tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162 2008-05-08T11:46:20Z Heated debate about sustainability and construction Movable Type Enterprise 1.53 tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.30069 2008-05-08T11:34:42Z 2008-05-08T11:46:20Z

Anybody following the Grand Designs Live programmes on Channel 4?...

Paul Anybody following the Grand Designs Live programmes on Channel 4?]]> the House that Kevin built - can be environmentally friendly? Still, better late than never. Also, somebody's nicked our name -albeit with a slightly cooler, Germanic twist... That's designers for you.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.29885 2008-05-06T08:52:52Z 2008-05-06T09:10:08Z

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....

Paul 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. Shell announced it had pulled out of plans to build the world's biggest offshore wind farm, the London Array. What likelihood now of achieving the government's targets for the equivalent of 33 such arrays by 2010? What with the recent decision to prevent an onshore development on the Isle of Lewis, maybe Lord Turner was right about targeting small-medium scale projects rather than just super projects.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.29710 2008-05-01T13:08:06Z 2008-05-01T13:36:49Z

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,...

Paul 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?]]> earthship' rather than a greenhouse, and there's only one in Europe (in France), so you may have to book ahead. But it sounds good. And if that tickles your fancy, you can even buy a book about them. Better than buying another trashy novel at the airport anyway.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.29610 2008-04-30T12:39:58Z 2008-04-30T12:48:03Z

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...

Paul 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...]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.29214 2008-04-24T13:24:42Z 2008-04-28T10:57:11Z

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...

Will Mann 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?]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.28938 2008-04-21T12:53:29Z 2008-04-21T13:14:17Z

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...

Paul 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.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/the-greenhouse-blog//162.28754 2008-04-17T06:58:42Z 2008-04-17T07:20:04Z

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...

Paul 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.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.28534 2008-04-15T07:13:16Z 2008-04-15T07:31:04Z

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...

Paul 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. ]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.27879 2008-04-04T07:38:47Z 2008-04-04T07:59:29Z

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....

Paul BRE than the politicians get in on the act. ]]> 'Eco-Towns'?. OK, so not all the headlines were fawning, but the government's mind seems made up (and it appears to have the planning system on its side, at least according to Stephen Turnbull, planning partner of law firm LG - "under the existing planning system the government has a host of weapons in its armoury and the Secretary of State has the final say on any challenge or appeal - so one way or another it's hard to see how anything can stop the government getting its own way over eco towns."). Eco-Bling or not, it doesn't take a PhD in political spin to know which this cuts more ice with the man on the Clapham omnibus than relagging his hot water cyclinder.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.27573 2008-04-01T08:57:36Z 2008-04-01T09:11:53Z

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

Paul You can't teach an old dog new tricks, or so they say. But can you teach an old building to be green?]]> BRE is trying to answer with the refurbishment plan for its Victorian stable block. I was at BRE last week and it was clear that work is now well under way, though when I asked about progress the only comment was 'slowly'; as the project is due to run until September 2009 and be a case study in best practice this is perhaps understandable - watch this space.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.27157 2008-03-26T08:56:38Z 2008-03-26T09:30:04Z

It's a good job Lord Turner, Government climate change Tsar, isn't emulating Dick Whittington and standing for mayor of London....

Paul It's a good job Lord Turner, Government climate change Tsar, isn't emulating Dick Whittington and standing for mayor of London. recent comments about being imaginative enough to install wind farms on the central reservations of motorways and outside every school would have created endless bad jokes (like the one above) about turning again and again, rather like, er, a wind turbine... More pertinent than this lame sense of humour is the fact that Lord Turner is advocating the use of medium-sized wind turbines; they couldeven be described as small. This seems like an admirable approach. As part of the 'old world', the UK has a rich tradition of small/medium scale exploitation of local energy sources - think water mills and those aesthetically pleasing predecessors of wind farms - windmills. The only issue I have with Lord Turner is that he apears to have changed tack. As a former head of the CBI, that bastion of free-market economics, surely he should be aware that there's no shortage of desire or ability to build these things in the construction industry, it's the fact that making a return on the investment for such relatively small wind turbines is nigh on impossible. Hence the drive to build bigger and more visually intrusive wind farms as the only way to generate returns sufficient to involve the private sector in building them; hence also the reticence of the wider public and planning authorities; hence, finally, our appallingly slow reaction to the changes needed if we do want to reduce the likelihood and consequences of man-made climate change. The article about Lord Turner's ideas goes on to say he has written a book on economics with a chapter on the 'green capitalism'. I've not read, it, and judging by Amazon not many others have either (except Gordon Brown, maybe). But this apparent desire to at least broach the issue provides some hope. It's only once people like Lord Turner begin to cotton on to the fact that only when we have an economy, capitalist or otherwise, that actually attributes appropriate values to environmental issues that we stand a chance of actually being able to build a sustainable future.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.26624 2008-03-14T09:17:30Z 2008-03-14T09:22:51Z

How I envy someone like yourself, in a position of such power, yet so inured to the responsibilities that come with it that you think a budget announcing ‘£26 million funding next year for a Green Homes Service to help...

Paul budget announcing ‘£26 million funding next year for a Green Homes Service to help people cut their carbon emissions and their fuel bills’ is a major step forward. ]]> current annual output: 560.6m tonnes in 2006. In this context, even announcing that ‘new non-domestic buildings will become zero-carbon from 2019’ – that’s eleven years away – seems like little more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Oh, Darling, how you must sleep well at night.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.26623 2008-03-14T09:13:47Z 2008-03-14T09:17:20Z

House and home – now that’s an appropriate metaphor for a construction sustainability blog....

Paul House and home – now that’s an appropriate metaphor for a construction sustainability blog. Defra some 40% of energy consumed in the EU is related to buildings. WRAP - the Waste and Resources Action Programme - says 50% if you include the construction process. Given that energy consumption is the prime cause of human-induced global warming there can surely be no better explanation for why the construction industry should take the issue of sustainability seriously. And if construction can be persuaded to try and tackle the problems associated with sustainability – what does it mean? is it compatible with a capitalist economic system that is inherently incapable of putting a value on finite resources? Can I ever type it without making a mistake? – then we’re in with a chance of finding an answer. After all, taken at its broadest construction means all those who use buildings, which is pretty much all of us (troglodytes excluded, unless they nip down to Tesco’s for their weekly shop). You don’t even need to be totally convinced by some of the more outlandish claims made in the name of global warming to want to join in the debate – you only need to be aware of the scale of the risk of doing nothing. ]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.26622 2008-03-14T08:11:28Z 2008-03-14T09:11:39Z

First there was a big bang and a big flash. Or a big man (or woman) with a beard (maybe not a woman then) saying let there be light....

Paul First there was a big bang and a big flash. Or a big man (or woman) with a beard (maybe not a woman then) saying let there be light. 7.6 billion years even if we stop cooking straight away.]]> tag:www.contractjournal.com,2008:/blogs/sustainability-blog//162.26075 2008-03-06T12:31:07Z 2008-04-15T07:44:29Z

Hello. My name is Paul Howard and I'm looking after Contract Journal's new Sustainability blog. The blog is designed for all of you who are keen to ensure construction takes sustainability seriously, but not too seriously. You might be...

Paul Hello. My name is Paul Howard and I'm looking after Contract Journal's new Sustainability blog. The blog is designed for all of you who are keen to ensure construction takes sustainability seriously, but not too seriously. You might be able to discern from my photo that I'm a Leeds United fan and have painful, first hand experience of the consequences of 'unsustainable growth'. So, apart from hoping the mighty whites, or Peacocks to some, are still around for the next generation to enjoy and appreciate, I'd also quite like my children not to have to face up to the consequences of our apparent headlong rush into some sort of Malthusian disaster simply because we didn't stop to think about the consequences of how we live. Of course, construction in its widest sense is central to dealing with how we live. So, what better place to try and get a handle on the wider sustainability debate?]]>