Mace has called on the UK construction industry and government to ramp up efforts to retrofit non-domestic buildings.
In a new report titled ‘Transform & Renew – Making non-domestic buildings fit for a low carbon future’, the company sets out 12 recommendations to the UK government and the wider built environment industry to help “turbocharge commercial and public sector building retrofitting”.
The company said the lack of focus to date on non-domestic retrofit was a “grave oversight” as these buildings account for around 23% of carbon emissions from buildings.
Mace’s recommendations include providing more clarity on energy efficiency regulations for commercial buildings, reviewing retrofit funding allocations for the public sector and exploring new fiscal incentives around the reuse or recycling of materials in the built environment.
The company said the introduction of a ‘consideration of retrofit’ for every major planning application that involves demolition, would also result in fewer schemes being suddenly halted in the future – providing more certainty for developers and the wider industry.
Jason Millett, CEO of Mace Consult, said: “Focus on retrofit in the UK by policymakers, quite rightly, has often been on the UK’s housing stock – but this has meant public and commercial buildings have often been overlooked. With over 1.75m non-domestic buildings in the UK, the vast majority of which were built before 1970, it is critical that this imbalance is addressed to pursue positive, sustainable change.
“From our work delivering decarbonisation and retrofit services around the world, we know that both public and private sector organisations face significant hurdles in delivering retrofit projects. Through the recommendations put forward in our paper, we want to support the government to take the steps required to empower the built environment to decarbonise existing estates with confidence and at pace.”
Gareth Lewis, CEO of Mace Construct, added: “If construction is to reduce its impact on the environment, we must aim to re-use and repurpose as much of our existing building stock as possible. Many buildings may not require demolition and can be transformed and renewed through retrofit into fantastic new assets, savings tonnes of embodied carbon in the process. We are therefore urging the government to mandate consideration of retrofit at the planning stage to avoid unnecessary demolition.
“However, demolition can sometimes be necessary because of poor design or critical safety reasons, and it’s therefore important we avoid binary debates on new build versus retrofit. If demolition is required, then the reasons for this should be made clear from the onset. Developers should also consider how elements of the building can be retained, reused or recycled – adopting a circular mindset to construction.”
