After decades of focusing on what buildings are theoretically capable of and how efficient they could be, the industry is finally focusing greater attention on performance. This follows the launch of the government’s current consultation of a performance-based rating framework for large commercial and industrial buildings, emulating Australia’s successful NABERS (National Australian Build Environment Rating System) scheme.

It’s a huge step in the right direction – and adopting a similar system will have a much bigger effect on energy performance than any other legislation has had over the last 20 years.

Why? We have a compliance-focused culture in the UK. Office buildings often consume over three times more energy in operation than is estimated using design simulations. The only way to address this performance gap is by shifting from a compliance-focused culture to a performance-focused culture, ensuring there is more attention on the desired outcome of reducing energy use in buildings.