黑洞社区

Do the Tories fully appreciate the economic potential of 鈥済reener鈥� buildings? It鈥檚 a question many business leaders from the construction and property industry will have asked themselves upon waking, bleary-eyed, on the morning of 8 May, to discover that the Conservatives had swept to an unexpected victory in the general election.

Because let鈥檚 be honest, the Conservative party often attracted the ire of 鈥渟ustainability advocates鈥�, whereas their former coalition partners, the Lib Dems, were praised for their progressive environmental and social rhetoric. So who would blame the green building industry for worrying that the Tories would abandon sustainable building policies to the scrap heap?

But in fact there have been some encouraging initial signs.

The once husky-hugging David Cameron has, in public at least, been a firm supporter of energy efficiency, that 鈥渢he economies in Europe that will prosper, are those that are the greenest and the most energy efficient鈥�. (Privately, he allegedly told aides to 鈥渃ut the green crap鈥� on energy bills.) Last month he praised the Green Investment Bank (GIB) for 鈥渓eading the world鈥� in the next generation of energy infrastructure. And indeed the GIB, which was created under his leadership, has invested in an impressive range of energy efficiency projects since launching in 2012. Even before the election, the to 鈥渃ut emissions as cost-effectively as possible鈥� in order to meet the UK鈥檚 climate change commitments. And life after the coalition could represent a golden opportunity for the Tory government to reclaim the green agenda, to ensure that conservatism and environmentalism can go hand in hand, and to capitalise on green not simply for the sake of the planet, but also for the future success of our economy. Cameron鈥檚 support of the G7鈥檚 climate change commitments would certainly suggest this is possible.

The green building industry鈥檚 initial fears may have been confirmed when the government announced it would be cutting the DECC鈥檚 budget by 拢70m, with 拢40m of savings coming from home energy efficiency

After returning to Number 10, Cameron to head the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in his first handful of ministerial appointments. Ms Rudd鈥檚 appointment is significant for a number of reasons. A junior minister at DECC in the final year of the coalition, she already has experience of the complex landscape that is UK energy policy and, as a close ally of George Osborne, can hopefully gain greater traction for green issues within the Treasury. What鈥檚 more, she鈥檚 already demonstrated she understands the economic case for greener buildings. After all, it was she who championed the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme for businesses, she who described the ground-breaking Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for privately rented buildings as 鈥溾��, and she who is keen to create a 鈥渟olar revolution鈥�.

The appointment of Greg Clark as communities secretary, replacing the much-maligned Eric Pickles, himself intent on blocking many of the more sustainable building policies, is also welcome. Clark is a former secretary for energy and climate change, but also a strong advocate of city mayoral powers, planning reform and sustainable development, as well as being involved in many early discussions resulting in the Green Deal policy.

However, late last week, the green building industry鈥檚 initial fears may have been confirmed when the government announced it would be cutting the DECC鈥檚 budget by 拢70m, with 拢40m of savings coming from home energy efficiency. The fact that more than half of the DECC鈥檚 budget cut is to be made in this area is an ominous sign of the new government鈥檚 priorities, despite its emphasis on keeping household and business energy bills low, keeping the lights on, and keeping our emissions in check.

Actions like these make it difficult to remain optimistic about whether the Conservatives really do get this agenda, but I鈥檓 determined to think they do. Why? Because of the synergies that exist between greener building policies and the Tories鈥� own economic rhetoric. Energy efficiency in buildings offers a suite of economic benefits; stimulating growth and creating jobs, strengthening our international competitiveness, lowering energy bills and reducing the burden on the NHS.  

Business leaders from the construction and property industry already recognise these benefits, and not simply because they鈥檙e the right thing to do. They鈥檝e adopted bold energy efficiency and carbon reduction targets in their own businesses because they generate real commercial value. This was recently demonstrated by a group of more than 55 business leaders who put their names to an we coordinated to the Chancellor George Osborne. The letter highlighted the 鈥渕ajor economic opportunity鈥� offered by reducing carbon emissions from buildings, and demonstrated the 鈥渞emarkable degree of consensus鈥� which exists on this issue among industry leaders.

The Tories have something of a dilemma. They are insistent on driving forward austerity measures, such as spending cuts at the DECC and other departments, but in doing so deny the economic opportunities that that funding presents. If they decide to continue on that path and choose not to hear that collective corporate voice that suggests otherwise, surely they are ignoring the pro-business mantra that lies at the heart of the party? Let鈥檚 hope last week鈥檚 cuts were just a momentary glitch for a new government which does appreciate the business case behind greener buildings. 

Julie Hirigoyen is chief executive of the UK Green 黑洞社区 Council