Sustainability

By David Strahan EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been corrected to remove two statements about building testing company BSRIA. The original version stated that insulation firm Saint-Gobain had launched its QUB heat-loss measurement product “through BSRIA”. The article also said that BSRIA was “Saint-Gobain’s delivery agency for QUB in the…

A coalition of built environment groups have said the government’s net-zero housing plans do not go far enough. Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), a network of 1,000 professionals in the sector, says the Future Homes Standard could see housing built to lower environmental standards than today. The Department for Levelling…

A coalition of 11 industry bodies have called for political parties to commit to regulating embodied carbon ahead of the general election. The Chartered Institution of Building (CIOB) and Construction Industry Council (CIC) are among those who signed a policy paper asking party leaders to contain in their manifestos an…

The government wants to increase the amount of construction training on traditional building methods and materials to help retrofit old homes. In a review of the barriers to improving energy efficiency in listed and conservation-area homes, three departments jointly highlight workforce shortages as a major issue for carrying out retrospective…

A proposed new method for assessing the energy performance of buildings is set to be more transparent and adaptable than the current one. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) opened a consultation on a new Home Energy Model this week, alongside its consultation on the new Future…

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has changed its concrete specification standard to reduce the carbon content – but a leading industry figure said the UK still lags behind on concrete sustainability. The UK’s national standards body published the new edition of the key UK standard for concrete, BS 8500, in…

All housing built from 2025 should include heat pumps, according to new government proposals. A consultation on technical requirements for the government’s Future Homes Standard opened on Wednesday (13 December), with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) stating that the requirements will ensure “net-zero ready” status for…

Embodied carbon emissions in the UK built environment have not reduced at the pace required to reach net zero, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has warned. The body’s assessment of targets, laid out in a 2021 report called the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, found that the sector…

Ardmore has been named as main contractor on a £50m office retrofit job in central London. Client LS Estates has appointed the Islington-headquartered firm to its commercial project at 5 Chancery Lane. Work will involve retrofitting the existing six-storey building, located between Fleet Street and Holborn, to provide 105,600 square…

The Scottish Government has said its new legislative plans to improve energy efficiency in the nation’s housing stock will incentivise construction businesses to invest in upskilling. Zero carbon buildings minister Patrick Harvie said proposals under consultation as part of the long-awaited Heat in Buildings Bill would provide the certainty needed…