Sustainability Flashcards
Why is sustainability important to construction?
- Construction industry has a huge impact on the environment, accounting for 36% worldwide energy usage, 40% CO2 emissions
- Construction can also result in hazardous waste, where improper disposal results in pollution - affects health and environment
What do we mean by sustainable development?
Brundtland Report:
- Meeting needs of the present without compromising on ability of future generations to meet their own needs
- 3 pillars are social, environmental and economic
Can you define social, environmental and economic considerations in relation to sustainability?
Social
- Meeting needs of wider community (i.e. libraries, healthcare)
Environmental
- Prevent harmful and potentially irreversible impacts on environment, i.e. minimising waste and energy usage, protecting and enhancing environment
Economic
- Efficient use of resource, including labour
- Meeting financial needs to support self and business
Can you define the term ‘net zero carbon’ in the context of new build construction?
UKGBC (UK Green Building Council):
- When carbon omissions associated with building’s product and construction stages up to PC is zero or negative, through use of offsets / net export of on-site renewable energy
Can you define the term ‘net zero carbon’ in the context of operational energy for a building in use?
UKGBC:
- When carbon emissions associated with operational energy on annual basis is 0 or negative
- Net zero carbon building highly efficient and powered from on-site and/or off-site renewable energy sources, offsetting any remaining carbon balance
What is your understanding of the term carbon neutral / net zero carbon?
- Equal balance between carbon emitted and carbon absorbed from atmosphere
- Important measure for businesses and projects to consider global warming and environment
What sustainable initiatives are you aware of that are being implemented by the RICS?
- SKA ratings, encouraging green codes of practice for commercial properties
- ‘Value the Planet’ campaign, committed to forming climate change expert panel to implement UN’s sustainable development goals
- Responsible Business Report with solutions for companies to operate in greener capacity (including higher recycling rates, reducing energy, transport and water use)
What do you implement to promote sustainability?
- Only printing where necessary
- Car sharing
- Recycling
- Use of second hand items
- Minimising waste where possible
- Cloud based storage systems in lieu of paper
When’s the best point of design to consider modern methods of construction?
Earlier the better, to minimise programme delays in redesign, cost surprises
What is the threshold for a waste management plan?
£300k in JCT (this obtains BREEAM credits too)
What Building Regulations apply to sustainability?
- Approved document part L - conservation of fuel and power
- Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (requires EPCs produced, quantifies energy efficiency, DECs for commercial buildings over 500sqm)
Key pieces of legislation affecting sustainability in construction?
- Agricultural land act
- Building act
- Clean air act 1993
- Climate change act 2008
- Environmental protection act 1990
What is the agricultural land act?
Enables land to be acquired for particular purpose (i.e. use as woodlands, control pests and weeds, support agricultural activities)
What is the building act?
- Primary UK legislation enabling Building Regulations to be enforced
- Assists in conservation of fuel and power, prevent waste, misuse, water contamination, ensure those in and around buildings are kept safe
What is the clean air act?
Provides local authorities in England with measures to control air pollution
What is the climate change act?
- Legally binding framework to tackle climate change
- Imposed targets to cut greenhouse emissions compared with 1990 levels - 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050
Different forms of taxation relating to sustainability?
- Landfill tax - environmental tax payable in addition to landfill rates charged by private disposal companies. Introduced to encourage alternative methods of disposal
- Landfill tax charged by weight, depends on whether waste is inert or active
What is the Paris Agreement?
- Sets out global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees, trying to limit to 1.5 degrees
- Adopted by nearly every nation, came into effect in 2016
- Each country must determine, plan and regularly report on contribution and mitigations for climate change
What is COP?
- Conference of the Parties, attended by countries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - treaty agreed in 1994
- COP27 was 27th meeting in 2022
What happened at COP27?
- Breakthrough agreement providing loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by floods, droughts and other climate disasters
- Clear intention to keep 1.5 degrees within reach, requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at latest, reducing by 43% by 2030
- Focus on accountability with commitments made by sectors, businesses and institutions
- More financial support for developing countries towards low emissions and climate resilient development
- Pivot towards implementation of actions
Core principles of Planning and Decision making around sustainability?
- Use creative processes
- Proactive steps taken to achieve sustainable development
- Secure development of high quality built assets
- Account for character of surrounding area, conserve heritage
- Support climate-resilient and low-carbon economy
- Conserve and enhance natural ventilation, reduce pollution
- Encourage use of brownfield sites
- Maximise use of public transport, cycling, walking
- Support health, social and cultural wellbeing
What measures does your company make in relation to sustainability?
- Recycling bins
- LED lighting, on timers / sensors
- Cycle to work incentives
- Sustainability working group sharing information and CPDs
Name some of the technology available to help meet Part L of the building regs?
- Wind turbines
- PV cells
- Ground / air source heat pumps
- Rainwater harvesting
- SUDS
- Green roofs
- Increased insulation
- Solar shading
- Natural ventilation
- Solar shading
- Automated building systems (lighting sensors)
What are green roofs?
Sedum roofs / grass roofs / living roofs
- Partially or completely covered with plants and vegetation, usually planted over drainage membrane that sits on top of roof
- Additional layers include root barriers, waterproofing products, irrigation systems
- Rooftop ponds are an alternative form- treats grey water
Advantages of green roofs?
- Absorb rainwater
- Provide extra insulation to roof
- Increase biodiversity
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Lower urban air temperatures
How do PVs (photovoltaics) work?
- Convert sunlight into electricity
- Light energy strikes cells, so electrons are knocked loose
- Conductors capture electrons in the form of current
- Energy stored in batteries / immediately used to power building
How does a soakaway work?
- Solution to standing surface water
- Large hole / pit receives surface water from a drainage pipe, helps water slowly percolate through soil, reduce risk of flooding
How to ground source heat pumps (GSHP) work?
- Ground loop (pipes buried underground) and heat pump at ground level
- Fluids pumped around ground loop to absorb naturally occurring heat stored in ground
- Liquid compressed, goes through heat exchanger
- Heat transferred to heating systen in building
How to ground source heat pumps (GSHP) work?
- Collecting rainwater from roof / other services (i.e. permeable pavements)
- Rainwater passes through filter and is stored underground / in overground tank
- Water pumped where needed, i.e. WCs, washing machines, garden taps
Advantages of rainwater harvesting?
- Decreases demand for water and from imported sources
- Water and energy conservation
- Improved BREEAM compliance
- Lower operational costs
What is meant by the term solar gain?
- Increase in temp in space/object/structure due to solar radiation
- Building can retain the solar gain through high thermal mass / avoid by using insulation and reflective materials
How can solar gain be prevented / managed in buildings?
- Horizontal shading to glazing (brise soleil)
- Limiting glazing area
- Orientating away from south facing
- Reflective glazing
- Insulating walls and roof spaces to prevent indirect solar gains into building
Can you explain what SUDS are?
- Sustainable Urban Drainage System
- Designed to efficiently manage drainage of surface water in urban environment
- Alternative / addition to traditional drainage systems, where surface water drained directly to underground piped drainage
- Utilise natural vegetation and material to absorb surface water
Can you provide some examples of SUDS?
- Filter drains
- Swales
- Permeable surfaces
- Basins and ponds
- Underground storage
- Green roofs
- Rainwater harvesting
What are the most common environmental issues experienced on construction sites?
- Water pollution risks
- Air and noise pollution (releasing dangerous gases and chemicals, dust)
- High energy consumption
- Carbon emissions
- Risks of land contamination
- Damage to wild habitats
- High wastage production
- Contributing to landfill waste
How do you measure sustainability?
- Can be measured by assessing performance of Social, Environmental and Economic principles
- Also by construction sustainability assessments (i.e. BREEAM)
What is a U-value?
- Measure how effective a material is as an insulator
- Lower u-value = better heat insulator
Can you name some sustainability measuring systems?
- BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method)
- LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
- EPC (Energy Performance Certificates)
- SKA
What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?
- EIA = process of evaluating likely environmental impact of a proposed project / development
- Considers interrelated socio-economic, cultural and human health impacts, beneficial and adverse effects
What is the SBEM tool?
- Simplified Building Energy Model
- Government-defined process in accordance with Building Regs Part L
- Calculation of energy performance of new commercial buildings
- Used to generate EPC for non-domestic buildings in construction and at point of sale / rent
What is a DEC?
Display Energy Certificate
- Shows energy performance of public buildings on scale of A to G (most to least efficient)
- Public authorities must have DEC if building is at least partially occupied, total floor area >250sqm and frequently visited by the public
Can you tell me a little about BREEAM?
- International scheme providing independent 3rd party certification of sustainability performance of individual buildings and infrastructure projects
- Assessment and certification takes place at several stages, design and construction to operation and refurbishment
What are the BREEAM headline assessment categories?
- Management
- Health and wellbeing
- Energy
- Transport
- Water
- Materials
- Waste
- Land use and ecology
- Pollution
- Innovation
Advantages of BREEAM certification?
- Level of achievement
- Lower environmental impact
- Considers internal environment (can increase productivity)
- Reduces operating costs
- Improves marketability
BREEAM rating thresholds?
- Outstanding 85%+
- Excellent 70%+
- Very Good 55%+
- Good 45%+
- Pass 30%+
- Unclassified <30%
What can a client do to achieve easy BREEAM points?
- Early design stages - bike shelters, local labour, locally sourced materials, planting, life cycle cost plan, waste management plan
- Land use and ecology - habitat protection and creation, improvement of long-term biodiversity
- Pollution - innovation within construction
What is an EPC?
Energy Performance Certificate, introduced in 2007
- Legal requirement for building to be sold, let or constructed
- Valid for 10 years once obtained
What does the EPC Contain?
- Sets out property energy efficiency from A to G (A is most efficient)
- Provides indication of how much it would cost to heat and power a property
- Includes recommendations of energy-efficient improvements, costs of undertaking and potential savings it could generate
Can you tell me what the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) mean in relation to energy performance ratings?
- MEES introduced to set minimum EPC rating of E for rented resi and commercial buildings
- From April 2023, also applies to existing leases for commercial buildings (subject to certain exemptions)
What is Passivhaus?
- Performance-based set of design criteria for very low-energy buildings
- Helps create buildings using 90% less energy than standard UK buildings
- Seeks to eliminate need for space heating and cooling, based on principle of minimising reducing heat loss
What is the SKA rating?
- Founded by Skansen (interior construction company)
- RICS environmental assessment method for non-domestic fit outs (i.e. office refurbs)
- Comprises 100+ ‘good practice’ measures covering energy, CO2 emissions, waste, water, materials, pollution
- Applicable to offices and retail
Key aspects of SKA rating system?
- Bronze, silver, gold and % score
- Assesses design/planning, delivery/construction and occupancy stage assessment
Benefits of SKA?
- Useful for occupiers, property stakeholders (landlords, developers, consultants, fit-out contractors, members of supply chain)
Occupiers and tenants
- Accurately measure sustainability impact
- Manage bottom line figure - ranking different aspects of fit out based on what has biggest impact on sustainability
- Follow good practice
- Legal / statutory compliance with Companies Act 2006
- Helps decision making process
- Demonstrates that company takes sustainability seriously
- Staff engagement - employees place high value on working in good quality spaces
Developers and landlords
- Sets targets
- Benchmarks sustainability of fit outs
- Includes use of RICS SKA in ‘green lease’ provisions - drives up sustainability of properties
- Better asset value
Consultants
- Demonstrates following sustainable spec and procurement process
- Support delivery of professional advice to clients on good practice and sustainable fit outs
Contractors
- Make design, spec, procurement, construction practices more environmentally sustainable
- Demonstrate sustainability credentials to clients and consultants
