The scale and pace of climate change can no longer be ignored. Nor can the enormity of action required to tackle it – the transition to a decarbonised future is complex and not to be underestimated.
Infrastructure investment has taken a back seat for too long, but the time to take decisive action is now. By moving away from gas heat networks and embracing emerging technology, public sector organisations can begin to realise their net zero ambitions in a cost-effective way. But where do you start?
Progressive organisations are embracing the challenge to meet the needs of future requirements for a decarbonised building stock by retrofitting buildings as part of their commitment to tackling climate change. Those fortunate to have successfully applied for funding from the Government’s Low Carbon Skills Fund and Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) have been able to fund Heat Decarbonisation Plans and associated improvements and are on their way to a decarbonised estate.
But the reality is, the funding is woefully oversubscribed and unless organisations have the right expertise in house to act quickly and submit accurate and comprehensive applications, they cannot rely on this channel as a route to decarbonisation.
Changes to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for non-domestic buildings (MEES) aim to accelerate the improvement in energy efficiency of the national building stock in pursuit of net zero. While the minimum standard is currently an E rating, it will need to be a C rating by 2027 and then a B rating by 2030 to be legally compliant. This staged approach allows public sector organisations to achieve the requirements in a balanced way – because no organisation can make this sort of transformation overnight.
For many organisations, a lack of specialist internal resource and data specialists is hampering efforts to start their net zero journey. The first step for any organisation would be getting a good grip on where you are today, which means measuring your emissions to calculate your baseline. For this, you need to have good quality data, alongside data specialists.
The next step would be to think about how fast you can go and to consider the opportunities available to make net zero a reality. Organisations will need a structured plan that is underpinned by realistic timelines and a clear business case identifying the opportunities and risks.
The third area would be to engage the right partners to help deliver on your plan. It is important to recognise where your gaps are and to bring in the expertise where needed. If you’ve created a comprehensive plan, you probably won’t have all the tools and the ability or capability in house. For many organisations, there will be a skills gap at the initial data gathering point, for others it will be during the planning stage, and for the lucky few it will just be executing parts of that plan.
The key for all organisations, whatever their level of maturity on the net zero path, is to recognise that we can’t always do everything ourselves and to identify the partnerships that will help us achieve our goals. https://zenergi.co.uk/
