Building the case for net zero: retrofitting office buildings

Understand which retrofit measures are the most carbon and cost effective when looking to upgrade the energy performance of a commercial office building.
Climate Change Mitigation Advancing Net Zero Technical Report

Following on from the 2022 report, Delivering Net Zero: Key Considerations for Commercial Retrofits ‘Building the case for net zero: retrofitting office buildings‘ reframes retrofit as an iterative process, rather than a standalone project, and demonstrates that upgrades should be planned and implemented to align with critical opportunities, such as lease and maintenance cycles.

This report outlines which retrofit measures are the most energy and cost efficient, empowering industry professionals to understand what would work best for their particular project. These retrofit measures span the breadth of building upgrade types: building optimisation, light retrofit and deep retrofit. Additionally, this report details steps for overcoming common challenges to maximise compliance with anticipated Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) and closing the gap towards future net zero carbon performance targets.

What does industry need to do to drive commercial retrofit?

Retrofit now

Commercial office investors, owners, & occupiers must plan and implement immediate and longer term retrofit strategies to close the gap to net zero

Greater transparency

All stakeholders must improve the quality and transparency of building performance data, to optimise in-use energy performance.

Minimise whole life carbon

Whole life carbon assessments should be used to determine the most effective long-term decarbonisation strategies.

Invest in long-term value

All stakeholders should factor in long-term retrofit outcomes, and the wider social, economic and environmental benefits.

Collaborate and share lessons learnt

The scale of the retrofit challenge and the rate of decarbonisation needed requires a collaborative approach.

Download the report here

Building the case for net zero: retrofitting office buildings

Explore our report, including case studies.
Download12.94 Mb

Commercial retrofit case studies

Uncover more information on the nine case studies featured in the report in our case study library.

Advancing Net Zero Partners

Our Advancing Net Zero work is made possible thanks to our programme partners

Commercial Retrofit Project Partners

Our live projects on commercial retrofit are made possible thanks to our project partners

Commercial Retrofit

Energy required to heat, power and operate commercial buildings accounts for nearly a quarter of the built environment’s carbon footprint in the UK. Significant improvements in energy efficiency must be accelerated across all sectors. To address this challenge, UKGBC is working with a team of industry experts to accelerate the delivery of commercial retrofit programmes.
Learn more

Advancing Net Zero

Created in 2018 as part of a World Green Building Council initiative, UKGBC’s Advancing Net Zero programme has a mission to lead the UK’s transition to a net zero built environment. It has produced leading guidance such as the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework and the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, whilst working with organisations and experts across the industry.
View more

Related