Sustainability Flashcards
What is sustainability?
The practice of using resources in a way that doesn’t harm the environment and ensures there are enough resources for future generations
What is sustainable development?
The 1987 Brundtland Report defined sustainable development as meeting ‘the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
What are the triple bottom line principles?
Environmental, social and economic
What is the Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty that was adopted in 2015 to fight climate change.
What was the Kyoto Protocol and what were it’s targets?
The Kyoto Protocol was an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by industrialized countries. It was adopted in 1997 and came into force in 2005. It was the first legally binding treaty to address climate change.
The Kyoto Protocol committed industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012
The European Union committed to an 8% reduction for the bloc as a whole
The Kyoto Protocol established three market-based mechanisms to help countries meet their emissions reduction targets
What did the UK Climate Change Act 2008 do?
It required the UK to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels by 2050.
What does Net Zero mean?
Cutting carbon emissions to a small amount of residual emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by nature and other carbon dioxide removal measures, leaving zero in the atmosphere.
When does the UK need to achieve Net Zero by?
2050
Can you explain your understanding of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) to me?
The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards are regulations that require landlords to ensure their properties have a minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of E or higher. The goal is to improve the energy efficiency of privately rented properties.
How does MEES impact upon your role?
When dealing with leases for domestic and non-domestic properties, we must make sure there is a minimum EPC rating of E
What are the key dates for MEES?
1April 2018 - MEES regulations came into force for new lettings and lease renewals
1 April 2020 - MEES regulations expanded to apply to all residential privately rented property
1 April 2023 - MEES regulations extended to all existing commercial leases. Landlords can no longer continue to let properties with an F or G rating
1 April 2025 - The government’s preferred option is for new tenancies to reach EPC C rating
1April 2030 - All private rented non-domestic properties will need to have an EPC rating of B or higher
What falls outside of MEES?
Where a building is exempt from having an EPC or the tenancy is under six months without security of tenure or the tenancy is over 99 years.
Are there any exemptions from MEES?
Golden Rule – EPC rating cannot be improved to E or above, despite all improvements being made with a payback of seven years or less (or for non-domestic property, if the work costs more than £3500),
Devaluation – the required works would reduce market value by over 5%,
Third party consent is refused by a tenant, superior landlord or planning authority, or conditionality cannot be reasonably met by the landlord.
What are the penalties for non-compliance with MEES?
For breaches of less than 3 months, a landlord renting out a sub-standard commercial property may receive a fine of £5,000, or 10% of the property’s rateable value, up to a maximum of £50,000.
A breach of MEES regulations lasting longer than 3 months can trigger a fine of the higher of £10,000 or 20% of the rateable value of the property, up to £150,000.
Fines are typically higher for breaches lasting longer than three months.
The penalty amount is often calculated as a percentage of the property’s rateable value.
In addition to fines, non-compliant landlords may face public exposure on the exemptions register.
What is an EPC?
Energy Performance Certificate.
What buildings require an EPC?
What buildings require an EPC? Any building being built, sold or let.
When is an EPC required?
When a building is built, sold or let
Which buildings are exempt from having an EPC?
A place of worship, for temporary use under two years or a standalone building with a total useful floorspace of under 50 sq m.
When do you need to display an EPC?
In non-domestic premises over 500 sq m that the general public visits
What is included in an EPC?
It provides information about the building’s energy rating on a scale of A (most efficient) to G (least efficient), energy use, typical energy costs and recommendations to reduce energy consumption.
How would you find an EPC?
You can check on the government website.
When are the penalties for not having an EPC?
For a domestic property, £200.
For a non-domestic property, 12.5% of the rateable value subject to a collar of £500 and a cap of £5000 (or £750 if this formula cannot be applied).
What did Rishi Sunak announce in September 2023 regarding the UK’s Net Zero target?
He updated policy positions and set out a revised approach to reaching net zero with the intention “to ease the burdens on working people”
What is a DEC?
Display Energy Certificate
When is a DEC required?
For buildings over 250 sq m which are visited by the general public
What must accompany a Display Energy Certificate?
What must accompany a DEC? An advisory report
What are the penalties for not having a Display Energy Certificate?
A £500 fine for failing to display it prominently, plus a £1,000 fine for not possessing a valid advisory report associated with the DEC.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
CSR takes the sustainability objectives of environmental, social and economic and aims to make businesses accountable for their actions.
What is BREEAM?
BREEAM is Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method and assesses the environmental impact of a building across its lifecycle.
What is SKArating?
SKArating is an environmental assessment methodology for commercial office fit outs developed by RICS. It helps landlords and tenants measure sustainability across factors like energy and water use, CO2 emissions, materials, waste and pollution. It works by assigning either a Bronze, Silver or Gold certification level based on performance against over 100 ‘good practice measures’.
What is LEED?
US Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
What is Passivhaus?
Passivhaus is a design standard for energy-efficient buildings that use insulation, ventilation, and other techniques to maintain a comfortable temperature.
What happened to the Code for Sustainable Homes?
The Code for Sustainable Homes was an environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes in UK. Introduced in 2006, it was withdrawn by the government is 2015 when some of the standards were consolidated into Building regulations.
What is the Climate Change Levy?
A tax on energy delivered to non-domestic users in the UK.
What Part of the Building Regulations relates to energy efficiency? Name one example of Government policy on energy efficiency for buildings?
Approved Document L (L1A, L1B, L2A, L2B)
What is ESOS?
What is ESOS? Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, a mandatory energy assessment scheme for large UK companies that meet specific requirements. It requires energy audits for buildings, industrial processes and transport to identify energy-saving measures.
When was CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) abolished?
31 March 2019
What is the SECR regime?
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
When was the SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting) regime introduced?
April 2020
Who does the SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting) regime apply to?
Companies with a turnover of £36m or more, balance sheet assets of £18m or more, or 250 employees or more.
Who is exempt from the SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting) regime?
Public sector organisations, low energy users, companies with commercially sensitive information.
What replaced CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment)?
The Climate Change Levy and SECR
How did CCL rates change?
The main change is a substantial increase in the CCL rate for gas, bringing it in line with the existing rate for electricity.
