Sustainability

Question 1

What is sustainable environment?

Answer 1

• Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs
• Sustainable construction means using renewable and recyclable materials when building new structures, as well as reducing energy consumption and waste. The primary goal of sustainable construction is to reduce the industry’s impact on the environment.
• Sustainable construction doesn’t end when the building is complete; the building itself should have a reduced impact on the environment over its lifespan. This means that the building design should incorporate elements that have an ongoing positive influence on the building’s environmental impact. These can include proper insulation to prevent heat loss, solar panels to reduce energy consumption, and building materials with a long lifespan.
• three pillars of sustainability – economic viability, environmental protection and social equity.

Question 2

Why is sustainability important to construction?

Answer 2

Construction is responsible for circa 55% total annual material consumptions
• 25 milion tonnoes of waste are sent to landfill
• The built environment accounts for:
• 45% of total UK carbon emissions (27% from domestic buildings and 18% from non-domestic).
• 72% of domestic emissions arise from space heating and the provision of hot water.
• 32% of landfill waste comes from the construction and demolition of buildings.
• 13% of products delivered to construction sites are sent directly to landfill without being used.

Question 3

How do you measure sustainability?

Answer 3

Sustainability measurement is the quantitative basis for the informed management of sustainability. The metrics used for the measurement of sustainability (involving the sustainability of environmental, social and economic domains, both individually and in various combinations) are still evolving: they include indicators, benchmarks, audits, indexes and accounting, as well as assessment, appraisal and other reporting systems. They are applied over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.
can be also measured using one of the construction sustainability assessments (BREEAM, SKA, LEED)

Question 4

What is BREEAM?

Answer 4

BREEAM is the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Environmental Assessment Method, first launched in the UK in 1990. It sets best practice standards for the environmental performance of buildings through design, specification, construction and operation.
BREEAM sets benchmarks for standard categories of development (such as offices, retail developments, education buildings and healthcare buildings) and offers a bespoke scheme for non-standard buildings. It can be applied to new developments or refurbishment projects, and international schemes exist for projects outside of the UK.
It allows clients, project teams and facilities managers to be certain that the required standard of environmental best practice is being adopted on their project. It can also be used as a marketing tool for potential purchasers or tenants

Question 5

What is BREAAM Rating?

Answer 5

Outstanding (>85%)
Excellent (>70%)
Very Good (>55%)
Good (>45%)
Pass (>30%)
Unclassified( <30%)

Question 6

What are the other methods of assessment?

Answer 6

BREEAM – Non residential Sustainability Assessment can be used for schools, offices, community centres, shops, GP Surgies, Care Homes, Hotels

SKA rating – fit out and office

Home Quality Mark – (2015) Residential Sustainability assessment, voluntary,

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

Question 7

What is the RICS professional statement on the ‘Whole Life Carbon Assessment’?

Answer 7

This professional statement is intended to standardise whole life carbon assessment and enhance consistency in outputs by providing specific practical guidance for the interpretation and implementation of the methodology in EN 15978 in carbon calculations – see section 2 for more detail. This is to achieve coherent and comparable results that can be used to benchmark the whole life carbon performance of built assets.
The specific objectives of this professional statement are to:
• provide a consistent and transparent whole life carbon assessment implementation plan and reporting structure for built projects in line with EN 15978
• enable coherence in the outputs of whole life carbon assessments to improve the comparability and usability of results
• make whole life carbon assessments more ‘mainstream’ by enhancing their accessibility and therefore encourage greater engagement and uptake by the built environment sector
• increase the reliability of whole life carbon assessment by providing a solid source of reference for the industry
• promote long-term thinking past project practical completion, concerning the maintenance, durability and adaptability of building components and the project as a whole; and
• promote circular economic principles by encouraging future repurposing of building components, as well as of the project as a whole, through quantifying their recovery, reuse and/or recycling potential.

Question 8

Explain the principles of conducting the whole life carbon assessment?

Answer 8

WLC assessments should be carried out using a nationally recognised assessment methodology and should demonstrate the actions that have and will be taken to reduce WLC emissions. The assessment should cover the development’s carbon
emissions over its life-time, accounting for:
• its operational carbon emissions (both regulated and unregulated)
• its embodied carbon emissions
• any future potential carbon emissions ‘benefits’, post ‘end of life’, including benefits from reuse and recycling of building structure and materials.