{"id":2516,"date":"2019-09-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/how-green-really-how-measuring-what-happens-inside-a-building-is-the-ultimate-climate-change-data-ab074f2a79dd\/"},"modified":"2019-09-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T00:00:00","slug":"how-green-really-how-measuring-what-happens-inside-a-building-is-the-ultimate-climate-change-data-ab074f2a79dd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/how-green-really-how-measuring-what-happens-inside-a-building-is-the-ultimate-climate-change-data-ab074f2a79dd\/","title":{"rendered":"How green really: how measuring what happens inside a building is the ultimate Climate Change data challenge."},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 name=\"65c4\" id=\"65c4\" class=\"graf graf--h3 graf--leading graf--title\">How green really: how measuring what happens inside a building is the ultimate Climate Change data challenge.<\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19sUfQTi5UAbzETNF8HmeHA.png\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p name=\"db9b\" id=\"db9b\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\">I left my role as Head of Labs at <a href=\"https:\/\/bulb.co.uk\/labs\" data-href=\"https:\/\/bulb.co.uk\/labs\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Bulb<\/a> in late April and moved on to work with <a href=\"http:\/\/overlay.earth\" data-href=\"http:\/\/overlay.earth\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Overlay<\/a> a project incubated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ing.com\/About-us\/ING-Labs.htm\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.ing.com\/About-us\/ING-Labs.htm\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ING Labs<\/a> researching how financial institutions could utilise building data to develop a new generation of sustainability-led financial services.<\/p>\n<p name=\"4aee\" id=\"4aee\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">After working with Bulb, EDF &amp; British Gas over the past 15 years, I certainly knew plenty about energy and smart building solutions (access control, environmental monitoring, occupancy monitoring) but started digging into how these things connect to the world of finance. I wanted to find out if we could easily use the usage data from across a building and help financial institutions access that data and offer \u2018green\u2019 financial products like loans, bonds, mortgages.<\/p>\n<p name=\"d5b7\" id=\"d5b7\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">But instead of radical innovation opportunities, I unearthed some quite mundane yet crucial data problems that will need to be solved by the whole tech sector if we\u2019re looking to reach the ambitions set by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/sr15\/\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/sr15\/\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">2018 IPCC Report on Climate Change<\/a>. Initially the team I\u2019m working with is concentrating on commercial real estate and moving into other areas over the next few months so this post reflects this.<\/p>\n<h3 name=\"2637\" id=\"2637\" class=\"graf graf--h3 graf-after--p\">What data?<\/h3>\n<p name=\"2f77\" id=\"2f77\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--h3\">When it comes to measuring the \u2018greenness\u2019 of a building with multiple tenants things can get complicated quickly. A few different things need to be taken into consideration such as:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li name=\"0aa1\" id=\"0aa1\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--p\">the way the building is built<\/li>\n<li name=\"ec21\" id=\"ec21\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">the way it\u2019s being utilised<\/li>\n<li name=\"1182\" id=\"1182\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">the local weather<\/li>\n<li name=\"b8c9\" id=\"b8c9\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">local building standards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p name=\"a2cd\" id=\"a2cd\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--li\">Then there are more strategic things that you could decide to measure such as:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li name=\"ed88\" id=\"ed88\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--p\">the sustainability of the construction site<\/li>\n<li name=\"a7ea\" id=\"a7ea\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">the impact of construction on that land<\/li>\n<li name=\"6228\" id=\"6228\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">whether the energy supplied comes from renewable sources<\/li>\n<li name=\"1907\" id=\"1907\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">whether it supports access to public transport options<\/li>\n<li name=\"1b99\" id=\"1b99\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">The quality of the experience when you\u2019re in the completed building<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p name=\"3394\" id=\"3394\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--li\">Any more and you\u2019d be looking at each building owner in a lot more depth, doing the type of due diligence banks love, or something called ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) benchmarking. This is quite heavy handed and requires levels of disclosure across a business that is difficult to gather automagically so I\u2019ll leave this aside for now.<\/p>\n<p name=\"0a47\" id=\"0a47\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">If what we\u2019re trying to do is to measure the impact of a building there are 2 ways that the market does this today in September 2019: EPC data &amp; green building certification. I\u2019ll discuss both.<\/p>\n<h3 name=\"e754\" id=\"e754\" class=\"graf graf--h3 graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">EPCs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19sUfQTi5UAbzETNF8HmeHA.png\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p name=\"a392\" id=\"a392\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--figure\">In 2010 the European Commission published the <a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/en\/topics\/energy-efficiency\/energy-performance-of-buildings\/overview\" data-href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/en\/topics\/energy-efficiency\/energy-performance-of-buildings\/overview\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Energy Performance of Buildings Directive<\/a> which makes it compulsory for building owners to produce an energy performance assessment when there\u2019s any change in lease or ownership. They even go as far as detailing what the assessment should include (Annex 2 of the Directive) but not precisely how it should be conducted nor where it should be published.<\/p>\n<p name=\"5ab8\" id=\"5ab8\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">At a national level, every country then uses their own <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uk-ncm.org.uk\/\" data-href=\"http:\/\/www.uk-ncm.org.uk\/\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u2018National Calculation Methodology\u2019<\/a> to compensate for local weather and building practices.That calculation ends up being used by government approved software which a trained assessor can use, together with an on-site visit of the building. <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">This is important: the assessment process is not and cannot be digitised.<\/strong> The discrepancy between a plan and the real thing, as well as lack of effective documentation means a human is ultimately in charge of assessing the fabric of a building. That also means there are differences in assessments with every assessor. Not ideal but that\u2019s one of the many things that aren\u2019t ideal.<\/p>\n<p name=\"4185\" id=\"4185\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">Once an EPC assessment is made, a certificate is issued and sent to the owner of the building and in some cases, <a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/en\/content\/public-epc-registers\" data-href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/en\/content\/public-epc-registers\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a national register<\/a>. That register isn\u2019t mandated by the European Commission and they don\u2019t document them, instead indicating if they are publicly accessible or not. Out of the 27 member states, some have public registers (9), or registers with limited access (7) but many don\u2019t (11).<\/p>\n<p name=\"b722\" id=\"b722\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">The strength of EPCs is that it\u2019s part of EU law so everyone has to do it.<\/strong> The weakness is that every country calculates theirs slightly differently so it\u2019s hard to compare buildings across countries. What does a D rated building in Holland mean compared to a D rated building in Spain? Is the path to improvement the same?<\/p>\n<p name=\"b8c6\" id=\"b8c6\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">And EPCs are not yet massively popular. It\u2019s in the law but enacting it at a local level is down to the local authorities which, you know, is a problem sometimes (she says talking from the epicentre of people who have a problem with the EU right now).<\/p>\n<p name=\"c641\" id=\"c641\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">When so many financial services are built on international real estate portfolios, the hyperlocal nature of EPCs can be a barrier. I think that\u2019s one area where the European Commission should get more involved to force a public and detailed register for every country so that people can shop their next factory floor or restaurant knowing what the EPC history of the building is. How precisely this clashes with GDPR, I\u2019ll explore in a future blog post.<\/p>\n<h3 name=\"98d4\" id=\"98d4\" class=\"graf graf--h3 graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">Green building certificates<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p name=\"b69f\" id=\"b69f\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--h3\">Outside of Europe, there are no standardised ways of describing the greenness of a building. So organisations around the world took a blended approach, signing up to commercially driven certification schemes specifically targeted at new buildings. This serves the double purpose of helping champion newly designed buildings instead of \u2018old\u2019 buildings and making people think across different dimensions of the building project. Here are some of the aspects which certifications schemes tend to analyse:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li name=\"89a7\" id=\"89a7\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--p\">\n<strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Management<\/strong> (procurement, stakeholder participation, ease of maintenance)<\/li>\n<li name=\"8edb\" id=\"8edb\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">\n<strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Indoor Environment<\/strong> (building management systems, ventilation, heat, smoking policies, indoor air quality)<\/li>\n<li name=\"0fda\" id=\"0fda\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">\n<strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Materials<\/strong> (source, recyclability, renewables)<\/li>\n<li name=\"4b94\" id=\"4b94\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">\n<strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Energy &amp; Water Efficiency<\/strong> (CO2 emissions, energy sources, energy delivery performance, water savings)<\/li>\n<li name=\"da6e\" id=\"da6e\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">\n<strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Site Ecology<\/strong> (public transport access, car parking facilities, outdoor environment, cyclist access)<\/li>\n<li name=\"f69d\" id=\"f69d\" class=\"graf graf--li graf-after--li\">\n<strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Innovation<\/strong> (smart technology, culture, job creation)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p name=\"cade\" id=\"cade\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--li\">Green certification is often for a new building with one owner in it. The mixture of topics covered in the certification means that a well-rated building could hide some fundamental flaws simply because it did well on other aspects. <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">These schemes are also quite expensive and not regulated<\/strong>. In some instances, they don\u2019t even require an on-site visit which means they can be very much an abstracted view of a building. Why would anyone use them, well in lieu of regulation, it\u2019s a good idea to champion sustainable building practices in any way possible, especially in nations and regions most affected by climate change.<\/p>\n<p name=\"29d1\" id=\"29d1\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Both EPC and green certification are better than nothing at all but the real challenge is in comparing them effectively and championing them effectively. <\/strong>The EU\u2019s lack of definition and green certification bodies\u2019 lack of transparency on their methodology doesn\u2019t help. But all of this is quite opaque to the general public. It was notable though that the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.opendatacommunities.org\/updates-to-energy-performance-certificate-open-data\/\" data-href=\"https:\/\/news.opendatacommunities.org\/updates-to-energy-performance-certificate-open-data\/\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">UK Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government decided that EPC data wasn\u2019t personal data and republished the certificates in a very comprehensive open data register<\/a>. <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">It\u2019s the highest quality data around in Europe along with the Dutch registry<\/strong> and along with APIs from green certification bodies like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breeam.com\/tools\/breeam-api\/\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.breeam.com\/tools\/breeam-api\/\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">BRE<\/a> it helps the financial sector automate the decision making around commercial real estate, helping those owners that need it most and helping buildings improve over time.<\/p>\n<p name=\"27c2\" id=\"27c2\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p\">All of this research feeds into <a href=\"http:\/\/overlay.earth\" data-href=\"http:\/\/overlay.earth\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Overlay<\/a>, the tool I\u2019ve been helping Stef, Tee, Ant &amp; Remy build and will be showcased in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sibos.com\/discover\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.sibos.com\/discover\" class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sibos Discover Zone<\/a> next week in London. Go say hi to them and keep an eye on all this, it\u2019s going to get exciting.<\/p>\n<p name=\"d478\" id=\"d478\" class=\"graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing\">Happy #ClimateStrike day everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How green really: how measuring what happens inside a building is the ultimate Climate Change data challenge. I left my role as Head of Labs at Bulb in late April and moved on to work with Overlay a project incubated by ING Labs researching how financial institutions could utilise building data to develop a new&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/how-green-really-how-measuring-what-happens-inside-a-building-is-the-ultimate-climate-change-data-ab074f2a79dd\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How green really: how measuring what happens inside a building is the ultimate Climate Change data challenge.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet-of-things","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p41XhY-EA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.designswarm.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}