Energy led refurbishment of non-domestic buildings – who leads?

Innovative and efficient refurbishment offers significant carbon savings and is a growing activity, driven by Government imposing energy or carbon related standards and policies upon building owners. Many
businesses are becoming aware of the wider benefits of these improvements and therefore, their requirements as construction industry clients are changing. Built environment professionals need to recognize this change to remain competitive. This paper considers the question of whether there is a need for a re-alignment of disciplines within the industry to fulfill this growing role. A desk study, supported by structured interviews with users of large, non-domestic buildings and with industry professionals concluded that there is a role within the construction industry for a new built environment professional. A competence specification for this professional was defined and this paper outlines the skill set and knowledge base that this individual would require in order to
deliver a truly innovative, comprehensive and compatible intervention set within an energy led refurbishment.