Sustainable contract clauses to become standard, EPCs cost 10 times more than planned
New forms of building contract containing mandatory sustainability performance clauses could come into force as early as next year.
According to a report in Contract Journal, the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT), which currently handles over 70% of all building contracts, wants to include enforceable green clauses in all its documents to encourage better practice. JCT has now set up a working group to decide what terms to include and a time line for implementing contracts.
Meanwhile, energy performance certificates (EPCs) could cost 10 times more and take four times longer to assess than the government has estimated said Building magazine.
Commercial energy assessors claim EPCs will cost £1.5bn this year and £11bn until 2020 to implement, a figure that dramatically exceeds the communities department’s assertion last year that they would cost £1.5bn between now and 2020.
‘The government said an EPC for a small commercial office would cost £500, but we estimate it will be about £4,000,’ said Rob Corbyn, an energy assessor for consultant RLF, who blamed the increased costs on the time it takes to complete tests and issue an EPC. ‘With travel, data collation and input, and client audit, the one day the government suggests a small office would take to assess turns into three or four,’ he told Building.
Source
Construction Manager
