A collaboration of 31 of the UK’s leading commercial property owners who represent more than £250bn Assets Under Management are working together to improve sustainability of existing commercial buildings within the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP).

On the 10th June the BBP announced their ground-breaking partnership with NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) run by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) to bring a ‘Design for Performance’ (DfP) culture to the UK. 

This significant collaboration enables the BBP and OEH to combine their intellectual capital and resources to start adapting, trialling and implementing the NABERS Energy for Offices program so that new office developments in the UK can be certified. Nine BBP developers members joined the DfP initiative and have committed to pioneer the design-for-performance approach on (at least) one new office development to overcome the energy performance gap. They include Derwent London, Stanhope Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Great Portland Estates, Landsec, Legal & General, Lendlease, Nuveen Real Estate and The Crown Estate.

Role of Design for Performance delivery partners

The critical role of engineers in delivering better buildings has been recognised with 11 leading engineering firms committing to become DfP Delivery Partners, including Ramboll. As a delivery partner we have committed to advocating DfP to clients, supporting the development of the initiative and upskilling our teams, to be able to support developers committed to delivering energy performance outcomes for new offices.

Launching the capability within Ramboll, Phil Kelly, head of sustainability and building physics said “Taking proven methodologies and adapting them for the UK market, provides us with a great opportunity to make a significant difference to the energy performance outcomes of buildings. The ability to provide clients with better predictions of their energy by designing for performance, ensures desired outcomes are achieved. The DfP marks a crucial step in not only improving energy outcomes, but reducing risk, reducing capital expenditure and improving experiences for building owners and tenants”.

New report: Design for Performance: A new approach to delivering energy efficient offices in the UK

The BBP has also announced the launch of the report Design for Performance: A new approach to delivering energy efficient offices in the UK. The report outlines the key learnings and progress of this ambitious project to date, including:

A Feasibility Study, which examined the hugely transformational Australian NABERS scheme for new offices, identified the key elements which contributed to its success
A Pilot Programme to test the key success factors of a design-for-performance approach on real-life development projects in the UK
A road map for outlining the governance structures, market demand and industry skills necessary to deliver a design-for-performance approach in the UK

Read the DfP Summary Report
Read the Pilot Programme: Technical Report

BBP CEO Sarah Ratcliffe said “In light of the UK Government commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, DfP provides a tangible and practical market-based response to the performance gap. It matches rhetoric with action enabling building owners to deliver better buildings that can secured significant improvements in energy efficiency and provides a genuine pathway to zero carbon offices in the UK.”

About NABERS

The NABERS scheme, run by OEH on behalf of the federal government in Australia, provides a world-leading exemplar of how offices can be designed to be more energy efficient, backed by the verification of performance in use that means the operation of buildings deliver on their design promises. In Australia over 86% of the office market now has a NABERS Energy rating, which has had a transformative impact with the average energy intensity improving by 36% since 2010.

About BBP

The Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) is a not for profit collaboration of the UK’s leading property owners who are working together to improve the sustainability of the UK’s existing commercial buildings. The organisation's aim is to deliver market transformation through sustainability leadership and knowledge sharing across the UK property industry. The BBP currently has 31 members who represent in excess of £250bn Assets Under Management (AUM). 

The BBP has 31 Members who include Aberdeen Standard Investment, Aviva Investors, Blackstone, British Land, Bruntwood, Cadogan, Canary Wharf Group, Capital & Regional, CBRE Global Investors, CLS Holdings plc, Cording Real Estate Group, DWS, Great Portland Estates, Grosvenor, Hammerson, Hermes Investment Management, intu Properties, Landsec, LaSalle Investment Management, Legal & General Investment Management, Lendlease Investment Management, Low Carbon Workplace, M&G Real Estate, Norges Bank Real Estate, SEGRO, Shaftesbury, Schroder Real Estate, Nuveen Real Estate, The Crown Estate, Transport for London and Workspace.

This article was originally published here.