Catch 22

CIBSE recognises the importance of environmental issues. One of its objectives is to encourage greater consideration of the longer-term effects of design solutions on the environment. The institution’s code of conduct requires its members to “have due regard to environmental issues in carrying out their professional duties”. And as we report in news (page 8), CIBSE has joined with the ICE and the RIBA to add its support to a group of industry leaders committed to working with industry to integrate new low-carbon technologies and practices through innovation.

Local authorities have recognised that they, too, have a duty to introduce environmental initiatives. A year ago, the London Borough of Merton ruled that 10% of the energy requirements in all new commercial developments must be met from on-site renewable solutions. As we report in this issue (page 12), Merton’s ruling is rapidly becoming a national benchmark as more councils throughout the UK adopt a similar requirement.

Developers have an obligation to comply with these new rules. The difficulty for them is that renewable energy technology is often difficult, and perhaps costly, to incorporate in a scheme. This may lead some developers to put pressure on consultants to ‘prove’ to planners that renewables are not cost-effective in this instance – and so grant an exemption from the requirement.

Therein lies the dilemma for professional engineers: should they bow to a client’s wishes to find a reason not to use green technology – after all it is the client that pays their wages. Or should they risk jeopardising client relations by maximising the opportunity to incorporate renewable technologies and limit a building’s environmental impact. And as more local authorities impose a requirement for buildings to generate a proportion of their energy needs using these technologies, it is a dilemma that engineers are increasingly likely to face.