Two new publications by the UK Green Building Council send a clear message: retrofit must happen now, and energy optimisation should come before major capital replacement.
Buildings | Sustainability
21 May 2026
For anyone responsible for asset value, ESG targets, compliance and operational performance – they are essential reading.
Titled Building the Case for Net Zero: Retrofitting Retail and Logistics Buildings and Delivering Net Zero: Practical Actions for Optimising Energy Use, these new publications send a clear message: retrofit must happen now, and energy optimisation should come before major capital replacement.
The first report focuses on retail and logistics buildings, helping owners and occupiers understand how to approach retrofit in a practical, phased way. Rather than treating decarbonisation as a single major project, UKGBC encourages businesses to start with lower-risk, high-impact improvements that reduce operational energy and avoid unnecessary plant replacement.
The second report looks more closely at operational performance across non-domestic buildings. UKGBC highlights that 23% of the UK’s built environment carbon emissions come from energy used in non-domestic buildings, and that a significant proportion of this can be reduced through optimisation alone. For the building controls industry, this is particularly significant.
Both reports reinforce the same principle: optimise first, replace later. Many buildings already have controls systems in place, but performance can be undermined by outdated schedules, simultaneous heating and cooling, inaccurate sensors or systems simply being left to drift over time.
This places Building Management System (BMS) optimisation at the very start of the retrofit journey. Improving control strategies, reviewing plant sequencing, introducing occupancy-based scheduling and using demand-led ventilation can all deliver meaningful energy savings without major disruption or high capital cost.
UKGBC reports highlight the growing importance of data visibility. Sub-metering, monitoring, trend analysis and performance verification are no longer optional extras. If building owners cannot clearly see how energy is being used, they cannot make informed investment decisions.
This becomes even more important as buildings move towards electrification and heat pump adoption, where effective controls are essential for performance.
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For anyone involved in the BMS sector, these reports remind us that building controls should no longer be seen as a supporting system; a well-optimised control system is the cornerstone of an energy efficient building.
UKGBC delivers a compelling message that the market is moving beyond selling controls hardware alone. The real value now lies in helping owners and operators to improve building performance, reduce operational carbon and protect retrofit investment.
Priva offers a CIBSE Certified CPD on the topic of Net Zero. To learn more, or to request a CPD Session with our team – visit our Training Resources.
