Ben Barker

This article by Andrew Cameron-Smith from Unlock Net Zero is a really good read for everyone involved in retrofitting the UK's housing stock. It outlines the innovations in efficiency that could help achieve net zero. https://bit.ly/4baXS0D #netzero #sustainability #builtenvironment #retrofit #housing #energytransition

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How can we transition to low-carbon heat networks in the UK?    Buro Happold conducted a heat network feasibility study of the Polmadie district with Zero Waste Scotland, funded by Glasgow City Council.    Wendy Saigle, Associate Director, Buro Happold says “It will take planning and collaboration, and we believe it is possible. This study focuses on the opportunity for Energy from Waste (EfW) to be used from the Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre (GRREC) facility to heat buildings in the Polmadie area of Glasgow. Energy from Waste offers useful opportunities for decarbonising heat.”    Polmadie’s waste centre could provide heat to Hampden Park, a hospital, homes and schools as our illustration of the heat network route demonstrates. Plans for a heat network using the Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre could make “substantial inroads” into reducing carbon emissions in the area.  Find out more in the article here: https://lnkd.in/e2MPRQMF    Read about our energy consulting work and experience in feasibility studies to design here: https://lnkd.in/etFp8pqY #Glasgow #heatnetwork #energy #renewable

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This article in Building by Thomas Lane interviewing David Partridge on the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard clearly sets out the aims and intentions of what will be an important tool in reducing carbon emissions once released.

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Net zero requires reuseable, repurposed buildings Divisional director at Premier Modular, Mark Rooney, examines the need to incorporate repurposed building stock in the national #netzero strategy As the UK is now halfway to reaching its net zero target, reports suggest that #emissions must be cut at double the speed if the country is to stay on track . A revived plan to temporarily decant the House of Lords during the refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster has shed light on a potential solution that could be echoed nationwide: could repurposed rental buildings be used to house Parliament and contribute to #decarbonising the #builtenvironment? https://lnkd.in/ecqErNCG

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Navigating the complexity of carbon reporting can be challenging for organisations of all sizes. With vast amounts of information to gather, analyse and report on, it can be overwhelming. Discover Emissions Intelligence, in partnership with Salesforce, delivering efficient and transparent carbon reporting to help you decarbonise with confidence > https://hubs.ly/Q02xXk3n0 #Sustainability | #CarbonReporting | #EmissionsIntelligence

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💭 How do we visualise the impact our built environment has on our planet?And, how do we make changing how it works seem possible, worthwhile and aspirational? UKGBC's Daisy Everingham explores the role of comms in sustainability in the built environment and what makes for impactful climate communications.. 📚Read here: https://lnkd.in/emrK5zEu

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A recent government review attributed over 50% of the UK's carbon emissions to infrastructure and the built environment. A fast-tracked standard, comprehensive in scope, was urgently needed in light of the scale of carbon emissions needed. PAS 2080 provides a consistent framework encompassing the whole value chain, fully aligned with the industry's sustainability goals. Developed through collaboration between industry experts, it establishes targets, baselines, metrics and reporting procedures to quantifiably manage carbon throughout design, construction and use. “When you've got the whole value chain operating in the same way, that's where the magic happens.” - David Riley, Anglian Water Services See the benefits of the world's first standard for reducing and managing carbon in the built environment: https://gag.gl/a0rv9S #BSI #Sustainability #BuiltEnvironment #PAS2080 #FacilitiesManagement

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Only 2900 homes to 'Passivhaus' in ten years! To reiterate the point many experienced industry experts have been trying to make, this is not how we can deliver enough homes to accommodate our population and address the housing crisis. Those with a vested interest in the Passivhaus standard, and can benefit financially from it's introduction, will of course shout loudest about its benefits.This voice is heard loud and clear due to a cost of living crisis and high energy costs. However, with the new Government targeting 1.5m new homes in the next 5 years, this standard is only a pipe dream. Those who can afford the higher construction cost should be left to this standard as a choice. It should not be imposed on the industry (as is proposed in Scotland) or we risk the complete collapse in housing output. I do agree however, the mainstream housebuilders should be aiming for an A-rated EPC as a new build standard and this should be the target over the next 5 years as a minimum. Housing is already out of reach for too many families. Claiming a Passivhaus will save them £20* per week would be meaningless when the mortgage or rent will be £100* per week more! *example Let's concentrate on home creation across the nation 👍

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Worth a read about our Passivhaus experts article on Heat pumps #thinkingbuildings

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Just been reading the EPEE (European Partnership for Energy and the Environment) briefing on FGAS phase down in the EU. Looking at the 3rd line of this bit of the table it looks like R32 heat pumps probably have 6 years of legally being sold (subject to review). After the 'ban' there will be a situational safety exemption which seems like a nightmare to police in my view - you can nearly always make something comply with the R290 placement requirements if you really need to so how hard would it have to be? Also I note that the limit is set at GWP of 750, which I imagine was probably intended to allow R32, but the IPCC AR6 100 year figure for R32 is now GWP of 771 so maybe they'll need a re-write to try and make R32 acceptable as the fall-back options. Then again, I think a relaxation of safety rules around R290 is desperately needed, the current controls implemented seem excessive to me, but I'm far from an expert. Can anyone better informed than me share any insight? Have I got this right?

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Kentish Building Surveying reading some interesting stats here from Green Building Design Consultants. A long way to go for heat pumps in lieu of gas boilers! #commercialbuildingsurveying #kentishbuildingsurveying #commerciallandlords #commercialtenants

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Wondering why your projects don't quite seem to be hitting the mark on net zero? Its because you don't have independent energy modellers, experts who can integrate into the design team and help drive your energy and carbon scope. Forget the old days of having energy modelling as an afterthought, procured at the lowest point in your value chain; if you care about net zero that is. New blog dropped on why YOU need independent energy modellers and how they work in existing design teams. Link in comments ⏬ #energymodel #MEP #construction #realestate #netzero

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Sir John Armitt’s National Infrastructure Commission report to Government has found: ⛽️ ❌ The government will fail to meet its targets on heat pump rollout. 💨 The promised lifting of a ban on new onshore windfarms has not gone far enough. ⚡️ Massive investment is needed in the electricity grid. 🚊 There is no proper plan for rail in the north and Midlands now that the northern leg of HS2 has been cancelled, severely inhibiting economic growth in those regions. 💦 Water bills will need to go up to fix the sewage crisis, and more reservoirs are needed to avoid drought, while water companies have done too little to staunch leaks. 🌊 💧 💧 💧 The UK lacks a coherent strategy on flooding, with more than 900,000 properties at risk of river or sea flooding and 910,000 at risk of surface water flooding. 🖥️ Good progress has been made on the rollout of gigabit broadband around the country. The Guardian’s article below added: “Rishi Sunak’s U-turns over net zero have delayed progress on vital infrastructure that is needed for economic growth, the government’s advisers have said. “Sir John Armitt, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), said good progress had been made on renewable energy in the past five years, but changes to key policies, including postponing a scheme to boost heat pump takeup, had created uncertainty and delay. “He said the government could no longer “duck key decisions”, as Britain was falling behind on vital infrastructure, from rail transport and energy to water, flood defences and waste.” My question: when are we going to start taking this seriously? 🌍 🏗️⚡️ 💧 🚆 🚲 #sustainabilityleadership SDG 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 +

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How to manage private water supply / Boreholes This week, Charlie Brain, one of our Senior Consultants and Authorising Engineers (Water), dives into what private water supplies are, the advantages they offer, as well as the costs and regulations involved. While only approximately 1% of the population in England and 3% in Wales currently make use of private water sources, these supplies can provide some of the best-tasting water available, given the right conditions and setting. See the link in the comments to read the full article. #water #legionella #propertymanagement

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Ahead of RIBA's election event on climate action: Delivering a low carbon built environment at 2.00 this afternoon, UK AD has sent each candidate (Oluwafunmbi Adeagbo, Duncan Baker-Brown and Chris Williamson) and the current RIBA President, Muyiwa Oki PRIBA, an Open Letter containing a set of key actions. More radical and systemic change is required, with the greatest action needed at the highest leverage points involved in changing any system. It is here that key institutions such as the RIBA must lead. We call on all candidates for this new term of office to engage clearly and directly with these policies as the driving force for the RIBA’s actions on the planetary emergency in the short, medium and long terms:   - The mindset or paradigm out of which the system - its goals, power structure, rules, its culture - arises. - The goals of the system. - The distribution of power over the rules of the system. - The rules of the system (incentives, punishments, constraints). - Information flows. - Material flows and nodes of material intersection. - Driving positive feedback loops. These 7 leverage point headings are taken from the Donella Meadows essay on 'Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System'. The full text of the open letter expands on the headings, explaining how RIBA can engage with these leverage points to push forward meaningful change. You can find the full text of the Open Letter on the News page of our website here https://lnkd.in/eZ5wafzX. #openletter #riba #action #climate #ukarchitectsdeclare #climateemergency #ribaelections

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Today, following the end of the purdah period associated with the UK elections, Glasgow City Council published their Draft Tall Building Design Guide Consultation. The deadline for responses to this document is the 30th of September 2024. https://lnkd.in/eWzNPWnj Iceni Projects' Glasgow Built Heritage and Townscape Team attended both Council In-House Consultations in person over the course of the last year, and we are glad to see the consultation document go live for all to comment on! This is an important guidance document for the city, in order to balance growth, innovation and the refocusing of our city centre post covid, into a mixed use, adaptable, liveable, and successful place, which protects the city's character, listed buildings and non heritage assets, within a strong but evolving townscape. The guidance should bring clarity in relation to how and where our clients and design teams will be supported by NRS Glasgow City Council in terms of bringing density and height to the city centre. We will be reading the document in detail of the course of the next few days, in order to provide our clients with a clear briefing as to what this 76 page guidance document (+ technical appendices) means for development in the city and for the planning process that supports applications. Needless to say, it means that our expertise in relation to Heritage and Townscape Visual Impact Assessments will become even more crucial, in fact obligatory, as we move forward, and as ever, we are here to help :-) #heritage #townscape #planning #htvia #heritageimpactassessment #heritagestatement #NPF4 #retrofit #resilientcities #Glasgow Scottish Property Federation Glasgow Chamber of Commerce #development #citycentreregeneration #liveableneighbourhoods #listedbuildings #nondesignatedheritageassets #ThegoldenZ #Districtframeworks Aidan Ball Albessard / James Wood

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I find it a bit strange for the government to try to dictate what type of toilet facilities should be provided through building control. The point of building control should be about safety (such as structure, fire etc), accessibility and environmental impact. This seems like too much of a political stance. I can't think of many situations where people are forced to share toilets where there are cubicles, or where there is a situation where basins are shared these are in very small establishments with limited space. Surely if people aren't happy with the toilet arrangements in a certain place they would chose not to go there and chose somewhere else instead? In the interests of accessibility, inclusivity and general efficiency of space, our advice would always be to provide unisex self-contained toilets with a toilet and washing provisions in one contained space. This has multiple benefits beyond gender, it just seems the most sensible approach.

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UK water companies embrace private #finance initiative to deliver £14bn of #infrastructure. #water #wastewater #sewage #energy #power #innovation #technology #environment #health #sustainability #renewables #alternativeenergy #chemicals #circulareconomy #climatechange #netzero #carbonemissions #hydrogen #resources #facilities #utilities #design #growth #industry #transformation #business #leadership #entrepreneuship #management #investment #commercial #construction #creativity #digitalmarketing #future #economy #data #creativity #productivity #networking #businessintelligence #analytics #data #science #engineering #blockchain #artificialintelligence #machinelearning #digital https://lnkd.in/ejyEhDcd

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