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APC Revision > Sustainability > Flashcards

Sustainability Flashcards

1
Q

What is COP28?

A
  • Conference of Parties, attended by countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)
  • signalled the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era to achieve net zero by 2050
  • triple the world’s renewable energy capacity and double its energy efficiency by 2030
  • emission reductions from road transport through net zero vehicles, public transport and safe cycling infrastructure
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2
Q

What is sustainability?

A

Brundtland Report 1987 defines it as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

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3
Q

What are they key principles of sustainability?

A
  • social = building healthy communities with sufficient numbers and range of buildings
  • economical = build strong, competitive economies ensuring sufficient land types
  • environmental = protection and enhancement of our natural environment
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4
Q

What are the core principles of planning and decision making around sustainability?

A
  • secure development of high quality built assets
  • support a climate-resilient and low carbon economy
  • conserve heritage and enhance natural environment
  • encourage use of brownfield sites
  • maximise use of public transport, cycling and walking

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5
Q

What are the most common environmental issues experienced on construction sites?

A
  • risk of water pollution
  • air and noise pollution
  • high energy consumption and carbon emissions
  • risk of land contamination
  • damage to wild habitats
  • high wastage production into landfill
  • release of dangerous gases and chemicals
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6
Q

What are the key pieces of legislation that affect sustainability in construction?

A
  • Agricultural Land Act 1947 - land to be acquired for a purpose i.e. control pests and weeds
  • Building Act 1984 - primary UK legislation that enables Building Regs to be enforced
  • Clean Air Act 1993 - LAs in England to introduce measures in order to control air pollution
  • Climate Change Act 2008 - cut greenhouse emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 in comparison to 1990 levels
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7
Q

What are the key Building Regs that relate to sustainable construction?

A
  • Part L - fuel and power
  • Energy performance of building regs
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8
Q

What are the different forms of taxation relating to sustainability?

A
  • Landfill Tax - environmental tax payable in addition to landfill rates charged by private companies to encourage alternative means of disposal
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9
Q

What codes of practice measure sustainability?

A
  • BREEAM - best practice standards, new and refurbished, domestic and non-domestic
  • LEED - USA equivalent of BREEAM
  • SKA - RICS environmental assessment for non-domestic fit-out
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10
Q

What does BREEAM stand for?

A

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method

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11
Q

What does LEED stand for?

A

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

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12
Q

What is a BREEAM assessment based on?

A
  • energy
  • land and ecology
  • water
  • health and wellbeing
  • pollution
  • materials
  • waste management
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13
Q

What does LEED review?

A
  • embodied aspects of carbon emissions as well as life cycle assessment during construction and operation
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14
Q

What does your firm implement to promote sustainability?

A
  • recycling cardboard, paper and plastics
  • use of energy efficient lighting
  • cycle to work schemes
  • reduce printing by using cloud-based systems
  • sign up to green initiatives (office space with high EPC/BREEAM ratings)
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15
Q

What are the 6 BREEAM ratings?

A
  • Outstanding
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Pass
  • Unclassified
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16
Q

What is SKA?

A
  • RICS environmental assessment method for non-domestic fit-outs such as office refurbishments
  • scheme assesses fit out properties against a set of sustainability good practice criteria known as Good Practice Measures (GPM)
  • acts as an alternative to BREEAM which have higher costs in comparison
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17
Q

What is the latest version of BREEAM criteria?

A
  • BREEAM UK New Construction Version 6.1 to incorporate changes to the building regulations for energy performance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  • Version 6 launched in August 2022 following changes to Building Regs in June 2022
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18
Q

What are the BREEAM thresholds?

A

Outstanding = equal to or greater than 80% (BREEAM rating)

Excellent = equal to or greater than 70%

Very good = equal to or greater than 55%

Good = equal to or greater than 45%

Pass = equal to over over 30%

Unclassified = less than 30%

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19
Q

What is the Paris Agreement?

A
  • legally binding international treaty concerning climate change
  • adopted by nearly every nation and came into effect 2016
  • pledged to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, whilst targeting levels below 1.5 degrees Celsius when compared to pre-industrial levels
  • creates a framework for the transparent monitoring and reporting of each country’s progress
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20
Q

Name some sustainable building methods

A
  • use of recycled materials such as reclaimed timber, recycled tiles and plastics
  • ground source heat pumps
  • solar panels
  • wind turbines
  • rainwater harvesting
  • green roofs
  • solar shading
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21
Q

Why is sustainability important to construction?

A

The built environment accounts for 36% of worldwide energy usage and 40% of carbon emissions

22
Q

What technology is available to meet Part L of the Building Regs?

A
  • ground source heat pumps
  • solar panels
  • wind turbines
  • rainwater harvesting
  • green roofs
  • solar shading
  • increased insulation
  • natural ventilation
23
Q

What is a U value?

A

It measures how efficient a material is as an insulator

24
Q

What are green roofs?

A
  • roof covering which is covered with vegetation that is placed over a waterproof membrane
  • the key components are vegetation, soil, a drainage layer, root barriers and irrigation system
  • benefits = absorb rainwater, provide extra insulation, increase biodiversity, aesthetically pleasing and lower urban air temperatures
25
Q

What are Photovoltaics?

A
  • allow the conversion of sunlight into electricity
  • sunlight contains energy known as photons and when photons hit solar molecules within the solar panels, they cause electrons to flow through the bottom layer
  • the movement of electrons generate electricity that flows to an inverter
  • the inverter converts DC electricity to AC to power the building
26
Q

What is a Sokaway?

A
  • offer a means of surface water drainage attenuation
  • consist of large holes that receive surface water from a drainage pipe
  • allows the collected surface water to gradually infiltrate through the soil
27
Q

What is carbon neutral?

A

It is the balance between the carbon emitted and the carbon absorbed from the atmosphere in carbon sinks

28
Q

What is solar gain?

A
  • increase in temperature in a space, object or structure due to solar radiation
  • a building can retain this solar gain by having a high thermal mass or can avoid it by using reflective materials and insulation
29
Q

How can solar gain be managed in a building?

A
  • limiting the size and area of openings such as doors and windows
  • shading or orienting doors and windows from direct sunlight
  • using reflective materials on the glass and building fabric
  • insulating walls and roofs to prevent indirect solar gains
30
Q

How does a ground source heat pump work?

A
  • heat from the ground is absorbed at low temperatures into a fluid inside a loop of pipe buried underground
  • fluid passed through a compressor that raises it to a higher temperature which can then heat water for heating and hot water circuits of the house
  • cooled ground-loop fluid passes back into the ground where it absorbs further energy from the ground
31
Q

What are SUDs?

A
  • sustainable drainage systems
  • slow down surface water run off by allowing it to infiltrate and soak into natural contours and landscapes
  • environmentally friendly as does not rely on manufacture of plastic or clay as it utilises natural vegetation and material to absorb surface water
32
Q

What are the benefits of a BREEAM certified building?

A
  • helps clients benefit from lowering the running costs of their built assets and minimising the impact on the environment through consideration at planning, design, construction and operation phases
  • greater marketability
  • higher building value and positive PR message
33
Q

What are the benefits of rainwater harvesting?

A
  • decreases demand for water
  • reduced the need for importer water
  • promotes both water and energy consumption
  • improved BREEAM compliance achieved
  • lower operational costs can be gained
34
Q

What is an EPC?

A
  • introduced in 2007 and is a legal requirement for a building to be sold, let or constructed
  • valid for 10 years (unless altered, then a new one is required)
  • energy efficiency of a building through ratings of A-G (with A being the most efficient buildings)
  • shows the amount of CO2 emissions produced by a property in tonnes and advised the amount this could be reduced by
35
Q

What properties are exempt from an EPC?

A
  • listed buildings
  • buildings with no heating
  • religious buildings
  • temporary buildings
  • buildings due to be demolished/redeveloped
  • residential units not occupied more than 4 months a year
36
Q

What are the EPC requirements for marketing?

A
  • must be commissioned within 7 days of the commencement of marketing
  • agents are responsible for procuring EPCs
  • only the actual energy rating is required to be displayed on property and adverts
  • all online marketing materials must have a link to the EPC
37
Q

What is included on the front page of an EPC?

A
  • address and floor area
  • EPC certificate and reference number
  • technical info on the property’s energy provision
  • estimation of energy running costs
  • energy performance rating from A+-G
  • benchmarking info
38
Q

What are the penalties for non-compliance with EPCs?

A

Commercial
- max penalty is 12.5% of the RV (between £10,000-£150,000)
- from 01 April 2023, must be ‘E’ or above
- from 01 April 2025, must be ‘C’ or above

Residential
- since 01 April 2020, must be ‘E’ or above
- from 01 April 2020, must be ‘C’ or above
- from 01 April 2025, penalty of up to £30,000

39
Q

What sustainability initiatives are being implemented by RICS?

A
  • RICS SKA ratings encourage green codes of practice
  • ‘Value the Planet’ campaign to implement UN’s sustainable development goals
  • RICS has launched a Responsible Business Report with solutions for companies to operate in a greener capacity - higher recycling rates and reduce energy
40
Q

What RICS documents cover sustainability?

A
  • RICS ‘Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment’ 2nd edition 2023
  • RICS ‘Sustainability and ESG in Commercial Property Valuation and Strategic Advice’ 3rd edition 2022
  • RICS ‘Sustainability & Commercial Property Valuation’ guidance note 2013
  • Sustainability is embedded within Rule 5 of the Rules of Conduct
41
Q

What do you implement to promote sustainability?

A
  • printing only when necessary
  • car sharing
  • use of energy efficient equipment
  • recycling
  • use of cycle to work schemes
  • minimise waste where possible
  • avoid use of plastic bottles
  • use of cloud-based storage systems
42
Q

What legislation requires all buildings in Europe to be subject to energy labelling and energy use reduction?

A
  • Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
  • revised in 2023 to establish ‘energy efficiency first’ as a fundamental principle of EU energy policy giving it legal standing for the first time
43
Q

Would a sustainable house be more valuable than an unsustainable one?

A
  • depends on the purchaser
  • in theory yes, but not all people view sustainability as a priority when purchasing a home
44
Q

What are the key provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)?

A
  • higher standards of energy conservation
  • minimum requirements for energy performance of all buildings
  • energy certification for all buildings when leased or sold
  • mandatory inspection of boilers and A/C
45
Q

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

A
  • industrialised countries committed to internationally binding emissions reduction targets
46
Q

What is the Global Reporting Initiative?

A
  • independent organisations that helps businesses take responsibility for their impacts
  • helps them report on the economic, social and environmental dimensions of their business activities
47
Q

Why is sustainability important to valuers?

A
  • Rule 5 of the Rules of Conduct
  • VPGA 8 - should be aware of sustainability features and the implications they have on property values in the short, medium and long-term. Particular care should be taken when commenting on ESG factors as valuers may not have the specialist knowledge and experience required
48
Q

What is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

A

It is a tool used to assess the significant effects of a project or development proposal on the environment.

EIAs make sure that project decision makers think about the likely effects on the environment at the earliest possible time and aim to avoid, reduce or offset those effects. This ensures that proposals are understood properly before decisions are made.

49
Q

What are Display Energy Certificates (DECs)?

A
  • Show the energy performance of public buildings
  • Scale of A-G with A being the most efficient
  • Public authorities must have a DEC for a building if all the following are true:
  • it’s at least partially occupied by a public authority (eg council, leisure centre, college, NHS trust)
  • it has a total floor area of over 250 square metres
  • it’s frequently visited by the public
  • DECs last for 10 years if building is 250m2-1,000m2
  • DECs last for 1 year for buildings of more than 1,000m2
50
Q

What are Green mortgages?

A
  • A mortgage that rewards someone for buying or owning an energy efficient home by offering favourable terms than as standard
  • this typically results in lower interest rates or receiving cashback when you take out the mortgage
51
Q

What is Urban greening factors?

A
  • it is a tool that evaluates and measures the amount of urban greening (vegetation cover and planning around buildings) to aid the appropriate planning of greening on future developments
  • the aim is to increase the amount of green cover around buildings and support is consideration at the design and outset of developments
52
Q

What is meant by the term ‘embodied carbon’?

A
  • refers to the carbon emissions generated as a result of energy consumption and chemical processes during the extraction, manufacture, transportation, assembly, replacement and deconstruction of construction materials or products
  • the resultant emissions from all the activities involved in the creation and demolition of a building less the operational carbon impact

APC Revision (9 decks)

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