Sustainability

Question 1

What is sustainability?

Answer 1

1. To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
2. Key principles set out in the ‘Brundtland Report 1987, Our Common Future’ which identified for sustainable development bases on environmental protection, economic growth, and social equity.

Question 2

What are the key principles of sustainability?

Answer 2

1. Social – building healthy communities with sufficient numbers and range of buildings.
2. Economical – strong, responsive economies ensuring sufficient land and right types.
3. Environmental – contributing towards protection and enhancement of our natural, built and historic environment.

Question 3

What are life cycle costs?

Answer 3

The costs that will be incurred over a defined period of operating and maintaining a building or an asset including report, maintenance, replacement, cleaning, decorating, services provision and disposal.

Question 4

What are the advantages of life cycle costing?

Answer 4

1. Allows consideration of the long-term implications of a decision.
2. Enables informed decisions to be made on material selection.
3. Can result in lower operational, maintenance, and replacement costs.
4. Can be used to plan future maintenance requirements ensuring easier access and less disruption to the operation of the building.

Question 5

What are the disadvantages of life cycle costing?

Answer 5

1. Future costs are optional, and costs of maintenance can always be deferred.
2. Components are not always replaced due to end of life which is impossible to assess.
3. Cost of defects from bad workmanship and design faults cannot be predicted.
4. Hard to predict lift spans, future inflation, and maintenance requirements over a long period of time.

Question 6

What costs should be considered in life cycle costing?

Answer 6

1. Capital costs
2. Operational costs
3. Maintenance costs
4. Replacement costs
5. Disposal costs

Question 7

How does the payback period method work?

Answer 7

1. Often used to evaluate the options for incorporating sustainable technologies.
2. It judges an investment in terms of the time period over which the invested sum is returned in cost savings.
3. Shortest time period optimal.

Question 8

What is BREEAM?

Answer 8

1. Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.
2. Life cycle assessment.
3. Sets best practice standards for the environmental performance of buildings through specification, design, construction and operation.
4. Assessment is undertaken by a licensed assessor based on energy, land & ecology, water, health & wellbeing, pollution, materials and waste and management.
5. Applied to new and refurbishment projects, domestic and non-domestic.
6. Ratings are: Outstanding, Excellent, V Good, Good, Pass, Unclassified.

Question 9

What does BREEAM stand for?

Answer 9

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method

Question 10

Are you aware of alternatives to BREEAM? What are these?

Answer 10

1. SKA Ratings
   a. An RICS environmental assessment method for non-domestic fit outs such as office refurbishments.
   b. Assesses fit out projects against a set of sustainability good practice criteria, known as Good Practice Measures (GPM).
   c. Alternative to BREEAM which has higher costs.
2. LEED (life cycle assessment)
   a. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
   b. USA equivalent of BREEAM.
3. NABERS
   a. A rating system that measures and rates the energy efficiency and environmental impact of commercial buildings in the UK.
   b. Measures and rates the actual energy use of offices, helping building owners to accurately track and communicate the energy performance of their buildings.

Question 11

What are photovoltaics?

Answer 11

1. Photovoltaics allow the conversion of sunlight into electricity.
2. Sunlight contains energy known as photons.
3. When photons hit solar modules within the solar panel they cause the electrons to flow through the bottom layer.
4. The movement of electrons generates electricity that flows to an inverter.
5. The inverter converts DC electricity into AC that is then used to power the building.

Question 12

Are you aware of other sustainable construction methods?

Answer 12

1. Green roofs
   a. A roof that is partially or completely covered with vegetation that is placed over a waterproof membrane.
   b. Key components are vegetation, soil, drainage layer, root barriers and irrigation system.
   c. Advantages of GRs are that they absorb rainwater, provide extra insulation, increase biodiversity for wildlife habitats, are aesthetically pleasing and lower urban temperatures.
2. SUDS
   a. Sustainable Drainage Systems.
   b. Slow down surface water run off by allowing it to infiltrate and soak into natural contours and landscapes.
   c. Considered environmentally friendly and do not rely on manufacture of plastic or clay and instead utilise natural vegetation and material to absorb.
3. Ground source heat pumps
   a. Heat from the ground is absorbed at low temperatures into a fluid inside a loop of pipe buried underground.
   b. The fluid then passes through a compressor that raises it to a higher temperature, which can then heat water for the heating and hot water circuits of the house.

Question 13

What are the different types of offside construction?

Answer 13

1. Volumetric
   a. Similar to modular but fully enclosed.
   b. Series of large pre built sections fully fitted out.
   c. Facades, claddings, and roof treatments all completed on site.
2. Modular
   a. Similar to volumetric but can be open not enclosed.
   b. Fully customisable & can be taken apart to re-use.
   c. i.e. site cabins.
3. Panelised
   a. Walls or modules fabricated offsite then brought on site & placed together.
   b. i.e. unitised façade.

Question 14

What are the pros and cons of offsite construction?

Answer 14

1. Pros
   a. Cost savings
   b. Speed
   c. Sustainability
   d. Quality control
   e. Easier to train
2. Cons
   a. Difficult to incorporate design changes
   b. Not all sites suit large deliveries
   c. Lots of planning and co-ordination required.

Question 15

How does offsite fabrication improve sustainability?

Answer 15

1. Less wastage.
2. Less resources overall utilised.
3. Lower costs overall which may allow additional budget to filter into sustainable technologies.

Question 16

What building regulations are you aware of for sustainability?

Answer 16

Part G - Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency

Question 17

What is Part G of the building regulations?

Answer 17

1. Part G provides guidance for satisfying the requirements of building regulations and covers the following:
   a. Cold water supply.
   b. Water efficiency.
   c. Hot water supply and systems.
   d. Bathrooms.
   e. Food preparation areas etc.

Question 18

What are the RICS recommendations for decarbonising the UK?

Answer 18

1. Aware of the RICS policy paper issued November 2023 ‘Decarbonising the built environment in the UK’.
2. The report examines the developments of the UK government policies and reports on whether progress has been made and provides recommendations.
3. The recommendations are:

a. Science-based decarbonisation targets
i. Calls for the government to establish decarbonisation trajectories for the most common types of buildings.

b. decarbonisation trajectories for the most common types of buildings.
i. Calls for Net-zero carbon emissions to be mandated for all new buildings ASAP.

c. EPC improvements
i. RICS asked the UK Gov to overhaul the EPC system by adding significant improvements such as splitting metrics into final energy use, carbon emissions and energy cost.