Isra-Mart srl:Figures reveal rock bottom energy efficiency performance for public buildings

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New figures have today shone fresh light on the scale of the challenge the government faces if it is to improve energy efficiency across the public sector, revealing thousands of public buildings are ranked in the lowest possible category for energy efficiency.

Data taken from display energy certificates (DECs) awarded to 40,146 public buildings, including schools, government departments and council offices, shows that while five per cent hold an A or B certificate, 15 per cent are in the lowest G band.

While it is difficult to calculate exact figures due to the number of duplicates in the database, which has been published by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) following a Freedom of Information request, BusinessGreen estimates the figures from 2008, 2009 and 2010, show around 270, or just 0.7 per cent, of public buildings have an A rating. In contrast, around 1,100 scored a B rating while over 6,000 were awarded the lowest G grade.

Moreover, the figures for 2010 show little imporvement since 2008, when the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) was mandated to assess the energy performance of all public buildings of over 1,000m2.

Over 3,600 DECs were awarded in 2008 with A and B ratings respectively accounting for 0.8 per cent and three per cent of the total, while 16 per cent scoring a G. The 2010 figures are almost identical, with 0.7 per cent and four per cent in the top two categories and 13 per cent in the bottom ranking.

Take up of renewable energy by public buildings has also been similarly sluggish with only around 120 buildings sourcing more than half their electrical energy from renewable power and fewer than 600 taking more than one per cent of their electricity from renewable sources.

John Alker, director of policy and communications at the UK Green Building Council told BusinessGreen it was no surprise to find more buildings with a G grade than in the top bands, adding that a survey of private sector properties would show similarly poor results.

"It shows how far we have to go. It's slightly frustrating that we haven't made more progress given the cost to the taxpayer [of wasting energy]," he said.

Alker added that most A ratings were found in areas where significant investment had been made, such as schools, and called for more public money to be spent on greening buildings.

"The small cost of getting a DEC done is far outweighed by the potential savings, both in how the building is managed and work done on cost-effective refurbishments," he said. "[The figures] don't make particularly great reading, but that's part of the point of having them - if you don't measure [energy efficiency], you can't manage it."

The data does reveal some bright spots with the headquarters of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) having both responded to David Cameron's challenge to cut 10 per cent of emissions across government by May this year.

DECC has worked hard to shift its 2008 G rating up to and E last year while Defra, which leads the initiative to green government departments, also scrapes an E rating.

The release data comes just a day ahead of tomorrow's anticipated announcement from David Cameron and Nick Clegg that they are to launch a new national carbon plan that will require all government department's to accelerate efforts to green their operations.