A coalition of real estate industry organisations is calling on the government to publish its plans on future minimum energy efficiency standards for the commercial real estate sector.
The Green Property Alliance (GPA) has written to the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Claire Coutinho MP, saying there is a range of policy and regulatory interventions that will help speed the transition to a net zero property industry.
The GPA represents investors, owners, developers and managers of, and lenders to, commercial real estate, who collectively manage hundreds of billions of pounds of assets across the UK in a variety of asset classes including offices, retail, industrial and logistics.
In the letter, it calls for the government to publish a full response to the 2021 consultation on the implementation of new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for the non-domestic private rented sector, with details on EPC targets and timelines.
It is also calling for clarity on the rules around exemptions and enforcement, saying it is necessary to provide investors and the sector with certainty over the future regulatory framework.
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The letter says: “Our members and the wider real estate sector have a critical role to play in tackling climate change. Buildings are responsible for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions – with commercial and industrial buildings accounting for around a third of these emissions.
“We know that we need to accelerate the decarbonisation of the commercial real estate sector – and the wider built environment – if we are to meet our net zero targets and ambitions.”
The Green Property Alliance’s members and signatories of the letter include the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP), the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), the Association for Rental living (ARL), the British Property Federation (BPF), the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA), the Investment Property Forum (IPF), the Loan Market Association (LMA), Revo, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Society of Property Researchers (SPR) and the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC).
Last year, over 100 property developers – including BNP Paribas Real Estate and Clarion Housing Group – wrote to prime minister Rishi Sunak expressing their “serious concern” over green policy delays.
