for builders.

Homes in the UK account for 27% of the country’s total carbon emissions and the Government has set ambitious targets to make all newly built homes in the country zero carbon by 2016 to help tackle climate change. However, the vast majority of the country’s existing housing stock is already built and will still be occupied in 2050.

The report by Gavin Killip, Building a Green Britain – Transforming Britain’s Housing Stock, which was commissioned by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), lays down 18 recommendations to support the refurbishment of existing housing stock.

“UK housing is among the worst in Europe when it comes to energy efficiency,” says Killip. “Bringing British homes up to standard is possible using existing technology but the skills and industry base to deliver the necessary change is underdeveloped.”

The recommendations include new policies from the Government that commit to and support the refurbishment of existing homes to improve energy efficiency, cutting VAT on refurbishing work from 17.5% to 5%, introducing Council Tax rebates on energy efficient homes and feed-in tariffs to stimulate use of microgeneration.

If the Government could encourage homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements when undertaking other home improvements, it could create a new multi-billion-pound market for suppliers and builders. UK homeowners already spend in the region of £23.9 billion per year on home improvements.

“At a time when the building sector is suffering a downturn as a result of the credit crunch, there is a potential new market of several billion pounds every year,” says director general of the FMB, Richard Diment. “This is good news all round… all we need now is the political will.”

The scale of the problem should not be underestimated, according to Killip. At the moment, he says, there is no demand, no supply, no incentive and no knowledge about green refurbishment. To change this will require a strong political will.

“The Government need to send a strong political signal of its long-term commitment to low-carbon refurbishment,” he said at the launch of the report in London on Wednesday. “Crucially we need a standard for housing that is ambitious and consistent.”

The UK Green Building Council has endorsed the report and ConstructionSkills, who represent the building industry, says it will work to implement the report’s recommendations on improving training and standards in low-carbon refurbishment work.

For further information:
www.buildingagreenerbritain.org.uk/
www.fmb.org.uk/ea/pdf_ea/FMBBuildingAGreenerBritain.pdf
www.eci.ox.ac.uk/people/killipgavin.php
www.ukgbc.org/site/home
www.constructionskills.net