Sustainability

Question 1

What does ‘BREEAM’ stand for?

Answer 1

Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method

Question 2

What does ‘MEES’ stand for?

Answer 2

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (2018)

Question 3

What does ‘EPC’ stand for?

Answer 3

Energy Performance Certificate

Question 4

What RICS document explains how to conduct whole life carbon assessments?

Answer 4

Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment (WLCA), RICS, 2nd edition, effective 1 July 2024

(mandatory professional statement)

Question 5

What is the Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA)?

Answer 5

The WCLA is a comprehensive approach to evaluating a building’s environmental impact, exploring carbon emissions throughout its life cycle, from construction to demolition.

Question 6

What is Whole Life Cycle Carbon?

Answer 6

Whole life carbon refers to the carbon impacts over the entire life cycle of a built asset, from its construction through to its end of life. A whole life carbon assessment (WLCA) is the calculation and reporting of the quantity of carbon impacts expected throughout all life cycle stages of a project, but also includes an assessment of the potential benefits and loads occurring beyond the system boundary.

Question 7

What recent change has there been to EPC requirements?

Question 8

What is the Paris Agreement?

Answer 8

An international treaty on climate change that was adopted in 2015.

Question 9

What is COP26?

Question 10

What are the UKs Net zero targets?

Question 11

What do you and your employer do to promote sustainability?

Question 12

What are green roofs?

Question 13

What are the benefits of BREEAM?

Question 14

What does ‘net carbon zero’ mean?

Answer 14

No longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Question 15

What are some sustainable design methods?

Question 16

How long to EPCs last?

Question 17

What is sustainability?

Answer 17

Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. I.e. providing energy for ourselves now without making the planet worse subsequently.

Question 18

Why is sustainability important?

Answer 18

An ecosystem, a lifestyle, or a community that is sustainable is one which supports itself and its surrounding. Sustainability itself can be defined by three core elements, each of which must be carefully considered in relation to the others:

Environmental Protection
Social Development
Economic Development

Question 19

What are the factors to consider with sustainability?

Answer 19

• Economic
• Social
• Environmental

Question 20

What are 7 elements of a sustainable building?

Answer 20

1. Insulation
2. Air tightness
3. Thermal Mass
4. Natural Light
5. Sustainable Material
6. Structural Systems
7. Deployment of renewable technologies

Question 21

What is sustainable development?

Answer 21

Economic development that is conducted without the depletion of natural resources.

Question 22

Over what period do you measure/assess the impact of a building?

Answer 22

The entire lifecycle, not just construction.

Question 23

What is brownfield land?

Answer 23

‘previously developed land that’s no longer being used’

Question 24

What issues are associated with developing brownfield sites?

Answer 24

Risk of pollution and contamination from previous use

Question 25

What is a greenfield site?

Answer 25

Land which has not been previously developed.