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News Release from: British Property Federation | Subject: Clinton-style green office scheme
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 18 May 2007
UK leads with Clinton-style green office
scheme
British Property Federation calls on the Mayor of London to embrace an industry-led initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of offices.
The Landlords' Energy Statement scheme set up by the BPF was actually launched two weeks before Bill Clinton's call for 'green cities' last night in New York Funded by the Carbon Trust, the Landlords Energy Statement (LES) has been trialled for over a year with over 50 companies signing up since its launch this month
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 7 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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A web-based toolkit, it shows carbon emissions from commercial buildings' heating, air conditioning and lighting.
For the first time, it allows landlords to understand their buildings' energy efficiency, comparing like-for-like performance and identifying any areas for improvement.
The BPF believes it is imperative that a clear, coherent approach is adopted by the GLA and other UK bodies, and that they do not adopt a totally separate system, adding needless bureaucracy and expense into the equation.
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As an industry standard, the LES will ensure existing offices will meet the appropriate refurbishments announced by Clinton.
Following the climate change summit in New York this week, industry leaders hope that with political awareness now drawn to managing existing buildings, rather than just new stock, business can now move forward to greener era.
Property accounts for over half of the UK's carbon emissions, and the BPF has been leading the way in 'greening' the industry.
As the trade body for commercial land owners and developers, the BPF's members include many household names, such as Land Securities, British Land, Grainger, HSBC, Barclays and Credit Suisse The BPF's toolkit for driving down the carbon footprint of property works essentially by showing where energy consumption occurs and allowing landlords to clearly manage it.
As well as driving down utility bills, it is hoped that this shift in thinking will lead to major name companies only occupying 'green' buildings.
Faraz Baber, BPF director for planning and regeneration, said: "Ken Livingstone has missed a big trick here.
His office was aware of the LES some time ago and Britain could have led on the world stage had he grasped it fully.
Even so, we're glad that it is now on the agenda and we would like to work with the Mayor to look at incentives - either fiscal or to do with planning - that could increase assessment, benchmarking and improvement take-up.
"Managing energy use in existing buildings will be key to delivering upon forthcoming legislation.
The UK's property industry has been ahead of the curve for a long time by calling for the focus to be on existing buildings.
We are working closely with colleagues in government so that the property industry can play its part in achieving our green targets.".
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