DECs to be rolled out on all commercial buildings
Published: 10 March, 2011
Display Energy Certificates (DECs) are to become compulsory for all commercial buildings under the government's new carbon plan.
The coalition unveiled its 2050 Low Carbon Roadmap yesterday with a key element for the property industry being the roll-out of DECs, which document actual energy use, to all commercial buildings from October 2012.
The British Property Federation has been calling for the widespread use of DECs for a number of years.
Patrick Brown, BPF assistant director for sustainability and construction, said DECs can "accommodate the split responsibilities and incentives of landlords and tenants in rented buildings".
He added: "They will provide a robust set of benchmarks for buildings in use, which could be transformational in our understanding of the existing commercial stock and how to reduce emissions arising from it."
Jon Lovell, head of sustainability at Drivers Jonas Deloitte, said the property industry has been crying out for better co-ordination across Whitehall departments on climate change and carbon policy.
Lovell said: "Significantly, there are a number of key announcements that demonstrate the very positive impact on government thinking of objective campaigning by the property industry, perhaps most notably in relation to the action to roll-out display energy certificates to commercial premises, a big commitment expressed here for the first time."
