The Carbon Trust, fund manager Threadneedle and property developer, Stanhope PLC, are to partner in an initiative, which will provide up to fifty refurbished, low carbon serviced office buildings, within the next five years.
These developments will accommodate up to 25,000 employees, in key locations throughout the UK. Up to £350m of the required capital, is to be raised through the ‘Threadneedle Low-Carbon Workplace Trust’ fund.
The project was set in motion when recent Carbon Trust research, revealed that non-domestic commercial property buildings account for 18 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions.
The project, will offer high specification, low carbon office space refurbishments, at the same cost to occupiers as conventional refurbishments.
The target is to produce a 60% reduction in energy consumption and carbon emissions, at the selected properties. This is significantly more than conventional refurbishments can offer.
Obviously, the refurbishments will be ultra efficient, using cost effective low-carbon technologies such as insulation and state of the art building controls. The use of natural daylight and fresh air will also be harnessed in the refurbishments. There is a growing body of research suggesting that high levels of daylight, fresh air and good lines of sight, have a positive impact on employee health and well being.
Tom Delay, CEO of The Carbon Trust, said, ‘This initiative aims to prove that green business opportunities can deliver the secure long term returns institutional investors demand, which could be the key to unlocking the low carbon economy. We want to demonstrate the business case for low carbon property, encourage the wider property industry to follow suit and deliver both an economic and a carbon prize for the UK.’
Over half of commercial property occupiers have said it is very likely they will look for a sustainable property at their next move. Around two thirds said, the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda was either, important, or very important to their company.
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