Ten Years Back Ten Years Forward

Defining the future of the

sustainable construction inDustry

A white paper from THE GREEN REGISTER of CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS

where will sustainable construction be in another ten years?

how has the UK construction industry changed over the last decade?

www.greenregister.org.uk

2011 The Green Register Ltd.

T e n Y e a rs Forward

DEFINING THE FUTURE BY LEARNING FROM THE PAST

2011 The Green Register Ltd.

Ten Years Back Ten Years Forward

INTRODUCTION
This year The Green Register of Construction Professionals celebrated its 10th anniversary. To mark this milestone our director, Lucy Pedler, asked three of our experts about their views on the future of sustainable construction. She presented each one the same two questions:
1. In the last decade, what are the biggest changes youve seen in the UK construction industry? 2. What do you think will be the most important developments in the next ten years?

Ten Years Back Ten Years Forward

THE EXPERTS
CATH HASSELL is an expert in sustainable water strategies and
integrated water management with 14 years experience in the conventional plumbing industry and 10 years in environmental building. She was a founding member of the UK Rainwater Harvesting Association, and in 2004 she set up ech2o, where she works with councils, developers, housing associations, architects and engineers to successfully incorporate sustainable water systems into the built environment.

EMMA STOREY is a licensed Education and Offices BREEAM

Assessor and CODE for Sustainable Homes Assessor. She has broad experience of providing environmental assessments on a range of large and small projects, with a particular focus on educational and community developments. Her background in planning and policy has given her a keen understanding of local, regional and national planning regulations, legislation and sustainability related plans and policies.

ROB BORRUSO has over ten years experience in both

mechanical engineering and environmental science. Having previously worked as a product specialist and a renewable energy advisor, Rob has extensive experience in troubleshooting existing underperforming renewable energy installations. He now works as an independent energy consultant with a client base ranging from small community groups to housing associations.

FOREWORD
by Lucy Pedler Director, The Green Register of Construction Professionals

We are living in challenging times. With geo-political shifts occurring around the globe and seismic shifts happening in the Pacific region, the earth is anything but static. The environment we live in is in constant flux and our actions as human beings can contribute both positively and negatively to the state of the planet. In the next ten years we have an opportunity to reverse, or at least slow down, the destruction we are causing to the very place we rely on for sustenance and life support. The Green Register has, in the last decade, made a contribution to positive change - we have taught thousands of construction professionals about sustainable building practices and helped them to change the way they work, to produce buildings that are lighter on the earth, beautiful to be in and contribute to health and well being. We are extremely fortunate to have as our core trainers a group of dedicated experts. They provide unbiased, cutting edge information to our audiences, who consistently give positive feedback from our seminars and training. I have invited some of our core trainers to give us their thoughts about where the next ten years will take the construction industry and the following articles are a selection of the responses.

T e n Y e a rs Ba ck T e n Y e a rs Forward

CATH HASSELL
In the last decade, what are the biggest changes youve seen in the UK construction industry, and what do you think will be the most important developments in the next ten years?

en years ago Ecobuild hadnt yet happened. Nothing had happened. It wouldnt be until 2005 before the first Ecobuild show, which at the time had only 20 or so stands. No-one was suggesting that heat pumps were an environmental solution, let alone a renewable technology. Condensing boilers were still four years away from being compulsory, with everyone full of reasons why they were too difficult to fit, and there were only four places where you could buy sustainable goods in the UK: Construction Resources, The Green Shop, Eco Merchant and Green Building Store. BREEAM and EcoHomes were standards to which only a few buildings were being built, but there was little compulsory requirement to do so. Furthermore, environmental buildings were seen as very niche, led by self builders and a few forward thinking housing associations. So, what changed? How and why has the whole industry adopted sustainability as the biggest buzz-word since health and safety? For those of us whove been involved in this sector for the past 10 to 15 years, these are questions we still struggle to answer. While were pleased it has happened, were also frustrated by the sheer amount of greenwash the industry has spawned. If youd ask me whats changed, Id say the marketing industry.

WHAT NEXT? For any change to be significant it needs to affect existing buildings, not just new
builds. Therefore, I think the main drivers for real, measurable change in the coming years will be those that affect the existing built environment. If you look at whats happened in the last decade, you can see the emergence of a few positive trends.

In April 2005 condensing boilers became compulsory in dwellings for the retrofit market as well as for new builds. Good news? It gets better. Right now, 50% of all condensing boilers sold in the world every year are going to UK consumers. With 1.5 million boilers a year now at an average efficiency of 91% instead of 78%, thats a lot of CO2 saved. In the summer of 2005 the south east of England suffered its worst drought in 100 years. This event led to a greater emphasis on water within the Code for Sustainable Homes, and a requirement for mass metering of dwellings in water stressed areas. The Code for Sustainable Homes, launched in 2007, was used by local authorities as a requirement for all dwellings in mass developments, not just Housing Association properties (as originally planned), leading to a far greater impact across the building industry and the market that supplies it.

The Code has kick-started the UK bathroom industry into making water efficiency central in all of its product ranges. Yes, you can still find power showers that provide flow rates at 20 litres per minute and baths that hold 250 litres plus of water, but these are now far outweighed by other products: baths that hold less than 150 litres due to clever design, or expensive shower heads that provide water at 8 litres per minute, and an increasing range of ultra efficient dual flush WCs, all of which are now being fitted in existing homes. Far more successful than the grants system, the Feed In Tariff has increased the take-up of photovoltaics exponentially. With a 1kW peak array providing an average 800kWh of electricity per year, roof based PV systems have the potential to push the UK towards the EU requirement of generating 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. The market for PVs is also becoming far more competitive with 1kW peak now down to as little as 3,500 per installation in some parts of the UK.

THE BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS?

I choose two.

The Renewable Heat Incentive (if it comes in): Well only understand its real implications when we finally know which technologies will be included and how much the government will pay per kWh of heat produced. If the government gets it wrong, it has the potential to increase the amount of CO2 produced from heating our homes, as old boilers are replaced with air source heat pumps instead of being upgraded to condensing boilers. The Feed in Tariff: Its success will depend on whether the rate of return paid from April 2012 onwards will be enough to continue the rapid rate of installation PV systems.

T e n Y e a rs Ba ck T e n Y e a rs Forward

EMMA STOREY
In the last decade, what are the biggest changes youve seen in the UK construction industry, and what do you think will be the most important developments in the next ten years?

here seems to have been changes on three levels, which have all contributed to significant changes within the construction industry over the past ten years: 1) Legislation and Regulation 2) Planning Procedures and Policies 3) Construction Trends

LEGISLATION AND REGULATION:

Over the past ten years the UK government has had a large influence over the construction industry. Rules and regulations designed to drive private and public sector investment in sustainable construction have been implemented and have had a dramatic effect on the construction of all types of buildings. Examples are given below:
Longer term goals and targets including international and national targets Change in building regulations (particularly min. energy standards within Part L) Introduction of mandatory Energy Performance Certificates for all houses and public

buildings Economic incentives Changes in fiscal policy, for example landfill taxation Changes in environmental legislation, for example requirement to produce SWMP Other policies such as expedited permitting and approval for green projects

PLANNING PROCEDURES AND POLICIES:

There has been a major shift in the way planning is permitted throughout the UK. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 has required all Councils to make changes to their planning policy structure changing from the previous system of Unitary Development Plans (UPDs) to Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). The main difference has been that new policies are in line with the National and Regional Spatial Strategies (therefore all working towards the over-arching goals), as well as including more locally focused policies and strategies - to ensure national priorities are adopted successfully on a local scale. All new policies have also undergone a Sustainability Appraisal, which has gone some way to ensure the policies meet borough-wide sustainability objectives and include environmental factors. In addition, there has been a change in the application process throughout the UK. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 also requires all planning applications to be more frontloaded with emphasis on the need for pre-application consultation and detailed information. This requires applications to include reports and evidence on impacts on sustainability (economic, social and environmental perspectives), ecology, transport and site specific risks of flooding and

contamination. In addition to planning consent, many new developments now require an on-site renewable energy contribution. This has led to significant changes in the design, construction and operation of buildings.

CONSTRUCTION TRENDS:

Green materials and building products are becoming more popular due to the upward trend in the green construction market, leading to such materials becoming more readily available and lower in price. In addition to this, contractors are also gaining a better understanding of sustainable construction and obtaining environmental standards, to ensure contracts are awarded and work is secured and their brand is promoted. The need for accreditation (such as ISO14001 and BES 6001) within the industry has also led to a greening of the supply chain, with suppliers and sub-contractors also being required to meet environmental standards within their company practices and their products.

THE FUTURE:

Existing patterns of change will continue to breed new changes in the construction industry

over the next decade. The level of public interest and knowledge in sustainable construction will grow and will keep doing so in the future. Energy prices and energy security issues are also likely to make significant changes within the construction industry and market over the next ten years. A continued increase in energy prices is a very powerful and accepted argument for purchasing or renting an energy efficient building. All factors will also see a change in technology within the sector, to ensure economic payback and environmental concerns are met within all types of developments.

T e n Y e a rs Ba ck T e n Y e a rs Forward

ROB BORRUSO
In the last decade, what are the biggest changes youve seen in the UK construction industry, and what do you think will be the most important developments in the next ten years?

ince the turn of the century (I still think of that as the end of the Victorian era), much has changed in terms of the profile of sustainability. Despite it increasing, depressingly little has changed in terms of CO2 emissions and resource consumption. Worse still, the gap between how green we think we all are and how green we actually are has widened significantly, and to me this is the greatest concern.

NEW-BUILD ENERGY STANDARDS:

Probably the greatest success in sustainable construction over the past decade has been the rapid ramping up of expected standards of energy performance for new-builds, to a level that just 20 years ago seemed improbable. As a result there has, justifiably, been some backslapping in government and industry circles. Yet, when you take a step back and look at the figures more closely, things get a little less exciting. Household energy consumption has indeed dropped by about 3 mtoe1 or 7%, but these numbers2 also show there has been a shift from gas to electricity. Thus, the actual amount of CO2 emitted has hardly dropped at all.

HALTING GROWTH:

There are many more houses now than there were 10 years ago. As population growth is the biggest threat to the global environment, Id say the biggest success in sustainable construction in the past ten years has been the halting of growth in building-related CO2 emissions. A start certainly, but perhaps not the world beating headline the Chris Hulmes and Ed Millibands of this world would have us believe. As we know, its absolute - not relative - numbers that count.

WHAT DO THE NEXT 10 YEARS HOLD?

Well, actually in this medium term time frame Im fairly optimistic. Baby boomers will start disappearing, freeing up a lot of under occupied housing, and a narrowing of economic differences within Europe will kill off much immigration. These two factors should ease the pressure for growth in housing supply. Furthermore, the inexorable rise in energy costs will focus minds on improvement to the existing stock, which is where the real problem is. The inevitable squeeze in personal finances will also cut down on energy-consuming gadget buying, which should slow growth in electricity usage.

CONCLUSION:

In the next ten years, I think we will actually start to see a fall in building related CO2 emissions. Interestingly though, this will be because of structural changes in our society, not because of any profusion of subsidised renewables.

Notes

1. Million tonnes oil equivalent ie 11,630 GWh 2. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/source/total/total.aspx

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2011 The Green Register Ltd.