The Greenhouse

Anybody following the Grand Designs Live programmes on Channel 4?

Continue reading "Grand Designs" »

Not good news for those intent on running a business on the back of the government's declared intention to invest heavily in offshore wind farms.

Continue reading "Offshore Wind Farms" »

When you've tired of building greenhouses (or green buildings - we're very inclusive here you know), or just of having green temporary accommodation while building something not quite so green (see previous entry), how about going on holiday to, erm, a greenhouse?

Continue reading "Green holidays" »

Well, not houses, as such, but accommodation units like these from A-Plant. Funny how we can worry about the green credentials of the temporary accommodation we use when we build things but what we actually build can leave a lot to be desired...

The sustainability bug is spreading to the rest of the Contract Journal office. This from the pen of CJ correspondent Daniel Franklin...

On Wednesday 23 May several big names from the construction industry met at the City Inn, Westminster to discuss the need to reduce waste and increase recycling. The sky lounge overlooking London was the setting, the topic, the target for the construction industry to halve the amount of waste going to landfill by 2012. But would the meeting produce something more tangible than just blue-sky thinking?

Contract Journal chaired the meeting, with representatives from Envirowise, WRAP and construction companies including Bovis, Jewsons and Hippo Waste. With the rain pattering away at the huge glass windows, the meeting began at a furious pace, with everyone wanting their opinions and thoughts heard. The note taking process felt like a serious workout at the gym!

Above the clamour, David Vaughan, the representative from Envirowise, made his voice heard - funnily enough he cited communication as a huge issue, and everyone was quiet long enough to agree. Mervyn Jones from WRAP felt that communication with contractors was a particular concern; at least some were present to agree. Clearly BT are right, it is good to talk.

As the meeting drew to a close, many things had become apparent. Besides the cramp in my wrist from all the note-taking many ideas had been presented for ways to halve the waste sent to landfill by the 2012 deadline. But, to borrow from Elvis, time maybe for a little less conversation and a little more action?

It's not just the construction industry and the various product manufacturers that get their knickers in a twist about embedded energy (see the various arguments put forward by the timber, concrete, masonry and steel lobies). Do you remember reading or hearing recently about a council that has decided to serve only vegetarian food in the name of sustainability? I forget the details, but the decision was based around the fact that it took less energy to grow fruit and veg than meat. In a generalised sort of way it's true, of course. But, as with weighing the various merits of concrete, timber and steel, the devil is in the detail. We're very trendy here in Sussex and have a box of organic vegetables delivered every week from Abel & Cole. Last week's information sheet attempted to demystify the notion of embedded energy in food. Organic was best, it said (nor surprises there), even if produced quite some distance away, rather than locally produced inorganic food; eating in season was crucial. It provided some facts from DEFRA and the Soil Association to support its claims, most startling of which was the following: in the UK it takes nearly eight times as much energy to produce a tonne of out of season, inorganic tomatoes as it did to produce one tonne of organic beef. Food for thought.

You know sustainability is of growing relevance to the everyday when it starts coming through your letter box. Having 'fitted the best' double glazing at least since my grandparents had it installed at their house in the 1980's (indeed since 1965 according to their website), Everest is now diversifying into solar water heating systems. They don't apear to be registered with the government's Microgeneration Certification Scheme (what used to be known as Clear Skies) but if such a commecially savvy operator as Everest is now offering retro-fit systems there seems to be an encouraging level of demand.

It's like buses - nothing for ages and then several together. Latest to try and do something about the issue of sustainability in our existing building stock is the parliamentary All Party Urban Development Group. The group is inviting people to submit evidence to its inquiry into reducing the environmental impact of existing non-domestic buildings. You have until May 5th; contact Paula Lucci at the Centre for Cities (p.lucci@centreforcities.org 020 7803 4306). Secretariat services for and information about the All Party Urban Development Group are being provided by the British Property Federation.

No sooner do we raise the vexed issue of doing something to improve the sustainability credentials of our existing housing (and building) stock with the work being done at the BRE than the politicians get in on the act.

Continue reading "You saw it here first" »

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, or so they say. But can you teach an old building to be green?

Continue reading "New Tricks" »