All sustainability articles
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CommentPlanners can’t assume demolition is less green
Nicholle Kingsley on a new ruling that proves demolition is not automatically the less sustainable option
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FeaturesPassivhaus pioneers revisit the standard 16 years on
The team behind the UK’s first cavity wall Passivhaus are now building a terrace of three Passivhaus Plus homes in West Yorkshire. Bill Butcher and Chris Herring of 21 Degrees share what has changed — and what they wish they’d known first time around
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FeaturesPublic buildings in the UK are not built for frequent heatwaves - what will it take to fix them?
Last week showed that schools, hospitals and care homes are ill-equipped to protect their vulnerable occupants from sustained hot weather. What needs to be done to upgrade these estates as temperatures continue to climb?
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FeaturesMaking Senze: How sophisticated energy monitoring can cut social housing retrofit costs by 75%
Technology firm Senze has shown live home monitoring can cut retrofit costs by targeting improvements more accurately than flawed EPC assessments, raising questions over the government’s fabric-first funding model for social housing decarbonisation, Thomas Lane reports
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FeaturesSustainability: How lifecycle costs vary by sector and scale
The cost of maintaining and replacing assets is a growing priority for building owners, but how do sector and building scale influence those costs?
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CommentCan the Future Homes and Buildings Standard deliver on its promise?
The homes element of just launched new energy regulations promises big savings on bills. It’s a pity that the benefits will come too late to help with the impact of the current energy crisis, writes Thomas Lane
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CommentSocial value is not the problem – poor implementation is
Social value isn’t failing because the principle is flawed - it’s struggling because procurement systems lack the capability and confidence to deliver on their own ambitions, says Ellie Jenkins of Akerlof
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FeaturesSustainability: Decarbonising schools across the four UK nations
Governments are targeting individual sustainability and decarbonisation goals for schools across the UK, driving innovative approaches to building and retrofitting
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FeaturesProductivity: How digital tools are making construction projects better
As change accelerates, advancements in digital tools happen in months not years – bringing a greater need for accessible and actionable data to navigate the market. Turner & Townsend Alinea, Digital Trees, Mace and Visibuild explore the impact of digital tools on construction projects
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FeaturesSustainability: How to minimise waste and maximise reuse at a building’s end of life
Construction accounts for around a third of all waste sent to landfill, much of this at a building’s end of life. How can the industry develop a better approach to deconstruction?
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CommentThe genie is out of the bottle – what next for commercial property in the capital?
The City of London’s workspace market has weathered a turbulent few years, but shifting workplace strategies and sustainability-driven renovations are shaping a resilient, adaptable future for the capital’s offices, says Chris White of CPMG Architects
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FeaturesHow hard is it to decarbonise the construction of new homes?
Source: Shutterstock The embodied carbon of new homes can be reduced by using alternatives to carbon intensive brick such as the timber boarding on these homes at Aborfield Green, a new village in Berkshire More than 60% of a new home’s total carbon footprint is emitted before ...
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FeaturesMission accomplished: University completes test drive towards net zero carbon building standard
Source: Ella Wheatley The building is located in a courtyard at Manchester Metropolitan University. Source: Ella Wheatley The multifunctional laboratory can be used as a small workshop, an exhibition space or as a venue for lectures Source: Ella Wheatley The laboratory is ...
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CommentBeyond sustainability: what we need now is regeneration
The industry’s focus has to move from just trying to conserve natural resources to building in a way that actually repairs the planet, Philip Watson at HLM Architects says
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FeaturesMaterial passports: the key to carbon reduction, greater component reuse and more sustainable construction
Logging the details of the products and materials used on projects so they can have a second life after demolition has been discussed but never practised on a large London construction project – until now, Thomas Lane reports
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CommentAct now and make the new year a time of real change
Bold leadership, greater diversity, a circular approach and a focus on cracking the housing crisis are on my wishlist for 2025, writes Ellie Jenkins of Akerlof
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CommentESG regulations: what the future holds for developers
Sustainability is no longer a choice but an industry requirement and the additional costs are outweighed by the positive implications and added value, writes Cundall’s Simon Wyatt
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CommentWhat are the consequences for missing contractual environmental and sustainability targets?
What are the consequences for missing contractual environmental and sustainability targets? asks Elizabeth Cully
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NewsDays of demolish and rebuild ‘long gone’, Bam chief tells conference
Chief operating officer John Wilkinson says retaining existing structure is the right thing to do
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FeaturesThe Tribeca brick: Made from earth and water but (crucially) no fire
London’s largest life sciences project is trialling the use of a low carbon earth brick for the basement walls of the first phase. It could be a game-changer for schemes looking to radically reduce their carbon footprint. Thomas Lane reports