As part of our ongoing commitment to deliver client services that are relevant to current market pressures, Davis Langdon has moved away from the industry’s typical reactive approach to carbon management, and has developed Total Carbon Efficiency: a suite of services to deliver a carbon optimised, streamlined portfolio. Reducing carbon emissions through every stage of the property life-cycle, from design and build through occupation, refit and disposal, can deliver significant commercial benefits, including reduced operating and whole-life costs. Total Carbon Efficiency is supported by Carbon Assessor an energy and carbon management tool developed by Davis Langdon to enable building and portfolio managers to easily track energy performance.

Total Carbon Efficiency allows clients to develop a strategy for reducing carbon based on an iterative framework of increasing commitment:

Ensure Compliance:  The carbon agenda is increasingly legislated at national and international level, with financial and, in some cases, criminal penalties for non-compliance. The first stage in Total Carbon Efficiency is to establish robust processes to ensure compliance with legislation, and manage this risk.

Streamline Operation:  Building on compliance requirements, this stage can be described as “doing the best you can with what you’ve got”. The focus is on no- and low- cost measures such as reviewing building management and maintenance schedules and procedures, training FM staff, and engaging with occupiers. These actions can often generate significant cost and carbon savings with minimal capital outlay.

Enhance Performance:  Significant points in the real estate life cycle, such as building and refurbishment allow a comprehensive approach to designing carbon efficient operations into a building. Total Carbon Efficiency takes a whole programme approach, including workplace strategy, location, building specification and fit out. Throughout the process, options are assessed in light of commercial impacts, and innovative funding strategies are developed to realise the best possible solution.

For more information on Total Carbon Efficiency, please contact Ed Brown on 0117 927 7832 or email.

HOT TOPICS

• CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme:  The aim of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is to incentivise the improvement of non-domestic property outside the energy intensive industries sectors. This legislation is seen as vital if we are to achieve the UK's overall target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 - by at least 80% compared with the 1990 baseline. With the end of the CRC Registration window rapidly approaching, organisations should now be shifting their thinking from compliance towards a practical focus on how to improve their energy efficiency.  Davis Langdon’s Total Carbon Efficiency offer creates a bespoke action plan for improving performance at a property and portfolio level.  Our aim is not to try and “play” the CRC League Table, but to create efficiency savings and add value in a commercially viable way.
• Measuring embodied carbon:  As we move nearer to zero carbon for new domestic and non domestic buildings (2016 & 2019), it is becoming ever more important to consider the level of embodied carbon used within the building fabric itself.  Davis Langdon has a simple tool (the Carbon Ready Reckoner) that can quickly and accurately quantify the level of embodied carbon in your design. 
• Bridging the gap between design and operation:  Davis Langdon is supporting CarbonBuzz, a collaborative project led by CIBSE and RIBA to benchmark and reduce the gap between forecast and actual carbon performance in buildings.

CRC Compliance Indicator

We have produced a CRC calculator, which you can use to calculate an indicative cost for your CRC allowance. This interactive PDF can be accessed using the link on the right of the page. Once you have downloaded it and open it, you will be given the option to 'Play' or 'Cancel'. Please click 'Play' and the PDF will open. You will need to scroll half way down the page once it has 'initialised' and set the zoom level to 125% to maximise the viewing.
 
You can interact with the sliders by clicking on them with the left mouse button and holding it down whilst you slide your mouse left (to decrease) or right (to increase). Drop down menus behave in the same manner as on websites. The reset button does exactly that.
 
Values on the piechart and barchart can be seen by hovering over the relevant pie slice or bar required. Should you have any queries, please contact: neal.kalita@davislangdon.com