ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to evaluate the actual energy performance of office buildings and proposes that benchmarks should be based on occupied area and occupancy, with separate ratings for landlords and tenants. It looks at the dark art of calculating embodied carbon, provides typical values that can be used for quick estimates and compares this with operating carbon. The book discusses how location influences the way that people choose to travel to a building, and compares commuting CO2e emissions for a typical city centre building with out-of-town locations. It analyses the operating, embodied and transport CO2e emissions into a whole carbon footprint, with indicative benchmarks. The book presents approaches and solutions to reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of buildings.
