The thing is, with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) Recast 2023 Proposal having been approved by EU states, it will be adopted into Irish legalisation in time and made law. That, of course, means that carbon neutral buildings will no longer be nice-to-haves, they will become the norm.
[Learn more about green buildings]
Why the drive towards carbon neutral?
The built environment is responsible for around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with commercial buildings accounting for a significant portion of this. Governments around the world are setting increasingly ambitious targets for carbon reduction, which will impact commercial buildings in terms of regulation, taxation and funding. The longer that businesses put off upgrading their building assets, the more opportunities they are going to miss out on.
The European Green Deal
The European Green Deal (EGD) is a package of policy initiatives aiming to set the EU on the path to a green transition, with the ultimate goal of reaching climate and carbon neutrality by 2050.
The objectives set out in the EGD that will have the biggest impact on your business – and the ones which meeting could benefit your business most – are shown in the graph below.
What defines a Net Zero building?
To be termed a Net Zero building, the amount of carbon emissions it produces must be reduced to zero. To achieve this, the carbon emissions created during its construction, operation, and maintenance can be offset by the same amount of carbon being removed from the atmosphere.
Achieving carbon neutrality is a challenging goal, but it is becoming increasingly important to address the environmental impact of your buildings and take steps towards sustainability - not only to meet the expectations of tenants but to comply with coming regulations.
Metec can help you engineer a successful ESG journey
The Metec sustainability team led by Scott Caldwell can work with you to reduce your operational energy costs and impact on the environment by:
- Understanding your sustainability goals
· Analysing your Building Management System (BMS)
· Improving your Building Energy Rating (BER)
· Driving down your carbon spend
· Examining existing building stock
· Preventing it from becoming stranded assets
Our Drive to Zero Carbon offering is designed to help your business overcome the developing challenges it faces and engineer sustainable buildings that will meet the needs of today's tenants and EU regulations.
This initiative will help you to reshape the way you think about building performance through a:
- Full audit of your building’s carbon footprint
- Full report using the LEED energy model
- List of recommended improvements
- Assessment of associated costs and benefits
- Timeline for the work
- Management process to complete the upgrades
A Sustainability Success Story: Coopers Cross
With the ambition to be a landmark mixed-use campus in Dublin’s historic north docklands, Coopers Cross comprises 1 million sq. ft. of sustainable Grade-A office and residential accommodation. On the 500,000 sq ft. commercial element of the project, our client, Kennedy Wilson, sought LEED/BREEAM/WELL/Wiredscore compliance and A-rated BER certification. NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) compliance was also a requirement in line with the latest Part L Regulations. Now well into construction, the project is on target to meet all of its sustainability goals, with the solutions Metec designed including:
Electrical
New LEED Platinum compliant energy metering solution
Roof Mounted PV Solution
Wiredscore compliant IT infrastructure
Complete new Shell and Core & Cat A Electrical Infrastructure
Mechanical
Best in Class Low Energy Engineering Solutions to achieve the energy targets
Increased Ventilation available above normal office building standards
Rain & Grey Water Harvesting System
[Explore our other sustainability projects]
Get in touch with us today
Our mission is to reshape the way people think about building performance. The clients we work and collaborate with share our ambition to design a built environment for a better future.
If you would like to know more about Metec and how we can help you to realise carbon neutrality for your building, contact our managing director Bernard Denver today.
Learn more about
· How your Consultant Building Services Engineer
can help you reach your ESG goals?
Read more about raising your building’s performance
