Technical Insights

CABE Head of Technical Insight Hywel Davies works to inform and influence policy, standards and guidance in the profession – here’s what that means for members.

Building safety is a particular focus in the UK as we address and remedy failings in cladding and fire safety and implement the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. However, sustainability too is a pressing concern for built environment professionals.

Sustainability and responsibility

Sustainability is a global topic as we look to adapt our approach to building in a changing climate and to mitigate further contributions to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Many aspects of sustainability, such as reducing overheating, have implications for safety and occupant health as well. Unfortunately, we can now add dealing with recent disclosures about the failings of almost all insulation work carried out under ECO4 since 2022, as set out in the National Audit Office report Energy Efficiency Installations Under the Energy Company Obligation.

There is a litany of stories of people, mostly on low incomes, dealing with the serious consequences of work that does not just fail to meet the standards of ECO4 or the ‘Great British Insulation Scheme’, but is simply not compliant with building regulations. CABE is already working with relevant officials to help identify how to prevent such failings in future.

Carbon counting

While the UK focuses on net zero, North America focuses on building decarbonisation (although not a priority of the current president, with many initiatives of his predecessor being stopped or reduced). One of the leading North American bodies is ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers. It has a wide range of resources on building decarbonisation available online, with several at no cost. Its Guide to Strategic Decarbonization Planning looks at integrating decarbonisation into the business planning of property asset management to support decarbonisation in the existing commercial building stock.

Its technical guide to Building Performance Standards describes energy or carbon performance requirements that are measured over time to demonstrate performance of buildings over their operating life. The leading example of this is seen in New York City, where all buildings over a certain size must measure their carbon emissions over time. A cap has been set, and those over the cap must pay a levy. But the city is also providing considerable assistance to building owners to reduce emissions and the initial cap has been set at a level that catches the laggards and refuseniks. It has also been set so that more costly measures have a long planning runway.

Energy efficiency

This approach is also being used increasingly in the UK. Energy specialists Demand Logic recently published The Annual Building Operational Performance (BOP) Index 2025, showing what can be achieved by effective energy monitoring in commercial property. Social housing group Bromford worked with proptech start-up Senze using sensors and data analysis to target improvements on homes most in need of retrofit work. The savings far outweigh costs of the data collection. We will be watching these developments carefully.

Further reading

• ASHRAE b.link/ASHRAE_resources
• Demand Logic b.link/DL_index
• Bromford b.link/Bromford_sensor

Image credit | Ashley Bingham | iStock