Sustainability and environmental news in UK construction

Legal threat forces startup out of heat-loss measurement market

Contributor — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 12:45:09 +0000

By David Strahan EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been corrected to remove two statements about building testing company BSRIA. The original version stated that insulation firm Saint-Gobain had launched its QUB heat-loss measurement product “through BSRIA”. The article also said that BSRIA was “Saint-Gobain’s delivery…

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Net-zero-homes proposal ‘could lower standards’

Ian Weinfass — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 07:00:10 +0000

A coalition of built environment groups have said the government’s net-zero housing plans do not go far enough. Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), a network of 1,000 professionals in the sector, says the Future Homes Standard could see housing built to lower environmental standards than…

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Industry calls on politicians to regulate embodied carbon

Charlotte Banks — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 07:18:30 +0000

A coalition of 11 industry bodies have called for political parties to commit to regulating embodied carbon ahead of the general election. The Chartered Institution of Building (CIOB) and Construction Industry Council (CIC) are among those who signed a policy paper asking party leaders to…

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Whitehall calls for increase in traditional-building methods training

Ian Weinfass — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 17:16:44 +0000

The government wants to increase the amount of construction training on traditional building methods and materials to help retrofit old homes. In a review of the barriers to improving energy efficiency in listed and conservation-area homes, three departments jointly highlight workforce shortages as a major…

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‘Transparent’ home energy assessments to be introduced

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 12:45:54 +0000

A proposed new method for assessing the energy performance of buildings is set to be more transparent and adaptable than the current one. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) opened a consultation on a new Home Energy Model this week, alongside its…

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New BSI concrete spec ‘not breaking new ground’

Charlotte Banks — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 09:55:49 +0000

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has changed its concrete specification standard to reduce the carbon content – but a leading industry figure said the UK still lags behind on concrete sustainability. The UK’s national standards body published the new edition of the key UK standard…

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New homes standard to make heat pumps mandatory

Ian Weinfass — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 09:42:15 +0000

All housing built from 2025 should include heat pumps, according to new government proposals. A consultation on technical requirements for the government’s Future Homes Standard opened on Wednesday (13 December), with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) stating that the requirements will…

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Industry needs to speed up carbon reduction efforts, report warns

Ian Weinfass — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 07:00:55 +0000

Embodied carbon emissions in the UK built environment have not reduced at the pace required to reach net zero, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has warned. The body’s assessment of targets, laid out in a 2021 report called the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon…

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When asked about M&E product carbon, you need answers

Contributor — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:47:13 +0000

Paul Reeve is director of corporate social responsibility at the Electrical Contractors' Association Designers and other professionals across the built environment are steadily improving the measurement of embodied carbon in their construction specifications. But now, engineering-services contractors tendering for public sector and commercial work are…

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Ardmore lands £50m office retrofit

Ian Weinfass — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 08:56:27 +0000

Ardmore has been named as main contractor on a £50m office retrofit job in central London. Client LS Estates has appointed the Islington-headquartered firm to its commercial project at 5 Chancery Lane. Work will involve retrofitting the existing six-storey building, located between Fleet Street and…

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