Sustainability L2 Flashcards
What is sustainability?
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
How can people / businesses be more sustainable?
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Travel smarter - avoid airplanes
Limit plastic consumption - has huge impact on environment
What does Global Professional Guidance Note Sustainability and Commercial Property Valuation state?
Valuers must be fully aware of ways sustainability may impact on levels of value they report
EG impact of climate change on location, physical characteristics of building, attitudes of investors and occupiers
These factors all impact market rent, market value, investment value and fair value
What are building regulations?
A set of regulations and standards that all new buildings must be built to
Structure, fire safety, ventilation, drainage and waste disposal, conservation of fuel and power, electrical safety etc
What does The Energy Act 2015 set out?
Unlawful to let properties with EPC of F or G from April 2018
Unlawful to continue to let from April 2023
Why does the energy act impact PMs?
Our job is to maintain or increase value of assets, so PM needs to advise LL to spend money upgrading property to good EPC rating so they are lettable / sellable
Where do MEES apply?
England and Wales
What does EPC show?
Current rating
Guidance on how to improve
What works of improvement can be carried out
What EPC could be if works were carried out
Where does MEES not apply?
Leases of 6 months or less, or 99 years or more
What buildings do not require EPC?
Listed buildings, buildings with no heating, religious buildings, temporary buildings (occupied less than 2 years), buildings due to be demolished/redeveloped, and residential units not occupied for more than 4 months of the year
Stand alone buildings less than 50 sqm
If do require EPC but not got one, fine is 12.5% of RV
When are LL’s exempt from complying with MEES?
All cost effective energy efficiency improvements have been carried out
Consent to undertake works is refused by third party EG Local Authority or current tenant
Experts provide written advice that improvement would devalue property by 5% or more or works could damage property
Exemptions last FIVE years and need to be logged on PRS Register created by Government
If cheapest improvement is £3,500 + (high cost)
- If a landlord can prove that they have undertaken energy efficiency works with a payback period of 7 years
- If a third party does not allow landlords to do the works
What is the penalty for not complying with MEES when should be?
For breaches of MEES that last less than 3 months - 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 - a fine of the higher of £10,000 or 20% of the rateable value of the property, up to £150,000.
What are the implications for LLs?
Some properties will be illegal to let unless they are upgraded
Valuations will be affected and marketability will be diminished
Rent reviews could be affected
Implications for dilapidations may come about
What did Climate Change Act 2008 set?
Government commitment to cut UK CO2 emissions by 80% on 1990 levees by 2050
What is the latest amendment of Climate Change Act 2008?
2019 update to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050
Who do Heat Network Regulations apply to?
Any ‘heat supplier’
This could be a Landlord if there is communal heating IE
There is distribution of thermal energy (heat, steam, hot water, chilled liquids)
Thermal energy is used to provide hot water, heating or cooling
Building is occupied by more than one customer
Landlord apportions the bills
If Landlord is heat supplier, what must they do?
Notify the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and provide information including:
Location of communal heating, estimated capacity, how many dwellings are being supplied etc
This must be done every 4 years
There is a template available for providing information
What is the purpose of a Sustainability Checklist?
Encourage new development and buildings that support community sustainability objectives
Provides local governments with process to meet sustainability and climate change objectives
What does BREEAM stand for?
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
Longest established method of assessing, rating and certifying buildings
Used in over 50 countries
How does BREEAM work?
Undertaken by independent licenced assessors, and evaluates categories (EG energy, water use, pollution etc) and then rates building and provides certification (Pass, Good, etc)
What are advantages of BREEAM?
Increases asset value, reduces operating costs and good for marketing!
BREEAM rated buildings achieve 20% premium on rented/sales prices
What are the key global agreements regarding climate change?
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Kyoto Protocol
Paris Agreement
What is the UK legislation for tacking climate change?
Climate Change Act 2008
What is the Paris Agreement?
Legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted at COP 21 in Paris 2015
Goal is to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels
Five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate change action carried out by countries
What is the Kyoto Protocol?
Committed industrialised countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with their agreed individual targets
Aimed to reduce emissions by 5% compared to 1990 levels between 2008 - 2012
What is net zero?
A balance where carbon emitted into atmosphere equals carbon removed from atmosphere
UK target is to reach this by 2050
What procedures does your firm implement to promote sustainability?
Recycling
No waste to landfill policy
LED lighting
What is solar gain and how can it be managed in buildings?
Increase in temperature due to solar radiation
Can limit size of windows, use reflective materials on glass
When can LL let building with EPC F or G?
If registered on PRS Exemptions Register EG made all improvements and still below an E
What is a DEC?
Display energy certificate
£500 fine if not displayed
Examples of sustainable design features?
PV panels, heat pumps, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting and recycling, EV Charging Points, IBOS
What is a carbon budget?
Places restriction on amount of greenhouse gases UK can emit over 5 year period
UK is first country to set legally binding budgets
What is Infrastructure Act 2015?
Legislation for planning and infrastructure that targets transport, energy provision and significant infrastructure projects in the UK
Makes provisions to enable building regulations to provide for off-site carbon abatement measures
What was the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme?
Government programme that provided financial incentives to increase uptake of renewable heat in businesses
Applications closed in March 2021
What is Corporate Social Responsibility?
Form of business self-regulation that aims to contribute to societal goals that are charitable in nature
What is a SKA rating?
RICS environmental assessment to benchmark and standardise fit outs
What is LEED?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
What is combined heat and power?
Highly efficient process that captures and utilises the heat that is a by product of the electricity generation process
Know about:
Climate Change Act 2008
Energy Protection Act 2005
COSHH
Building Regs
BREEAM
Energy Act
9 categories of BREEAM?
Energy (operational energy and CO2 emissions)
Management (site management and procurement)
Health and Wellbeing (internal and external issues EG noise, air quality, light etc)
Materials (environmental impact of building materials)
Transport (location-related factors)
Water (consumption and efficiency)
Waste (waste management)
Pollution (water and air pollution)
Land Use and Ecology (building footprint and ecological value)
BREEAM Ratings?
Certified as either unclassified (<30%), Pass (30%+), Good (45%+), Very Good (55%+), Excellent (70%+) or Outstanding (85%+)
Are you aware of any research completed by the RICS on Sustainability?
- RICS carbon database
- world environment forum
- Professional statement of the whole life carbon assessment.
- RICS sustainability report 2023
What is a Green Lease?
Firstly, it requires a declaration of commitment by both the landlord and the tenant to operate the building sustainably. This includes things such as reducing energy consumption, emissions, resource and waste.
Secondly, there needs to be an agreement in place that sustainability data will be shared in both directions to facilitate optimal performance.
What type of clause might you find in a Green Lease?
energy and water consumption (efficient)
waste generation
Environmentally friendly cleaning products
Obtaining energy and water from sustainable sources
When is MEES changing?
C by 2027 (potentially pushed back to 2028)
B by 2030 (Government dependent)
What might you find on an EPC Certificate and what recommendation works have you instructed?
LED lighting, motion sensors, upgrade A/C (fan coil to VRV), double glazing, PIR sensors, tap sensors, solar panels
When was MEES applicable and what does this mean?
April 2018
Buildings must have a minimum EPC rating of E
What was the latest update in terms of MEES?
From April 2023 MEES will apply to all leases currently in place if EPC is lower than E (client requires D)
What way does your firm do to comply with sustainability standards?
Recycling
ESG team
Green fleet 2030
What does an EPC look like?
- The first page details the energy performance of a building from a scale of A – G.
- recommendations to improve the buildings energy performance. EPC rating with works and newly built
- Assessor, date of expiry, property
How long are EPCs valid for?
10 years
Who regulates EPCs?
The local authority regulate, building control enforce it, trading standards issues the penalty.
