The journey so far 2019

www.greencoreconstruction.co.uk

At Greencore, we aim to give everyone the opportunity to live in high quality, low carbon homes.

We’re working to scale up the delivery of low carbon homes, using innovative offsite manufacturing techniques, high performance materials, and efficient

methods of construction.

Our ultimate goal is to bring a community-first approach to housebuilding, and to leave a legacy of

sustainable housing for future generations.

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THE JOURNEY SO FAR 2019 I 03

Greencore at a glance

Greencore Construction designs and builds high-performance, healthy, low carbon homes for developers, land-owners and self-builders in Oxfordshire.

In 2019, we have scaled up the business to deliver two larger developments - 15 homes at Kings Farm Close, Longcot and 25 homes at Springfield Meadows, Southmoor. You can read more about these projects in this report.

During the last year, the Greencore team has grown and evolved, enabling us to deliver a fully integrated service. This includes land sourcing, appraisals, design and construction for the most sustainable homes in the country.

44 homesbuilt 3,600m3

of natural insulation used,locking up carbon

of hemp lime used, locking up carbon

tonnes of embodiedcarbon saved

200tonnes

3,200

of sustainable PEFC or FSC-certified timber used, locking up carbon

42,000person hours of offsite manufacturing

Building Safety Group Health and Safety Awards

2018 award winner

9

500m3

300% increase in turnover

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Since 2013:

in planning(in 2019)

homes

90 years collective experience in Passivhaus construction

All the homes at Kings Farm Close were built using our Biond system of offsite construction, which delivers a very low carbon footprint, very low energy costs, high levels of comfort through humidity control and ventilation and, ultimately, a home that residents will love to show off. In addition, the One Planet Action Plan will be used to encourage residents to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and we look forward to seeing how the Action Plan develops over the next few years.

Our site team has excelled on the homes’ airtightness, with the final five houses to be built achieving air test results of between 0.17 to 0.06 air changes per hour. The Passivhaus standard requires an air change rate of 0.60 air changes per hour or lower.

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Kings Farm Close, Longcot

Recently completed, Kings Farm Close comprises four homes to let via Sovereign Housing Association, two shared ownership homes and nine homes for sale on the open market. All have near-zero carbon footprints and 15% of the site has been given over to public space. Sustainability charity Bioregional has awarded the development One Planet Living National Leadership status.

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In March, former culture minister and MP for Wantage, Ed Vaizey, joined local housing and low carbon experts to celebrate the handover of the affordable houses at Kings Farm Close.

On the development and Greencore’s approach to housebuilding, Mr Vaizey said: “The vast majority of newbuild homes in the UK are of bland design, poor build quality and lack basic sustainability credentials. Much of this is to do with national house builders refusing to embrace new technologies and construction methods.

“The Kings Farm Close development, however, is a shining example of forward-thinking, modern house building from a team of people who are clearly very committed to bringing sustainable living to everyone - whether they own, part-own or rent their home.”

More than 40 people attended the open day, enjoying the opportunity to see inside a Greencore home and learn about the sustainability credentials and eco features.

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These goals are the UN’s blueprint for achieving a happier and healthier world, and are increasingly being used by organisations to rethink approaches to sustainable value creation.

There are 10 goals that resonate particularly strongly within Greencore Construction:

Goal 1: To end poverty in all its forms everywhere

Tackling fuel poverty by delivering high performance affordable homes which will need around 25% of the energy of the standard new home

Goal 3: To ensure healthy lives to promote wellbeing for all at all ages

Delivering good health and wellbeing from the use of natural materials in construction and minimising the presence of volatile organic compounds. Implementing mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems in all our homes, to deliver fresh air and reduce humidity which helps to eliminate mould

Goal 7: To ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Encouraging the use of clean energy at our new developments through enabling group contracts with suppliers of green energy

Goal 8: To promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Doing our bit for the local community in delivering opportunities for decent work, and economic growth

Goal 9: To build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

Delivering industrial innovation through offsite construction and pre-manufacturing to transform the way we build homes in the UK and potentially overseas

Greencore and the Sustainable Development Goals

Four years ago, 193 countries around the world signed up to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, with its core set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets.

THE JOURNEY SO FAR 2019 I 07

Goal 11: To make cities and human settlement inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Ensuring we enhance sustainability in the new communities which are being created in our developments and integrating these within the local communities

Goal 12: To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Minimising waste from our manufacturing process and using mostly natural materials which can be recycled at the end of their useful life

Goal 13: To take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Delivering very low carbon footprints and “nearly zero energy buildings” (NZEB) in our developments which perform radically better than homes built by traditional construction methods with bricks and blocks

Goal 15: To protect, restore and promote the use of terrestrial ecosystems; to manage forests sustainably; to combat desertification; to halt and reverse land degradation; and to halt biodiversity loss

Using mostly natural, plant-based materials. The use of FSC and PEFC certified timber, hemp and natural wood fibre insulation locks up biogenic carbon into the fabric of the building and consequently reduces the overall carbon footprint of the building, while providing an ongoing demand for sustainable construction materials

Goal 17: To strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Working in partnership with like-minded organisations seeking to enhance the sustainability of the built environment, including local property developers, land owners, councils and housing associations

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Springfield Meadows, Southmoor

At Springfield Meadows, 25 new homes are being built - 16 of which are generously sized custom builds, and a further nine are affordable homes built to the same exemplary standards. As at Kings Farm Close, the affordable homes at Springfield Meadows will be taken by Sovereign Housing Association, who are keen to continue working with Greencore on future projects.

Shared spaces at Springfield Meadows will include a wildflower meadow, an orchard and a pond. Sustainability charity Bioregional has recognised the development, awarding it One Planet Living Global Leader status.

In recent months, Springfield Meadows has attracted a great deal of media attention, with coverage appearing in various national newspapers. Local authorities from across the country have also visited the development to see how zero-carbon, low-energy homes can be delivered.

The first houses are due to be occupied in February 2020 and the development is planned to complete in 2021.

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Energy Strategy

The approach at Springfield Meadows is to build houses that minimise energy use and then provide enough renewable energy through roof integrated photovoltaic panels (PV) so that in normal use the houses generate as much energy as they use over the course of a year. This balance is known as ‘net-zero energy’.

• Designed and built to Passivhaus standards• Heat recovery ventilation system• 400W mini air-source heat pump with ventilation system to provide warm air in winter and cool air in the summer• Supplementary electric under-floor heating below tiled areas• Mini air-source heat pump within the hot water tank to provide hot water• 6.5kWhr battery as standard to help store any excess electricity that is generated each day• Smart home technology to manage and monitor energy use• Green energy provider with variable tariff

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Tuffnells Way, Harpenden

We were approached by Harpenden residents, Steve and Abby, to design andbuild their dream family home.

The end result is a 250m2 four-bed home, boasting an ‘A’ Energy Efficiency Rating.

Visit greencoreconstruction.co.uk/portfolio/tuffnells-way-harpendento watch a video featuring Steve andAbby’s house, and to hear what theyhad to say about the project.

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Environmental policy and standards

Following the 2016 Paris Agreement, the UK has set in law a target to bring allits greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 – one of the most ambitioustargets in the world. The construction and use of buildings, both new andexisting, account for around 50% of CO

2 emissions.

To help meet these targets, in the 2019 SpringStatement, the government made a commitmentthat by 2025 it would introduce a new standard forall new build homes – that they should be highlyenergy efficient and have low carbon heating.

The Future Homes StandardKnown as the Future Homes Standard, thegovernment proposes banning fossil fuel heatingsystems such as gas boilers from all new homesby 2025 and instead installing low carbon heatingsystems such as air source heat pumps. In addition,new homes will be built to very high fabricstandards.

It is expected that the average future home willhave 75-80% less carbon emissions than one builtto current standards. As a stepping stone to meetthese targets, one option is to make an achievableuplift to energy efficiency standards from as soonas 2020.

Decarbonising new homesTogether with the government’s Industrial StrategyClean Growth Grand Challenge mission to halveenergy use in all new builds by 2030, this will seta path towards decarbonisation of all new homesand will support the scaling up of low carbontechnologies to improve energy efficiency inexisting homes.

The UK government has a target to build 300,000houses a year. If it were to achieve this target in2020, the emissions from the construction wouldbe 15 million tonnes and they would emit a further1.5 million tonnes of CO

2 every year. If we consider

the period from now until 2050 when the UK aimsto be zero-carbon, that is a total of 60 milliontonnes of CO

2 – just from the houses built

in 2020.

Greencore houses can already achieve a zero- carbon footprint and zero-energy in use. This is acompelling argument for building the Greencoreway. We are already exceeding the 2050 standards.

One county leading the wayOxfordshire is leading the way in sustainability. Thecounty, city and district councils have all signed upto One Planet Living in order to make Oxfordshirethe first One Planet County in the world.

2019 has seen a seismic shift in public awarenessof climate change, thanks largely to the ‘GretaThunberg effect’, and we are excited anddetermined to be part of the solution.

At Greencore, we intend to push our approacha step further to deliver 500 new ‘climatepositive’ houses by 2025. We hope this will actas an exemplar and inspire other house buildersto do the same. Climate-positive houses:

• Lock up more carbon than they emit in the construction phase• Produce more energy than they use• Increase the biodiversity of the land• Use local products where possible• Use natural/bio-based materials where possible• Recycle and/or reuse water• Treat their sewage locally (where appropriate) without detriment to the environment• Create communities that can easily source food and other services locally• Act as a catalyst for local green transport solutions

Do you know of land available for development?

Our team is always on the lookout for development opportunities in and around Oxfordshire. If you have land to sell or know of any potential sites, please get in touch.

Culham Science CentreAbingdon

OxfordshireOX14 3DB

01865 391354enquiries@greencoreconstruction.co.uk

www.greencoreconstruction.co.uk