Energy Wasted in UK Offices Could Power 100,000 Homes

Yesterday, the Green Alliance published a report on the energy inefficiency of UK offices, and found that the energy wasted by a few thousand office buildings in just five UK cities is costing companies £60 million. The carbon footprint of the energy wasted is equivalent to emissions from 82,000 cars, and would be enough to power 100,000 homes. The report calls for the use of smart technology and better business incentives to address the problem.

In reaction to the report, Sophie Walker, Head of Sustainability at UK JLL, said:

“This research from Green Alliance on the necessity of energy efficiency is very welcome. But wasted energy in buildings has been recognised by the sector as a major issue for some time – what this report does is again emphasise the easy cost savings still to be achieved from focussing on energy efficiency. It’s environmental realpolitik and will help drive forward net zero carbon commitments.

There are still quick wins and there is still a huge amount of building optimisation to be done, and we at JLL are strongly encouraging all our clients to view net zero and energy efficiency as a strategic business priority.

But, fundamentally, to affect the mainstream rapidly, what we need is government to learn from the industry first movers and put regulation in place to accelerate change. The real estate industry has been stepping up in an attempt to supersede this absence of policy. A point rightly highlighted in the report is that Australia has done a fantastic job of putting the right operational metrics in place. The UK stands to learn a huge amount from Australia and is already taking steps in the right direction. The release of the UK Green Building Council’s energy efficiency metrics for commercial offices last week, and Design for Performance pilots being driven by the Better Buildings Partnership, are key steps in the right direction, and we’d like government to adopt these measures rapidly.”