Clients lacking in energy know-how survey reveals

Of those questioned, only half were aware of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. A paltry 5% were aware of the requirement for Building Energy Certificates, a key element of the directive. None knew there are two ratings requiring certification: “asset” and “operational”.

Yet clients were highly aware of certain energy issues, according to the survey by construction consultant CNP. It found that some 75% thought the rising cost of energy was either “relevant” or “fairly relevant” to their business.

Of the respondents, 43% said that any energy-related concerns were driven by financial and legislative motives, while 32% cited occupier demand. The clients said the occupiers, in turn, were being driven by environmental concerns and corporate social responsibility.

When asked which commercial issues energy performance certification might effect, the most likely order of impact was considered to be: operational costs, rentability, rental incomes, saleability and attractiveness of investment.

CNP also looked at where clients thought BREEAM fitted in. It found that 70% of them were aware of the standard, but 80% of these were unable to explain the difference between BREEAM and energy performance certification.

Corporate social responsibility appeared to be fairly high on the clients’ agenda, with 70% saying that it was “relevant” or “very relevant” to their business. The key reasons given for this were political pressure, image and perception, public procurement and environmental impacts linked to global warming.

Andrew Tee, technical director, CNP, said: “The lack of a more proactive approach indicated by this survey is in some part due to the fact that the true commercial impacts of these new requirements are yet to emerge.”