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Search for for word sustainable across Westminster and see page after page after page flung up before you. Yes it's the word de nos jour (pardon my pathetic attempt at to introduce another language). You get everything on your screen from fisheries to agriculture, international development to food labelling, energy policy to our dear old world of the built environment. Here's my attempt then to cut through the profligate use of the word amongst our political class (should we be using the word sustainable? Discuss) and to dig out what activity or words could most affect the construction and property community. My five to watch:
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- BREEAM Plus My thanks to UK environmental blog Elemental for picking up on this one. I had heard that different Government departments, such as education, were looking at introducing their very own version of the industry green standard BREEAM to cater for their own particular needs. There is clearly a need to tailor standards but baby and bathwater springs to my mind if the idea of of throwing out the basic standard and bringing in a new one is on the cards. Good to see then that the Department of Education and Skills is knocking up a BREEAM Schools standard, an 'adaptation' of the BREEAM standard, according to a written answer given by schools minister Jim Knight last week. How different is it to the original? Do you know? If not I'll try and find out myself.
- International standards Very interesting target and stats to
come out from the Department for International Development, currently
run by Tony's son and possible deputy Labour leader contendor Hilary
Benn. A written answer
by Benn declares his department's intention to follow the Marks &
Spencer lead and to have a carbon neutral central London office estate
by 2012. Here are the carbon emission figures for DFID, which are
understandabbly skewed towards air travel:
2005-06 Tonnes of CO 2 - Petititions petitions and more petitions There's loads of them flying around at the minute trying to urge our soon to departing leader to bring in massively sweeping new laws to revolutionise/keep the status quo in the UK. On the environmentalist side we have Simon Tibbitts, for it is he, who wants "the Prime Minister to Enforce all new buildings in the UK to be built to a certain environmentally friendly standard". Then there's Geoff Benn, to who wants Mr Blair to "create a level playing field for green energy suppliers, by banning anti-competitive 'dual-fuel discounts', since they are biased towards energy companies who include carbon based sources (gas, oil, coal)". Or how about this take? Denis Daniels urges Tony to "accept that the only way to permanently reduce the demand for energy and, therefore lower greenhouse gases, is to have a smaller world population". Does Denis want us to march lemming-style over the cliffs of Dover? Or why not join forces some eco-cynics? back Mik Boon, who wants "the Prime Minister to stop being a champion of the environment until other countries catch up" or team up with Philip Green (the BHS boss?) who reckons Gordon Brown has become and environmentalist simply to pilfer more taxes from us.
- DEFRA is pretty busy This is a list on its own: the Department of Environment Food Rural Affairs DEFRA is pumping cash into a study to look at adaptation measures needed to protect India from the affects of climate change. It doled out two million quid to 30 projects to fund their sustainable schemes. Oh and it's come up with an air quality indicator for sustainable development.
- OGC Buying Solutions, the trading arm of the Treasury, has struck a three year deal with Forum for the Future, a sustainable development charity, to improve its eco-procurement activites.
The BREEAM website says 'Launched in January 2005, BREEAM Schools assesses new build and refurbishment school projects in line with DfES requirements.'
It sounds like this is an established scheme within the BREEAM family - or am I missing something?
Posted by: Martin Lawless | 30 January 2007 at 09:21 PM
BREEAM was originally just Offices. It now has expanded to cover different building types, but the core elements are still the same. Schools, Industrial units, Prisons, Retail and housing all have their own 'schemes' within the BREEAM family. Any other building can be covered by Bespoke.
Posted by: mel starrs | 05 February 2007 at 11:34 AM
I am an assessor for the Schools & Offices versions of BREEAM. There are some differences between the schools and offices versions. For example, the schools version has credits on consultation with staff and pupils (not relevant in an office), and also using the school as an educational resource. Biggest problem with BREEAM is it is owned by the BRE - it's not independent enough IMHO, because they are effectively just another consultant these days - it is well intentioned, but there are holes in it - if you do something good that the method doesn't assess you get no credit for it (unlike LEED).
Posted by: Andrew | 20 February 2007 at 10:11 PM