Talking numbers

We spend more on this equipment than any other part of the plant. These suppliers have a great deal of influence on the way we cool our buildings.

Air conditioning is becoming pretty controversial. Building services engineers attending conferences and seminars are exhorted by the well-meaning to avoid employing air con wherever possible – although the large majority of clients are still reluctant to procure naturally ventilated buildings.

Can we blame them? Our climate’s warming up. People have grown used to air conditioned cars, and there is a growing demand for cooling systems in homes too.

There has to be a compromise between the two extremes. We can’t face a warmer future without cooling our buildings. Nor can we afford to be cavalier about installation of systems without a thought for the long-term costs to our planet.

Engineers, manufacturers and research bodies should work together to find some way of quantifying the lifetime costs of plant (not just air conditioning) in terms of energy used and emissions.

Such information isn’t easy to produce, but it would be worth the effort. Our Profile interviewee this month, Martin Long of Stanhope, says that clients procuring buildings are increasingly aware of their corporate social responsibility, which encompasses environmental issues.

Big corporates know that prestigious hqs need to be green as well as glossy. Now is the time to push home the message of whole life costs, when it can be shown on the bottom line.

It is a shame, I suppose, that sustainability has to be made an element of accountancy before it’s taken seriously. But if this is what it takes to get clients to understand it, let’s talk their language – money.