With the 26 million homes in the UK generating around 27% of the nation’s carbon emissions, and being considered one of the easier areas for reduction, there’s clearly a lot of work to be done.

The main focus over the last few years has been on improving the performance of new buildings, through tightening building regulations and the new code for sustainable homes. While the target (and definitions) of all new-build homes being zero carbon by 2016 is clearly challenging, it gives us a mark to aim for.

But research by BRE has suggested that over 40% of new build do not achieve current building regulations, and even initial good performance rapidly decreases (Good Homes Alliance). So it’s not only design that needs to evolve significantly, but also materials, component manufacture and approaches to on-site construction. Demands on the market like this should drive innovation and the rapid development of new skills and supply chains.

While this is a critical part of national carbon reduction strategy, the elephant in the room is the poor performance of our existing housing stock. But it seems that the majority of people are standing with their backs to it and are trying hard not to notice it’s sheer size…this isn’t any old elephant, it’s a fully grown woolly mammoth. But recognition is certainly growing with just this week the Communities and Local Government Select Committee launching the ‘Existing Housing and Climate Change report’ calling on Ministers to “engage fully” with our existing stock and stating, “The Government must not be complacent”. There have been a number of programmes to improve the energy efficiency of our homes but, when you factor in the increasing expectations we have, in terms of the temperatures of our homes and the growth in consumer goods, we’re pretty much standing still!

The majority of the UK’s homes fall into Energy Performance Certificate bands of E, F or G, with an average SAP (the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure for energy rating of dwellings) rating in the high 40s. Recent research by Forum for the Future and URBED recommends an annual refurbishment rate of at least 1% (260,000 homes each year) by 2011, rising to at least 3.5% (910,000) by 2016. This level of activity would need to be maintained for a minimum of 20 years, in order to raise all domestic property into band C, with a SAP rating of at least 70. This is the magnitude of change that is required to give the UK a chance of meeting national carbon reduction targets.

To be effective in targeting the 70% of homes that are owner occupied it is vital that improving energy efficiency is both easy and convenient, and that all opportunities and points of influence, such as major refurbishment works, are taken. Providing a clear, structured and consistent approach will present huge opportunities for all, from community based social enterprises to the wider business community.

The issues discussed here are brought together in a new report on behalf of the West Midlands Sustainable Housing Action Programme. You can find out more and download a copy of the report here.