Sustainability (Level 1/2)

Question 1

UK Sustainability Legislation?

Answer 1

Agricultural Land Act
Building Act
Climate Change Act
Water Act

Question 2

How to calculate life cycle costs?

Answer 2

Capital Cost
+ Operating Cost
+ Maintenance Cost
+ Replacement Cost
- EOL Value
= Life Cycle Cost

Question 3

Define sustainability?

Answer 3

To meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations

Question 4

Key principles of sustainability

Answer 4

Social - Healthy communities
Economical - Strong & competitive economies
Environmental - Protect & Enhance the natural & built environment

Question 5

Impacts of construction on the environment?

Answer 5

Land Degradation - Extraction of natural resources
Water Pollution - Run off & spills
Air & Noise Pollution - Use of heavy machinery
High Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions

Question 6

Design considerations regarding sustainability

Answer 6

In the UK Water Industry:
- High quality built assets to minimise the need of future developments
- Support health, social and cultural well being

Question 7

What is COP27?

Answer 7

27th Conference of Parties:
- Meeting attended by countries that signed the UN treaty on climate change

Question 8

What happened at COP27?

Answer 8

• Highlighted the countries mostly affected by ‘loss and damage’ of extreme weather
• Loss and Damage fund agreed, £100bn per year if country doesn’t meet targets

Question 9

Building regs regarding sustainability

Answer 9

Part L - Conservation of Fuel and Power
Part S - Charging of Electric Vehicles

Question 10

What is BRE / it’s role?

Answer 10

Building Research Establishment - developing scienced based solutions to improve sustainability in the built environment

Question 11

Codes of practices for measuring sustainability?

Answer 11

BREEAM - Building, Research, Establishment, Environmental Assessment Method

Determines the environmental performance of buildings undertaken by a licensed assessor

Question 12

What steps does your company undertake to ensure it operates in a sustainable manner?

Answer 12

Recycle Paper, plastics etc
Implement the cycle to work scheme
Reduce printing by using cloud based storage systems
All company cars to be Electric by 2025
Use of electric / HVO plant when possible

Question 13

Method of sustainable construction?
Any I have been part of?

Answer 13

Solar Panels
Wind Turbines

Reedbeds on Wastewater construction sites remove (by absorption and adsorption) pollutants from wastewater

Question 14

Paris Agreement

Answer 14

International treaty which commits all major emitting countries to cut their climate pollution
Aim to limit global warming to below 2 degrees

Question 15

Meaning of Carbon Neutral?

Answer 15

Balance between carbon emitted and carbon absorbed by carbon sinks

Question 16

What is the Governments net zero legislation?

Answer 16

Policies for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy by 2050

Question 17

What will the water industry introduce to achieve net zero by 2030?

Answer 17

Production of biomethane from sewage waste which will be used to heat homes
Electrification of all passenger vehicles and 80% of commercial vehicles
Restoration of lands and planting of new trees

Question 18

Can you give an example of undertaking life cycle cost exercises which take account of sustainability issues?

Answer 18

Yes, when working on Verulam Rd, we changed from open cut to auger boring. One of the benefits on this was sustainability, with less muck requiring to be disposed offsite.
Also on Verulam Rd, we hire additional land, which we used to store earth and topsoil, which was then relayed. This was both a better whole life cost and more sustainable than disposal and purchase of the same material again

Question 19

Verulam Project - How did you undertake the exercise to determine the impact of sustainability issues on the different construction methodologies?

Answer 19

The two factors to consider each methodologies carbon footprint:
Emissions produced from machinery
Quantity of waste produced

Question 20

Oswestry WTW Project - Where did you obtain information and advice regarding the different options for plant regarding their sustainable credentials?

Answer 20

I liaised with our Plant department to understand the sustainable options they had available, as well as undertaking my own research

Question 21

Oswestry WTW Project - How did you undertake the cost/benefit analysis of the different options?

Answer 21

I had to consider:
Hire cost of each tower light
Fuel consumption of each plant
Cost of fuel for each plant, consumption x rate x duration