Energy reduction in the spotlight

 As HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, reports, one of the event’s many topical seminars highlighted the current opportunities for, and obstacles to, accurately measuring and benchmarking the environmental performance of buildings, and, in the process, cutting energy use, optimising use of space, and significantly reducing operating costs.

Held at ExCeL, in London’s Docklands, alongside a sizeable exhibition, the three-day Ecobuild conference aimed, the organisers, UBM, said, to ‘focus on new thinking and challenging ideas’, as well as the pressing issues affecting Government policy and the construction sector – notably ‘how to keep the industry profitable, remain committed to a low carbon built environment, and manage the country’s economy, through a low growth period with record levels of public debt’. The plenaries and ‘break-out’ sessions saw ‘big picture debates’ on ‘International political co-operation’, ‘The role of science and technology’, and ‘The psychology of climate change’, as well as examining some of the more tangible ‘green’ issues for the built environment, such as ‘How the UK construction sector needs to change’, ‘The role of architects’, ‘Refurbishing the existing stock’, and ‘The impact of the Energy and Localism Acts’. A seminar entitled ‘Can’t measure it, can’t manage it: measuring energy use in buildings’, chaired by Matthew Tippett, director, Benchmarking, Upstream Sustainability Services, at commercial property management, leasing, and investment management specialist, Jones Lang LaSalle, focused on how estates and facilities and other personnel charged with the task can accurately measure and benchmark the energy performance of their buildings at a time when there is significant pressure on all sectors to reduce carbon footprint.

A need for standardised metrics