It’s world earth day today! World Earth day is an annual event, first established in 1970 that includes a wide range events to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

Today we salute the thousands of Elmhurst members throughout the UK that help our buildings and people be more energy efficient. Whether this is through energy assessments, operational assessments, air conditioning inspections, overheating assessments, thermography, U-Value calculations, Psi-Value calculations, retrofit, air pressure testing, ventilation, energy modelling, or in-use monitoring, together we continue to make a massive difference.

For them, every day is world earth day, looking at ways to increase the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce carbon emissions 364 days of the year.

There’s no doubt that the environment is at the forefront of the government’s and the public’s mind, made so by the relentless news stories, protests and documentaries on the subject– with a special mention given to David Attenborough.

The momentum to address climate change seems unstoppable; yesterday the EU announced a 55% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030 and it was only a few days ago that the government announced their new ambition to cut emissions by 78% by 2035.

While we can debate how realistic this target is, it shows ambition and sets the tone for other energy efficiency policies.

As an industry that focuses on the energy performance of buildings, we have been delighted by the introduction and tightening of existing regulations. In 2018 the government introduced Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for private rental properties in England and Wales (properties must have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of E or above before being let). Furthermore, non-domestic rented buildings in England and Wales will need to meet EPC Band B by 2030.

And then there’s retrofit.

Over 20% of UK emissions come from heating our buildings – and while new homes are being built to high energy performance standards, what about the UK’s existing leaky housing stock?

That’s where the retrofit industry comes into play – bolstered by PAS 2035 which introduces a revolutionary whole house retrofit approach when it comes to improving the energy performance of property.

Put simply, PAS 2035 is the framework that TrustMark approved Retrofit Assessors and Coordinators must follow when completing retrofit work on a property.

The government has acknowledged that trust has been eroded in the retrofit and installer industry – mostly by the abundance of ill-advised, unnecessary or poorly installed energy efficiency measures. In order to increase trust and the appetite of such measures and schemes, TrustMark ensures that all retrofit work follows an approved framework and is carried out by qualified Retrofit Coordinators and Assessors.

It’s incredibly exciting for the industry. And so, although we celebrate this day, we’re incredibly excited about the future policies of tomorrow.