Davide Natuzzi, assistant director, energy, carbon & technical, Salix
For many energy professionals, the whole building approach has become a valuable way of thinking about decarbonisation. It has helped move the sector away from isolated interventions and towards a more integrated understanding of building performance, recognising that fabric, heating, ventilation, controls and operation all influence long-term outcomes. This thinking has been embedded across many public sector decarbonisation programmes, where success increasingly depends on how measures work together rather than on the performance of any single technology.
It’s a term we at Salix have used very often over the years as we have delivered funding schemes on behalf of government, whether it is across the public sector or our housing programmes.
However, the conversation now needs to go further.
While carbon reduction remains essential, estates today face a broader set of challenges, including energy price volatility, security of supply, electricity network constraints and the growing impact of climate change. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are also transforming how buildings are monitored, managed and optimised.
The next evolution is a whole asset resilience approach, bringing together energy efficiency, decarbonisation, energy security, climate adaptation and digital innovation into a single decision-making framework.
In summary, this means moving beyond individual risks or interventions to consider how assets perform under complex and linked stresses. This may include extreme heat and water scarcity to flooding, energy disruption and digital failure. It’s imperative to maintain essential services, protect people and support long-term economic resilience.
This will be a key focus for government, and all of us moving ahead.
Looking beyond carbon
Historically, energy projects have been judged largely on two outcomes: reduced energy consumption and lower carbon emissions. Today, organisations are increasingly asking wider questions:
- How secure is our energy supply?
- How vulnerable are our buildings to extreme weather?
- Can critical services continue during disruption?
- How can data and AI support smarter decisions?
A low carbon building is not automatically a resilient building. Many projects deliver significant energy savings but remain vulnerable to overheating, flooding or operational disruption. Buildings designed around today’s conditions may struggle to perform effectively over the next 20 or 30 years as climate risks increase.
This is where energy professionals can add real strategic value by connecting decarbonisation with resilience and long-term asset planning.
Consider a leisure centre replacing gas boilers with heat pumps. If the project also improves fabric performance, upgrades controls, installs solar PV and battery storage, and addresses overheating risks through shading and ventilation improvements, the outcome becomes far more than a decarbonisation project. It becomes an asset that is cheaper to operate, more comfortable for users and less exposed to future risks.
Geothermal energy exemplifies a whole-asset approach to decarbonisation, providing long-term low-carbon heat, protection from energy price volatility, and infrastructure resilient to climate-related disruptions. The University of York’s geothermal, supported through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, demonstrates how public-sector investment can simultaneously deliver carbon reduction, energy security, and operational resilience.
Four pillars of a future-ready estate
A whole asset resilience approach can be built around four interconnected pillars.
- Energy efficiency and carbon reduction. Improving building fabric, optimising HVAC systems, deploying low-carbon heating and investing in renewable energy continue to provide some of the greatest opportunities for reducing emissions and operating costs.
Buildings with lower energy demand are easier to operate during supply constraints, network pressures or periods of disruption. Simply put, reducing demand makes everything else easier. - Energy security and resilience. Recent years have highlighted the importance of energy security. Technologies such as solar PV, battery storage and demand flexibility are often justified through carbon savings or reduced costs, but they also deliver resilience benefits.
- Climate adaptation. There’s clearly a growing need to focus on climate adaptation. Many buildings were designed for weather patterns that no longer exist. More frequent heatwaves, intense rainfall and flooding are creating challenges that estates were never designed to withstand.
- Funding and investment strategy. Delivering whole asset resilience requires a strategic approach to investment rather than funding projects in isolation.
A solid business cases should consider whole-life value, bringing together carbon reduction, energy security, climate adaptation and operational resilience benefits.
The role of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is beginning to transform estate management. We see this in our daily work at Salix. For example, we see it in our work on carbon reporting where measurement and verification are so important.
AI-driven platforms can analyse large volumes of data. They allow organisations to move from reacting to problems to anticipating them.
Standards supporting a whole asset resilience approach
Several established standards already support this broader way of thinking.
The latest version of PAS 2080 promotes systems thinking, collaboration and whole-life decision-making while recognising wider environmental and resilience outcomes alongside carbon reduction. ISO 50001 supports energy management, ISO 55001 provides a framework for asset management, while ISO 22301 and BS 65000 offer guidance on organisational resilience and business continuity. For climate adaptation, ISO 14090 and ISO 14091 provide practical approaches for assessing climate risks and planning long-term responses.
Together, these frameworks reinforce a common principle: assets should be managed not only to reduce carbon, but also to remain resilient, adaptable and valuable throughout their operational life.
Looking ahead
It seems that the role of the energy professional is changing. We are no longer simply managing utilities or delivering carbon reduction projects. Increasingly, we are helping organisations make strategic decisions about energy security, climate adaptation, operational continuity and long-term asset performance.
The whole building approach has provided a strong foundation. The next step is to widen the lens from individual buildings and carbon savings to the resilience of entire estates.
We need to think carefully about whole asset resilience: creating buildings, homes and estates that are low carbon, secure, adaptable and intelligent enough to thrive in a changing environment.
At Salix, we’re looking forward to being part of this next phase, future-proofing our homes and buildings and helping create places that are ready to thrive for years to come.
For more information about Salix, visit our website.
This article appeared in the September 2026 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.
