Decarbonizing existing assets is becoming crucial

Rising energy costs will accelerate the move towards efficient buildings and reinforce emerging value trends, with the financial risks of inaction already becoming apparent. Acute shortages of net zero carbon buildings will benefit early adopters of retrofitting by boosting rent, reducing financial risk, improving access to capital at favorable rates, and making it easier to attract and retain tenants.

There is a large knowledge gap when it comes to undertaking a deep retrofit. Educating stakeholders on the benefits of retrofitting existing stock – from increased resilience linked with future-proofing the asset, to ROI and rental uplift, tenant retention and attraction, and reduced financial risk – is key to accelerating the present retrofit rate.

The actions to decarbonize are clear – maximizing operational efficiencies, the electrification of heat, incorporating on-site renewable energy and sourcing off-site local renewable energy with offsetting as a last resort.

Every retrofit is a complex process and should be thought-out with long term view that prioritizes deep retrofits early.

The steps are always similar:

-????????Understand the current energy use intensity (EUI)

-????????Maximize operational efficiencies through fast ROI initiatives

-????????Incorporate on-site renewable energy

-????????Source off-site renewable energy