Part of the BRE Trust

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

The wider benefits of sustainable construction – and why standards are needed

Chris CousinsBRE Local Government Liaison Manager9 February 2012

Overview

– Economic, environmental and social importance of sustainable

construction

– Use of standards: why and what

– BREEAM and the Code for Sustainable Homes

– Review

– Examples

– Existing stock and the Green Deal

– National and international developments in sustainable construction

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

Importance of sustainable construction

Low carbon goods and services in UK

– Over 51,000 companies

– Exports £11.3 billion – up 3.9% in 2010/11

– 4,500 new jobs – up 4.3% in 2010/11

– Green Deal alone predicted to trigger £14 billion of investment to

2022, and support at least 65,000 insulation and construction jobs by

2015

Source: 2011 Annual Energy Statement, DECC 23 November 2011

Sustainable Construction

– UK low carbon goods and services market is 6th largest

in world

– Worth over £112 billion

– Employs over 900,000 people

– Output of UK designers is second largest invisible

export after financial services

Sources: BIS press release, 4 August 2011; UKTI

Construction industry and buildings

– Construction and demolition waste alone represented 35% of total UK waste in 2008

– the energy used in constructing, occupying and operating buildings represents approximately 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK

– Passenger transport vehicles account for a further 15% of CO2 emissions

Sources: DEFRA, Environment Agency, Energy Saving Trust

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

Use of standards: why and what

Why standards?

– Objective measure of performance - and improvement

– Benchmarking

– Credibility

– Reputation

– Competitive advantage

What standards?

– Objective

– Independently assessed

– Quality assured

– Holistic

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

BREEAM and the Code for Sustainable HomesReview

Aim

– Design sustainability into the building

– Lower environmental impact

– More efficient building

– Improve internal environment for occupants

– Recognise quality design, procurement and

management of the built environment

Environmental Standards

Num

ber o

f bui

ldin

gs

Reg

ulat

ory

min

imum

Minimal

BREEAM/CSH

Aspirational

Leve

l 1

Leve

l 2

Leve

l 3

Leve

l 4

Leve

l 5

Leve

l 6

Ve

ry G

oo

d

Pa

ss

Go

od

Ex

ce

lle

nt

Ou

tsta

nd

ing

Issue Categories

Management

Energy

Water

Land Use & Ecology

Health & Wellbeing

Transport

Materials

Waste

Pollution

Management

Transport

Water

Materials

Waste Land Use & Ecology

Pollution

Energy

Health & Wellbeing

BREEAM WeightingsCategory Weighting

Management

12%

Health & Wellbeing

15%

Energy 19%

Transport 8%

Water 6%

Materials 12.5%

Waste 7.5%

Land Use & Ecology

10%

Pollution 10%

Minimum Standards

· Energy· Management· Health & Well-being· Water· Waste· Land Use & Ecology

Tradable Credits

· Energy· Water· Materials· Transport· Waste· Pollution· Health & Well-being· Management· Land Use & Ecology

En

vir

on

me

nta

l Wei

gh

tin

g

Final ScoreC

ate

go

ry S

co

res

Pass ≥ 30Good ≥ 45Very Good ≥ 55Excellent ≥ 70Outstanding ≥ 85

Innovation Credits· Exemplary Performance Requirements· Approved Innovation Credits

Scoring

Wat 1 – Indoor water use

Water consumption (litres / person / day)

Credits Mandatory Levels

120 l/p/day 1 Level 1 and 2

110 l/p/day 2

105 l/p/day 3 Level 3 and 4

90 l/p/day 4

80 l/p/day 5 Level 5 and 6

BREEAM & Code for Sustainable Homes

– Two stage certification process

– Design stage– Post construction

– Minimum standards

Opportunities and Costs

Costs are falling

In the last three years the average extra costs of building to level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes has fallen by almost three quarters

Cost of building to the Code for Sustainable Homes – updated cost review, CLG, August 2011

“...what these figures show us is that as the construction industry continues to build more sustainable homes, there is further potential for the costs associated with building greener homes to continue falling”

Andrew Stunell, Communities Minister, August 2011

Industry support for sustainable construction

“The industry requires greater

commitment from government in

the shape of clearer, long-term and

consistent sustainability targets for

all construction projects. These, in

turn, need to take a whole-life, wholesystem

approach to sustainability.”

Material Gains in Sustainability: the business case for the construction products sector, PwC and Construction Products Association, September 2011

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

BREEAM and the Code for Sustainable HomesExamples

BRE Innovation Park

Case Study - North Northamptonshire

– “Residential units to be delivered 2008-2012 will meet the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) Level 3 as a minimum; those delivered 2013-2015 will meet the CSH Code Level 4 as a minimum; and those delivered from 2016 onwards will meet the CSH Code Level 6 as a minimum.”

North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit,

Adopted Core Strategy Policy 14

Planning Inspectorate Model Planning Conditions

CODE FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES

– The dwelling(s) shall achieve a Code Level [state level] in accordance with the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes: Technical Guide (or such national measure of sustainability for house design that replaces that scheme). 

– No dwelling shall be occupied until a Final Code Certificate has been issued for it certifying that Code Level X has been achieved.

Case Study – Stockton on Tees

– All new non-residential developments will be completed to a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) of ‘very good’ up to 2013 and thereafter a minimum rating of ‘excellent’.

Stockton on Tees Borough Council

Core Strategy Policy 3

Adopted March 2010

Newport High School – BREEAM Excellent

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

Existing stock and the Green Deal

The Built Environment

ExistingNew

BREEAM In Use

– Evaluation, assessment and

certification of

– Existing Buildings

– Property Portfolios

– Management of property and

building based activities

Why do we need to do something?

– Government policy objectives• 74% of UK properties were built before 1975• Homes produce 23% of UK GHG emissions

– Climate Change Act 2008 set carbon emission reduction targets

• 34% by 2020• 80% by 2050

– Average annual household energy bill• currently £1,124• could rise by 33% (real) by 2030

Green Deal origins ….. Grant Shapps at BRE in 2009

What he said…

Imagine if you could walk into your favourite store, buy some clothes or do your

weekly shop...and then at the checkout, as you hand over your Clubcard; the

cashier offers you the prospect of permanently lower utility bills.

There's nothing to pay, now or even later.

Your home will be retrofitted and all you'll notice is that it costs you less to heat

and power it.

Now, unless you literally enjoy burning money, you're gonna love the Green

Deal…all you'll see is lower bills... with zero upfront cost.

Grant Shapps: We will green up to 25 million homes:Thursday 26 th November 2009 at BRE

What is the Green Deal?

– Customer receives package of energy efficiency measures (up to £10,000)

– Cost is paid back via energy bills over e.g. 25 years

– Cost of repayments should be less than or equal to likely energy bill savings

– Customer not liable for capital, only repayments whilst they occupy the property

– If occupants move, charge will pass to the new occupier

– Will include owner-occupiers, private and social rented and commercial sector.

Green Deal: why have standards?

– Boost customer confidence and encourage take-

up

– Ensure finance providers have the confidence in

assessment and installations to put Green Deal

funding in place.

– Avoid problems experienced in other countries

– Avoid mis-selling

More information…http://www.decc.gov.uk/

The Green Deal: A summary of the Government’s Proposals The Green Deal: Energy savings

for homes and business

Sustainable construction and the National Planning Policy Framework: BRE view

– Tools such as the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM

– Promote development that is sustainable

– Provide a national framework: developers do not have to cope

with hundreds of different approaches around the country

– Allow local discretion

– Drive change within the supply chain to promote innovation and

reduce costs

– Support UK’s leading international role in sustainable

construction

Protecting People, Property and the Planet

National and International Developments

BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes

– Required by

– Government for own property

– HCA for funded housing

– Commercial developers and property companies e.g. Cushman

and Wakefield

– Companies such as M&S, Audi, John Lewis, Co-op, Waitrose

– Overseas governments and property interests

BREEAM

– Respected and replicated throughout the world– Over 250,000 buildings

assessed– Network of over 2,500

independent licensed assessors– Developed with

Government/industry

– Independent governance

– Regularly updated to ensure best practice

Property industry view

– “BREEAM is a British success story. The industry knows

that if you are interested in sustainability you make sure

you build a BREEAM Excellent building”

– Liz Peace, Chief Executive, British Property Foundation, January 2011

International Context

– BREEAM being adopted in increasing no. of other countries e.g. Spain,

Netherlands, Norway

– BRE expertise contributing to innovation parks in China (with potential

£100m. contracts for UK firms) and Brazil

Future direction?...1

– “Moving to a green economy

presents huge opportunities for

British businesses not only to

reduce their environmental impact,

but also to transform products and

services, develop cleaner

technologies, and capture new

international markets.”

Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 5 August

2011

Future direction?...2

– “Now we know that a decade of environmental laws and regulations are piling costs on the energy bills of households and companies.”

– “We’re not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business.

– “So let’s at the very least resolve that we’re going to cut our carbon emissions no slower but also no faster than our fellow countries in Europe.”

George Osborne, Conservative Party Conference, 3 October 2011

Future direction?...3

– “Climate change is where the real world meets the real economy –

building effective climate resilience using a combination of the best

evidence available alongside risk-based approaches is a pre-requisite

for long-term economic, societal, and environmental sustainability.”

Caroline Spelman, January 2012 (foreword to UK Climate Change Risk Assessment)