The Carbon Trust was set up by the government in 2001 as an independent company, to accelerate the move to a low-carbon economy. It provides businesses and the public sector with advice, finance and accreditation for cutting carbon emissions, and also helps to develop low carbon technologies through project management, investment and collaboration.

The trust oversaw the recent Low Carbon Buildings Programme, in which the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) awarded funding for renewable energy systems to a number of wide-ranging projects across the UK. Anna Halcro-Johnston is Technology Acceleration Manager at the Carbon Trust.

What is the Carbon Trust's involvement in DECC's Low Carbon Buildings Programme?

The Carbon Trust's role is to support and monitor the 23 large projects that were awarded funding through stream 2B of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP). Projects secured grants for the installation of micro-generation technologies such as wind turbines, wood-fuelled boilers and ground source heat pumps.

To be eligible for a grant, successful projects had to show energy reductions above and beyond building regulations. This means that the renewable energy technologies are only part of the whole building's low carbon approach. For example, projects include interesting examples of innovative natural ventilation strategies and improved lighting designs.

By monitoring these projects, we aim to understand the successes and failures of delivering low carbon buildings from design to operation. These insights will provide long-term benefits by informing best practice within the industry and helping direct us as to where further support is needed.

Can you give details about some of the projects?

The projects are wide ranging, which makes monitoring them even more interesting. They include everything from zero carbon offices to biomass-fuelled high-rise flats. There are water source heat pumps in the middle of London and a micro hydro-powered residential complex in Oxfordshire.

Our monitoring also sees the results from different development processes. For example, early insights are showing us which contractual processes have been most effective in reducing value engineering, the importance of strong and experienced project managers and how teams interpret regulatory requirements.

What does the Low Carbon Building Accelerator (LCBA) involve?

This is the first programme of its kind to put a magnifying glass on the complete low carbon refurbishment process from the very first design ideas through to the operation and use of the finished building. Where the Low Carbon Buildings Programme deals mainly with new buildings, the Low Carbon Building Accelerator (LCBA) is concerned with existing buildings.

It focuses on gathering data and demonstrating expertise in the energy-efficient refurbishment of non-residential buildings. Projects being supported and monitored include Mark & Spencer's Oxford Street store and the North Wales Police Headquarters. Early insights from the programme have recently been summarised in 'The Low Carbon Refurbishment Guide', which can be downloaded from the Carbon Trust's website.

As expected, the programme is already providing data on the success and viability of a range of low carbon technologies, as well as detailing the refurbishment process from the point of view of the client and contractors. The programme is also providing some unexpected early insights: evidence of endemic commissioning and handover failures; lack of control around unregulated emissions and opportunities around performance contracts.

With regard to the Low Carbon Building Accelerator, how open are non-residential organisations to the prospect of improving energy-efficiency in their buildings?

The LCBA actually started way back in late 2006 which emphasises quite how long some refurbishments can actually take from feasibility to completion. Back then, sites were generally less keen to make commitments around energy reduction and therefore the ten projects we ended up working on were considered progressive in their approach.

The Carbon Trust covers energy-efficient retrofitting as well as new-build technology in its programmes - how important is it to focus on a combination of these methodologies?

To see the sort of carbon reductions that are needed we must ensure that all buildings, new and old, have energy performance at the top of their agenda. All new buildings must be built low-carbon from the start and existing buildings should be brought up to standard as soon as possible.

Due to the task in front of us, we must ensure all bases are covered. This includes everything from supporting the research and development of untested technologies to the practicalities of correctly managing buildings now.

Are sustainability issues now a prime concern for all areas of the building industry?

Building and operation sustainability are definitely prime concerns but are rarely the driving force on a development.

The Carbon Trust will aim to prove that low carbon buildings and refurbishments can be capitally competitive with their energy-hungry relatives. Add to this the operational cost reductions and benefits to occupier comfort and in time we will see every owner specifying low carbon and every user demanding it.

How important is the built environment in achieving a low carbon economy?

The built environment is fundamental to achieving a low carbon economy. Nearly half of all the UK's emissions come from buildings, ensuring that they must play a crucial role in contributing to the legally binding 2050 target (80% cut in carbon emissions).

How effective are Energy Performance Certificates and what results will they have in the long-term?

Energy Performance Certificates provide a relatively simple way to understand how well a building could, and in terms of the Display Energy Certificate (DEC), does perform. The act of undertaking the rating also provides a great chance for energy-saving opportunities to be picked up.

If delivered successfully, this improved awareness could lead to an increased demand for low carbon buildings. However, long-term benefits will be dependent on how widespread DECs become and whether owners and operators will be able to address building inefficiencies once highlighted.

How much carbon can be saved from implementing energy-efficiency measures into the built environment, and will it be enough to meet government targets?

Back in November 2005 the Carbon Trust estimated that by 2020, around 3.8Mt of carbon savings could come from buildings. This, at the time, equated to 22% of total emissions and focused on the existing stock, using cost-effective viable technologies.

In addition to this, the Carbon Trust is currently in the middle of a new piece of work, which aims to understand and detail what needs to happen to enable non-domestic buildings to contribute to the 2050 target. This is due to be launched in the summer of this year.

What we can say now is that there are high expectations from buildings, but meeting them will be difficult without a major change in demand for low carbon buildings and legislation to enforce it. To compound the problem, the results of the LCBA show us that reality rarely reflects the potential. Good intentions are regularly chipped away at during building delivery and handover from areas such as poor commissioning, spiralling unregulated load and a lack of user training. Designing in energy-saving measures from the start is obviously important, but should only be considered as a step towards the whole low carbon solution.

Will the current economic climate affect people's willingness to implement energy-efficiency measures in buildings or do you think the promise of long-term financial savings will actually encourage such activity?

We are seeing both sides to this. There are certainly many that understand the opportunity provided by reducing their operating costs, now more than ever. However, some are nervous of any capital expenditure in the current climate. The other disruptive factor is that energy-saving is often part of greater development plans and refurbishments. As these are put on hold, so the energy-reduction improvements get stalled alongside.

Our advice to owners is to continue to appraise whole lifecycle costs when considering new energy-saving measures, and be vigilant against the false economy of value engineering. Particularly when it comes to the specification of a building's fabric and energy services.

How will the Carbon Trust adapt to meet the needs of future low carbon building projects?

The Carbon Trust already considers decarbonising buildings as an area of importance and our current range of work around buildings reflects this. This includes everything from low carbon design advice through to interest-free loans for energy-efficiency projects. As we move towards 2050 we must continue to be strategic and intelligent in the long term needs, and both practical and relevant with our activities now. It is likely that our activities will continue to fall into three broad areas: increasing demand for low carbon buildings; informing legislative requirements; and improving the quality of the resulting buildings.

It is clear that energy reduction from buildings provides a huge opportunity but also one of the biggest challenges. If we are to get near to realising this opportunity, then it will take drive and effort from all. This means active involvement, from a company's chairman through to its facilities managers. It means influence from government policy advisors through to local authority building control. And it means the Carbon Trust working alongside and closely with the whole of the buildings industry. Anything less and we won't succeed.

For more information about the Carbon Trust and its work, visit:
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/default.ct

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