Govt urged to extend green building initiatives

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 05-03-2009

The government has been urged to extend its green building initiatives to incorporate commercial and other non-residential properties.

Following the government's unveiling of its new scheme to completely remove carbon emissions from the UK's residential sector by 2050, calls have been made for similar initiatives to be launched to help the commercial sector achieve comparable reductions.

John Alker, of the UK Green Building Council, commented: "Many non-domestic buildings will be covered by the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), but in terms of new policies there is not much on the table at the moment."

He added that parts of the government's CRC already apply to the non-residential sector; however, more needs to be done to promote green office refurbishment and construction.

Meanwhile, earth911.com recently urged businesses considering their green office refurbishment plans to take into account what features will bring about the most sustainable outcomes.

It advised firms to cut back on frivolous design elements and to focus on lowering CO2 emissions in order to help the government meet its emissions reduction targets.