Environmental and sustainability legislation

Question 1

Climate Change Levy

Answer 1

Tax on energy use.

To encourage investment in energy saving equipment.

Energy use in electricity, gas, liquid petrol gas, solid fuel.

Not applicable to taxable commodities for domestic use or charities for non-business use.

Question 2

Regulated CO2 Emissions

Answer 2

Regulated under Part L.

Emissions associated to building fabric, fixed services.

Unregulated emissions - use of cooking, appliances and IT equipment, etc.

Question 3

Green Guide to Specification

Answer 3

Used by BREEAM to assess the enviro impacts of construction materials and products.

Question 4

R-Value

Answer 4

Measure of a material’s resistance to the transfer of heat across it.

Do not include surface heat transfers.

Considers material thickness.

Question 5

Reduction of operational carbon

Answer 5

A primary sustainable construction driver in the UK.

UK Govt aims to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020, 80% by 2050 (against a 1990 baseline).

Question 6

Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) Regs

Answer 6

Placed obligations on clients (not domestic clients) & principal contractors with construction projects over £300,000 to have a SWMP.

Aimed to help contractors reduce construction waste, identify by-products produced, minimise them. ….by using materials efficiently, through recycled products & responsible waste disposal.

Not compulsory now in UK but maybe required for BREEAM assessments or by LPA.

No formal approval process. LPA may require submission of SWMP as part of the planning process.

Question 7

Renewable Heat Incentive

Answer 7

Aims to revolutionise the way heat is generated and used.

By providing long-term financial support to renewable heat installations (e.g. solar thermal technologies, biomass boilers, heat pumps)

Encouraging uptake of renewable heat.

Question 8

BREEAM - When required?

Answer 8

Sometimes by client.

Govt require all public projects to have environ assessment. When BREEAM is used, projects must achieve “excellent”.

Some LPA require BREEAM (or equivalent) for planning approval.

Question 9

Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs)

Answer 9

Enable businesses to write-off tax on their spending towards qualifying machinery.

3 schemes for ECAs:

(1) Energy-saving plant & machinery,
(2) Water conservation plant and machinery.
(3) Low C02 emission cars

Question 10

BREEAM assesses the following issues

Answer 10

(1) Construction waste management
(2) Use of recycled or secondary aggregates
(3) Operational waste - to provide dedicated storage for recyclable waste in new buildings
(4) Spec and fitting of floor and ceiling finishes.
(5) Adaptation to climate change. Recognises / encourages measures taken to mitigate impact of extreme weather conditions from climate change over the lifespan of a building
(6) Functional adaptability - Recognises / encourage measures taken to accommodate future changes of use over the lifespan of a building.

Question 11

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Answer 11

Business approach that ensures companies are accountable for impacts of their activities on the environment they operate in.

UK Govt’s commitment to CSR made it mandatory for companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 12

UK Green Building Council

Answer 12

Aims to improve the sustainability of the built environment, by transforming the way it is….planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated.

A registered charity

Works with businesses, not-for-profit organisations, govt agencies and academic institutions.

To enable them to truly embed sustainability in their business practices.

Question 13

Part L Conservation of fuel and power

Answer 13

Guidance on ways of complying with the energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regs.

Key role in defining suitable intermediate steps on the trajectory towards zero carbon buildings.

Question 14

Carbon Trust

Answer 14

Not-for-profit company.

To provide specialist support to help business and the public sector cut carbon emissions, save energy and commercialise low carbon technologies.

Helps companies address issues across climate change and sustainability by developing and implementing strategies.

Provide a range of energy efficiency financing options to help businesses save energy and money.

Question 15

Display Energy Certificates (DECs) required shows / required when

Answer 15

Show actual energy use of a building and associated CO2 emissions.

Provides a Advisory Report (AR) that details how to reduce emissions from the building further.

Required for public buildings with a total useful floor area of 500m2 or more.
There is a penalty system in place for organisations that do not display an up-to-date DEC or have an AR.

Question 16

U-Value

Answer 16

Measure of how effective elements of a building’s fabric are at preventing heat from transmitting between the inside and the outside of a building.

Question 17

Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme

Answer 17

Mandatory carbon trading system.

Rewards businesses that adopt energy efficient measures.

Punishes those that remain passive by forcing them to buy carbon credits.

Question 18

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) shows / required when

Answer 18

Show the energy demand of a building.

Provide recommendations to occupants on how to improve the rating.

Required when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out & when existing buildings undergo major alterations.

Every commercial building over 50m2 requires an EPC for sale or letting.

EPCs are also required for all new construction work over 50m2.

Question 19

BREEAM

Answer 19

Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) Environmental Assessment Method.

Sets benchmarks for standard categories of development (such as offices, retail developments, educational buildings and healthcare buildings) and offers a bespoke scheme for non-standard buildings.

Ratings are ‘Pass’, ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’;

Allows clients, project teams and FMers to be certain best practices are being adopted on their project.

Question 20

Climate Change Act (2008)

Answer 20

Legally binding agreement target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by the year 2050 (based on 1990 levels).

Question 21

Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

Answer 21

Promote better energy performance in buildings by encouraging owners and tenants to choose energy efficient buildings when seeking new premises.

Improve the energy efficiency of buildings that they already occupy.

Question 22

Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP)

Answer 22

Provide specialist support to for businesses and the public sector on waste management.

Question 23

Hazardous/Special Waste Regulations

Answer 23

Waste only be disposed of at a landfill site that is authorised to accept it.

Must be treated, before it can be sent to landfill, to meet the limits set by a landfill site’s waste acceptance criteria (WAC).

Question 24

Feed-in Tariffs

Answer 24

Encourage small scale, low carbon electricity generation BY providing ‘clean energy cashback’ for householders, communities and businesses.

Question 25

Planning – Sustainable Development

Answer 25

According to NPPF, many LPA have supplementary planning documents addressing sustainable design and construction.

Often aligned with national assessment schemes such as BREEAM.

Question 26

Waste Framework Directive

Answer 26

Requires the UK to design and implement waste prevention programmes.

Target to reuse and recycle 70% of construction and demolition waste by 2020.

Question 27

Merton Rule

Answer 27

Planning policy originally developed by Merton Council

Requires the use of renewable energy onsite to reduce annual CO2 emissions in the built environment.

New developments to generate at least 10% of their energy needs from on-site renewable energy equipment.

Many local authorities have taken on this “Merton rule”, with some of them now extending to 20% as part of their planning requirements.

Question 28

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

Answer 28

Technique to managing surface water and groundwater sustainability, both in areas of natural drainage, and urban areas that have been altered with drainage networks.

Question 29

Home Quality Mark (HQM)

Answer 29

Help house builders to demonstrate the high quality of their homes and to differentiate them in the marketplace.

Question 30

Standard Assessment Procedure for the Energy Rating of Dwellings (SAP)

Answer 30

Based on the BRE Domestic Energy Model (BREDEM).

Assesses how much energy a dwelling will consume.

Required to demonstrate compliance with part L for new dwellings, new buildings converted to dwellings and some extensions and refurbishment work.

Calculations should be carried out using a computer program approved for SAP calculations by BRE.

Question 31

Part L main requirement

Answer 31

Building CO2 Emissions Rate (BER) ≤ Target CO2 Emissions Rate (TER).

For non-domestic buildings calculated using a Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM).

For residential buildings, the Dwelling CO2 Emissions Rate (DER), Calculated using the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP).

Question 32

Part L (England) requirements:

Answer 32

Max allowable CO2 emissions rate.

Max allowable U-values for planar elements.

Max allowable airtightness.

Guidance to reduce non-repeating thermal bridging.

Checks to control of solar gain and overheating.

Part L1A (2013) introduced mandatory Fabric Energy Efficiency Standards (FEES) & existing CO2 emissions targets.

Question 33

Flood Risk Management Plan (FRA)

Answer 33

Determine if new developments are located in areas that fall within the Environment Agency’s flood plain.

Required in planning apps under the EU Floods Directive for developments over one hectare in size, and areas that are known to be at flood risk.

Question 34

Code for Sustainable Homes

Answer 34

A voluntary standard for assessing and certifying the sustainable design and construction of new homes.

Question 35

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

Answer 35

Ensures that the environmental effects of a proposed development are properly considered.

Generally large or environmentally complex projects may require them in planning app.

Question 36

Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

Answer 36

Requires all new buildings to be ‘nearly zero energy’ by Dec 2020.