A building advisory official speaking at UK Construction Week has warned the construction and property sector could face legal action over the “performance gap” between buildings’ promised efficiency and their actual performance — and cautions the industry could face its own VW-style emissions scandal, Business Green reports.
The online publication says Rob Pannell, managing director of nonprofit building industry advisory body Zero Carbon Hub, revealed testing shows some buildings use twice the amount of energy compared to their energy performance rating. He warned that failure to address this gap could leave some property companies at risk of legal action.
Volkswagen is currently under investigation by the US and other nations and facing lawsuits after an EPA probe revealed the automaker used and used “defeat devices” to cheat air pollution laws. This week VW said it withdrawing US emissions certification applications for its 2016 diesel Jettas, Golfs, Passats and Beetles. The original EPA investigation, which covered about 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the US since 2008, did not cover 2016 models.
