Written evidence submitted by UK Green Building Council (ECP0205)

Energy and Climate Change Committee priorities for holding Government to account

A national infrastructure programme for home energy efficiency

DECC should place energy efficiency on an equal footing with energy generation by recognising it as a national infrastructure priority. As part of the current review of home energy efficiency policies, DECC should develop a national infrastructure programme which sets ambitious long term targets and includes a coherent policy framework which can reach every home, regardless of housing tenure and household circumstances. Framing the issue in this way and developing an ambitious national programme is the only way we can achieve the scale and investment required to eradicate fuel poverty and bring permanently lower energy bills to every household in the UK.

Environmental reporting for businesses

The complex energy efficiency and climate policy landscape faced by businesses is widely thought to be a major barrier action. As such, the current review by DECC, HMT and BIS provides a welcome opportunity to simplify the array of policies that businesses face, particularly when it comes to reporting requirements. However, simplification alone is very unlikely to deliver the step-change we need in investment, and the outcomes of the review must also seek to raise ambition to a level commensurate with our climate change targets, and not just focus on reducing compliance burdens. A consolidated reporting/tax regime should retain the best features of those policies that are discontinued, and should be complemented by incentives that push participants to go beyond measurement and reporting. If this can be achieved, we could see significant benefits in term of business productivity and energy security, as well as improvements to energy efficiency and emissions reductions.

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for the private rented sector

From April 2018, it will be illegal to rent out commercial or domestic properties rated in EPC bands F or G. The regulations are already driving action with landlords upgrading their properties in advance of 2018, particularly in the commercial sector where building owners have factored the regulations into their stock investment plans. It is therefore critical that the regulations are effectively implemented and robustly enforced to maintain this momentum. The recent removal of Green Deal finance means there is also an urgent need for DECC to confirm an alternative finance mechanism which domestic landlords can use to comply.

August 2015