Sustainable refurbishment: some practical regulatory hurdles

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to some of the practical difficulties that exist within the current regulatory framework that is guiding refurbishment practice with regard to improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a critical review of Building Regulations Approved Document L2B, the current models for measuring energy and carbon emissions and third‐party certification schemes.

Findings

Sustainable refurbishment programmes can incorporate various measures and technologies to help to address the current efficiency and emission targets. Yet while specific improvements to energy efficiency and carbon emission may be technically possible, it seems that they are unnecessarily hampered by a series of hurdles.

Originality/value

The paper offers a detailed and applied consideration of three regulatory issues that can affect the achievement of sustainable measure targets in sustainable refurbishment projects.

Citation

Mansfield, J.R. (2011), "Sustainable refurbishment: some practical regulatory hurdles", Structural Survey, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 120-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/02630801111132803