Central government departments and local authorities face a busy year as they work towards compliance with the confusing flurry of new laws on energy certification and public sector carbonemission reductions.

And even though many local authority building managers are now aware of the

need for Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), fewer are aware of the legislation that states that from 1 October 2008 all public buildings over 1,000m2 will also need to exhibit a Display Energy Certificate (DEC).

A DEC shows the energy performance of a building based on actual energy

consumption as recorded annually. From 1 October, DECs will need to be displayed in a prominent place clearly visible to the public. And after that, DECs will also need to be updated each year. This means that any building that the public can enter, including schools, swimming pools, police stations, local libraries, town halls, hospitals and any other public building over 1,000m2 will all need to be assessed.

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Although quite costly in the first year (the Government has set a guide of 50 pence per square metre) for the following years, a key component of the DEC, the highly technical advisory report, does not need to be reproduced, bringing the year-on-year costs down to around eight pence per square metre.

Because there are only a limited number of assessors who have completed the Government approved training, building managers are being advised by the Government to put plans in place now, or risk being fined after the cut-off date.

EPC requirements are also affecting public sector stock, with universities, colleges and other local authority dwellings in need of a rental EPC by October. EPCs tell you how energy efficient a property is on a scale of A-G and from 1 October 2008 all commercial and domestic rental properties will have to have an EPC before they can be rented.

Because of our direct access to a large percentage of the approved assessors,

Green CO2 plc energy services group is able to offer an integrated service that can help central government departments and local authorities sort their DECs from their EPCs as well as providing end-to-end project management support to remove the stress and hassle of having to manage the rollout across your stock.