Housing is a fundamental component of our quality of life. The majority of our homes perform poorly. They are cold, damp and difficult to heat. It is a paradox that our existing homes could use less energy and water and be much more comfortable than they are now. Many poorly performing homes contribute to the health issues of their occupants. Once home temperatures get to 18°C there is a dramatic improvement in health.

Up to 85% of the total energy consumption and CO2 emissions of a building comes from consequent heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water use. Reducing this dramatically offers a significant opportunity to help New Zealand meet its energy efficiency and emissions reduction targets while maintaining economic growth.

Improvement has already started in the commercial sector with the development of Green Star rated buildings. Green Star was developed by the private sector, was backed by Government through its purchasing policy for new buildings and has been picked up by developers first for new buildings and subsequently when retrofitting office spaces. New Zealand however appears to be lagging international experience in improving the performance of its existing housing stock.

There has been significant recent interest in improving the performance of new homes. Proposed changes to the Building Code mean new homes will use up to 30% less energy than existing homes. Bigger water and energy savings are being achieved by designers and developers building ‘eco-friendly’ homes beyond the Code. Right House, Warren and Mahoney, ebode, Lockwood and Stonewood Homes are all active in this area.

The biggest challenge is how best to address the large number of existing homes which can, with retrofitting and renovation, perform better. While we build more than 20,000 new homes each year, we have more than one million existing homes whose performance could be significantly improved. Our existing homes can be more comfortable, warmer in winter, cooler in summer and healthier while using less energy and water.

In May 2007, the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development commissioned a collaborative research project working with 19 businesses and organisations in the building sector and consulting with a further seven organisations with an interest in delivering sustainable buildings. We soon decided the greatest potential for improvement was in upgrading our existing housing stock.

The outcome is a five point solution to improve the houses in which we live. The solutions are all achievable but we need to start today. First and foremost we need a clear over-arching strategy between industry, local and central government enabling us to achieve substantial gains in the performance of the housing stock. We need to clearly detail what we want to achieve in the built environment and how we are going to get there.

We need to work with owners and occupiers to understand their aspirations for better performing homes, and we need to communicate this to the building sector.

The products and services needed to effect change in the existing housing stock are already known to us, but all the parties in the chain from manufacturer to retailer to builder need to collaborate to deliver solutions which best meet owners’ and occupiers’ aspirations.

Underpinning success a mandatory performance rating system which will effectively provide sustainability certification of homes is proposed. This will offer owners and occupiers a market valuation reward for the cost of the ‘hidden’ retrofit features, like insulation, which make a home perform better.

But none of this will happen if we don’t introduce a fast track in our regulatory processes. The current “red tape” delays and sometimes even prevents, homeowners, their builders and their installers from retrofitting their homes to achieve better performance. We need “green tape” empowering people to ‘do the right thing’ without extra cost and delays.

This report outlines a five point solution and key responsibilities. While the solutions have costs we all stand to benefit from lower health bills linked to better housing. These are estimated at $54 million and, in addition, more than $17 million in extra production can be captured, energy and water use will fall, more people will be available for work and thousands fewer will have to go to hospital each year. Previous work found for every $1 you invested in insulation, health and other benefits worth $2 can be captured. We must make the investment now.

A shared view between homeowners, the Government and the building industry is needed to realise on the potential. The Business Council wants this report to be the catalyst for that change.