Energy & Sustainability

Dr Tony Hopkin, FCABE CEng, Head of Construction, Quality and Innovation at housing association Midland Heart, discusses Project 80: researching building to the Future Homes Standard

Home and business maintenance company Rightio provides a guide to managing consumer expectations regarding the 2023 boiler ban

In the 2021 autumn budget, the government announced that £2bn will be used to unlock 1,500 hectares of brownfield land across England to clear derelict land and make way for 160,000 new homes. This includes £300m to unlock smaller brownfield sites, which will provide more opportunities for SME developers.

A better understanding of city microclimates and the complex factors that combine to raise temperatures could help town planners and local regulators manage the effects, says James Cash

Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew and the Museum of Architecture (MoA) have launched an international design competition to create three treehouses across RBG Kew’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of a larger Treehouses at Kew exhibition that will run from April to October 2023.

UCEM, in collaboration with the Climate Framework, has released a free Energy and Carbon in the Built Environment course. It explores how net-zero carbon can be achieved through optimised building design, sustainable material selections, and efficient construction.

Scott Wilson, head of sustainability at Black and White Engineering, discusses net-zero design and looks at how the sector needs to improve

Are we chasing our tails on energy efficiency and decarbonising the building stock? Denise Chevin asks if it’s time for a rethink

Amy Jones, Associate Director at consultancy IDOM Merebrook, considers the challenges of zero-waste targets in recycling land for development, and asks: is a remediated site a clean site?

Manufacturers of construction products will need to start sharing their data digitally to support a safer and sustainable construction industry.

Winner: Community Health Partnerships for Foleshill Health Centre, Coventry. Designed and constructed to Passivhaus Classic standards – a first for NHS England – it has also achieved BREEAM Excellent certification.

The Global Cement and Concrete Association’s (GCCA’s) roadmap marks the biggest global commitment by an industry to net zero so far.

Renewable hydrogen produced by the UK’s world-leading fleet of wind farms and stored in disused oil and gas fields can help avoid future winter energy supply crunches, according to research published by Energy Networks Association (ENA).

Following NHS England’s publication of its Net Zero Carbon Delivery Plan, Wates, Arup and HKS have launched the Decarbonising Health Estates Partnership (DHEP). Its aim is to decarbonise existing NHS buildings by driving sustainability within hospital infrastructure.

The Construction Industry Council presented its ‘Carbon Zero: the professional institutions’ climate action plan’ at COP26 as part of the Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day. Watch it on the COP26 YouTube channel.

Will Arnold, Head of Climate Action at the Institution of Structural Engineers, shares his top picks from the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference

Heat networks present an efficient and potentially low-carbon approach to heating, but as James Cash discovers, buildings need to be ready to connect when networks become more available

Oliver Novakovic, Technical and Innovation Director at Barratt Developments, discusses the challenges of delivering a zero-carbon home

How can chemical products can be made from renewable electricity, water and carbon dioxide, how can almost 100% of electronic waste can be recycled, and how can food approaching its use-by date still find buyers via an app?

Following the sobering IPCC Sixth Assessment Report