{"id":862417,"date":"2025-07-14T19:12:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T00:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/14\/calls-for-more-retrofitting-of-dull-buildings-to-tackle-climate-crisis\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T19:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T00:12:31","slug":"calls-for-more-retrofitting-of-dull-buildings-to-tackle-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/14\/calls-for-more-retrofitting-of-dull-buildings-to-tackle-climate-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Calls for more retrofitting of \u2018dull\u2019 buildings to tackle climate crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new report has revealed that shifting focus to retrofit everyday commercial buildings will help tackle delays in improving energy efficiency in buildings.<\/p>\n

Research by climate analysts Building Atlas revealed that \u201csignificant energy savings\u201d could be achieved by looking at \u201cboring\u201d buildings instead of flagship properties.<\/p>\n

It found that at the end of 2024, only 22.2 per cent of UK buildings complied with future energy efficiency standards, meaning that the remaining 77.8 per cent faced the risk of becoming stranded assets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the current retrofit rate for the commercial building stock of approximately 1-1.5 per cent per year, it would take the remainder of the 21st century to achieve the UK\u2019s 2050 building decarbonisation targets,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Its report, The Beauty in \u2018Boring\u2019 Buildings: the business case for retrofit beyond flagship assets<\/em>, reveals retrofit opportunities in so-called \u201cboring\u201d buildings could deliver internal rates of return (IRR) as high as 92 per cent.<\/p>\n

According to UK Green Building Council research cited in the report, 90 per cent of carbon savings\u00a0<\/strong>can typically be achieved at\u00a0<\/strong>just 60-70 per cent of the cost of pursuing BREEAM Outstanding ratings.<\/p>\n

Building Atlas is calling for a\u00a0tiered retrofit<\/a> strategy, prioritising fast, scalable interventions such as LED lighting, smart thermostats and intelligent energy controls, particularly across the UK\u2019s 29 million ageing non-domestic and domestic buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to shift from chasing awards to chasing impact,\u201d said Nick Taylor, chief executive of Building Atlas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most effective climate investment in real estate isn\u2019t in iconic West End offices \u2013 it\u2019s in thousands of suburban offices and warehouses.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur analysis shows that a carefully prioritised retrofit programme across \u2018boring\u2019 buildings can achieve carbon savings equivalent to flagship projects \u2013 at a fraction of the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report concludes that by shifting focus big savings could be achieved.<\/p>\n

\u201cRetrofitting commercial buildings for energy efficiency is a vital step towards a sustainable future. However, it is crucial to recognise the diminishing marginal impact of retrofit investment and adopt a sensible, cost-benefit driven approach,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy prioritising cost-effective measures and setting realistic energy-efficiency targets, building owners and operators can achieve significant energy savings while ensuring a positive return on investment. We recommend portfolio owners examine the \u2018boring\u2019 buildings in their portfolios, as this is where they may find the biggest savings, for the lowest cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

UN data shows that energy consumed by buildings is responsible for 21 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Nicola Harley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new report has revealed that shifting focus to retrofit everyday commercial buildings will help tackle delays in improving energy efficiency in buildings. Research by climate analysts Building Atlas revealed that \u201csignificant energy savings\u201d could be achieved by looking at \u201cboring\u201d buildings instead of flagship properties. It found that at the end of 2024, only<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":862418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,109899],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-862417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calls","category-retrofitting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}