Worcester awards installers for efficiency Published:  07 June, 2016 Worcester, Bosch Group has revealed this year’s winners at its annual Environment 2020 Awards ceremony. Established in 2000, the awards recognise industry best practice and celebrate those who have demonstrated their commitment to recommending energy efficient heating and hot water technologies over the past 12 months. With hundreds of entries received across seven installation categories, the winners were presented with their prize at a prestigious ceremony at Stanbrook Abbey, Worcestershire, by special guests Paul Williams and Roger Webb of the CIPHE. The full list of winners is as follows: Greenstar gas-fired boiler installation: Lee Hatch, LH Gas, Hertfordshire Greenstar oil-fired boiler installation: Jamie Sinclair, SJS Plumbing & Heating, Hertfordshire Renewables installation: Nick Critchley, Radiant Heating Solutions, Lincolnshire Total system solution: Richard Broad, Richard Broad Plumbing and Heating, Merthyr Tydfil Light commercial installation: Richard Hughes-Jones, Plumbright, Gwent Housebuilder/Specifier: Dave Branley, Mabec Nottingham Collaboration award: Andy Payne, Payne’s Heating & Plumbing Services, East Sussex, Basingstoke Council and Yorkshire Energy Service. Worcester’s E2020 awards also take the opportunity to recognise environmentally-conscious young people up to the age of 16 through an art competition. The competition is aimed at rewarding exceptional artwork inspired by energy efficiency and combatting climate change. This year’s winners were five-year-old Zaki Rynne from Hampshire, 10-year-old Harry Stone from Bristol, and 17-year-old Niamh Ni Iceadha from Dublin, who were each given £500 of shopping and leisure vouchers for their exciting creations. Carl Arntzen, Worcester’s chief executive officer, said: “As ever, it has been a pleasure for us to hold these awards. I extend my personal thanks to everybody who entered and congratulate all of our worthy winners. “As a manufacturer, Worcester continues to be inspired by the fact that so many installers are already doing what they can to reinforce the industry’s commitment to protecting the Earth’s valuable resources.” Paul Williams, president of the CIPHE added: “We are continually looking to highlighting the fantastic work plumbing and heating engineers are doing every day of the year, as well as encouraging more young people to opt for a career in what is a truly fascinating industry. This year’s E2020 Awards winners are shining examples of what can be achieved with a huge amount of skill and a lot of pride. Well done everyone!” Source link

24 March 2016 | Marino Donati Flexible working lies at the heart of addressing the gender pay gap, according to a report from a cross-party committee of MPs.   The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee highlighted the lack of effective policy in many of the areas that contribute to the gender pay gap.   One of its conclusions is that old-fashioned approaches to flexibility in the workplace and a lack of support for those re-entering the labour market were stopping employers from making the most of women’s talent and experience.   The report, Gender Pay Gap, said that there was a gap of 19.2 per cent in the hourly rate of pay between men and women full and part-time workers, despite the fact that woman were better educated and qualified than ever before.   It said this was in a large part down to women’s concentration in part-time work. The report said: “Many women are trapped in low-paid, part-time work that doesn’t make use of their skills. This is partly due to women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid caring, but also because many of the sectors women work in, like retail and care, offer predominantly low-paid, part-time work.”   But the report concluded that employers were recognising that workplaces needed to change, and that flexible working did not mean low-paid, part-time work.   “Flexible working is much broader and includes jobs shares, late starts, early finishes, term-time working and working from home,” said the report.   “The government recognises the value of modernising the workplace, but is still not taking the steps needed to ensure flexible working is offered to all employees, particularly those in lower-paid sectors. Moving to a culture where flexibility is the norm, and employees are judged on outcomes rather than presenteeism, offers a tremendous opportunity to tackle the gender pay gap.”   According to the committee report, women over 40 are most affected, with the pay gap for those between 50 and 59 being 27.3 per cent.   The committee concluded that investing in policies that supported men to share childcare and allow women to continue working reduces the gender pay gap.   “Aside from increasing the national minimum wage, there has been no co-ordinated attempt to address issues faced by the many women working in low-paid sectors,” said the report.   The committee called on the government to make all jobs flexible by default unless there was a strong and continuing business case for them not to be.     It also called for non-transferrable leave for fathers and second parents to allow men and women to share care more equally, industrial strategies for low-paid, highly feminised sectors to improve productivity and pay levels, and create a National Pathways to Work scheme to support women to return to employment after time out of the labour market.   Committee chair Maria Miller, said: “If the government is serious about long-term, sustainable growth it must invest in tackling the root causes of the gender pay gap. Adopting our recommendations would be a significant step towards achieving the goal of eliminating the gender pay gap within a generation.”     Source link

Five North East buildings won RIBA North East Awards (sponsored by SIKA, Tarmac Ltd and Marley Eternit)from the Royal Institute of British Architects at a prestigious awards ceremony held at As You Like It, last night (Friday 22 April 2016), in recognition of their architectural excellence. The event was hosted by Ian Wylie publisher and editor of The Northern Correspondent. The winning buildings are:  1)    Ashington community & Leisure Centre – Ryder Architecture 2)    Crook Hall Visitor Centre – Elliott Architects 3)    Edge Hill – Sutherland Hussey Harris 4)    Hebburn Central – FaulknerBrowns Architects 5)    The Paise – Newton Architects Speaking today Grace Choi, RIBA North East awards Jury Chair, said ‘There have been such a broad spectrum of entries to this year’s RIBA North East awards 2016. It was a delight for the judges to visit a variety of buildings, from significant regeneration projects, community/ leisure centres, serviced office spaces and luxury private houses to a delicate glass house and intimate cafe. There is no doubt that the region is producing exemplary architecture from both well-established practices and new emerging talent’ Further Special Awards were presented to: Crook Hall Visitor Centre –  RIBA North East Small Project Award 2016 The Paise – RIBA North East Sustainability Award 2016 (sponsored by SIKA) Private Client (Edge Hill) – RIBA North East Client of the Year Award 2016 Liam Newton (The Paise) –  RIBA North East Project Architect of the Year 2016 (Sponsored by Tarmac Ltd) Edge Hill – RIBA North East Building of the Year 2016 (sponsored by Marley Eternit) RIBA North East Award winners will also be considered for a highly-coveted RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, which will be announced on Wednesday 6 July 2016. The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning buildings later in the year. ENDS Notes to editors: 1. For further information, including access to press images and judges citations, contact Amanda Khan 0191 2617441 or 07725996683 amanda.khan@riba.org   2. RIBA North East 2016 Award-winners are: Ashington community & Leisure Centre – Ryder Architecture Crook Hall Visitor Centre – Elliott Architects Edge Hill – Sutherland Hussey Harris Hebburn Central – FaulknerBrowns Architects The Paise – Newton Architects 3. RIBA Awards have been running continuously since 1966 and are judged and presented locally.  No matter the shape, size, budget or location, RIBA award winning schemes set the standard for great architecture all across the country. RIBA awards are for buildings in the UK by RIBA Chartered Architects and RIBA International Fellows. 4. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. www.architecture.com   Posted on Saturday 23rd April 2016 Source link

Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Tue, Apr 5th 2016 One of Crumlin’s oldest established businesses, the sawmill on the Croespenmaen industrial Estate, is continuing to benefit from investment by leading UK timber importer, Newport based Premier Forest Products.  Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday One of Crumlin’s oldest established businesses, the sawmill on the Croespenmaen industrial Estate, is continuing to benefit from investment by leading UK timber importer, Newport based Premier Forest Products.  Mill Timber Direct, the sawmill’s new retail outlet store on the site, was recently opened in premises right next to the mill itself. The new shop offers an extensive range of the sawmill’s timber products including fencing, decking, sleepers, crafted wooden gates and robust wooden garden furniture, as well as equestrian jumps, panels products, structural timber and a host of related and ancillary products.  Up until now, Mill Timber Direct has relied mostly upon customers collecting their requirements, but as of last week the company can now offer a full delivery service within a 25 mile radius of the branch.  Premier has invested in a new Citroen Relay 3513 with 4.2m drop side, enabling them to deliver many of the company’s most popular products.  Adrian Hovey, Manager at Mill Timber Direct said: “We are delighted to announce this new delivery service. Historically, customers have collected goods from the mill’s retail offering here but now, with the fully developed new store, a hugely increased product range and the means to deliver directly to our customers, we can make the mill’s fantastic products readily available to many more customers. “Our range of eco friendly wooden gates and fencing are perfect for the upcoming spring/summer season, especially for those wishing to have fencing products delivered direct to their gardens.”   Source link

Green SME news – by GreenWise staff 14th October 2015 Small and medium-sized commercial office businesses in the UK are overspending by over £82 million per annum on their energy bills as a result of inefficient technology and old equipment, according to new analysis. The Energy Efficiency Financing (EEF) scheme, a joint initiative between the Carbon Trust and Siemens Financial, looked at the energy expenditure of selected key industries to estimate their annual energy overspend. It concluded potential energy savings of over £414 million could be achieved per year by the UK’s service sector SMEs (of which over £82 million is represented by small and medium-sized commercial office businesses), were they to invest in more energy-efficient equipment. The findings are based on proprietary data and official sources and looked at each sector’s use of lighting, heating and hot water, cooling and ventilation, and other areas of energy consumption. The EEF scheme launched in 2011 to unlock business investment by providing finance for green technologies, such as low energy lighting, solar PV, energy-efficient motors, low carbon air conditioning or biomass heating. The scheme aims to make finance for the acquisition of energy efficient and renewable energy equipment more accessible and affordable for companies, in particular SMEs. Myles McCarthy, managing director of Carbon Trust Implementation Services, said: “By investing in energy-efficient equipment as well as renewable energy technology, businesses can reap significant energy savings and cut down on their energy bills. Any sort of green investment is a step towards saving money, improving business competitiveness, and being a responsible citizen. Organisations that recognise the long-term benefits brought by energy efficiency will no doubt be better positioned than their competitors to grow their businesses more sustainably and profitably.” Data from Bank of England shows the annual growth rate in the stock of SME lending to have shrunk since the second quarter of 2009. Although there are some recent signs that this trend may be turning the corner, the EEF scheme says business lending will take a long time to recover, and may not reach pre-financial-crisis levels because of stringent recent regulatory rules. Richard Baker, sales manager, Energy Efficiency Financing scheme, commented: “Today’s tightened credit environment makes it increasingly difficult for SMEs to obtain affordable funding as traditional lenders have become more risk-adverse in their lending policy.” Like this story? Please subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for more content like this. Related content: Source link

©Reuters Michel Temer, Brazil’s interim president Michel Temer, Brazil’s interim president, suffered his first casualty less than two weeks after taking office when a senior minister stepped down on Monday night for allegedly plotting to curb corruption investigations. Planning minister Romero Jucá said he was taking leave of absence after Folha de São Paulo newspaper reported he had been caught on tape saying a change of government was needed to contain a sweeping corruption probe into state-owned oil company Petrobras. More On this topic IN Americas Politics & Policy The tape was made before President Dilma Rousseff of the leftist Workers’ party, or PT, was impeached earlier this month, a move that brought Mr Temer into office. He and Mr Jucá are leaders of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement party, or PMDB. “I didn’t do anything but it won’t prove anything to say anything more at the moment,” he told reporters, announcing he was taking leave from his post to defend himself from charges. The crisis has threatened to destabilise Mr Temer’s new government just as it is seeking to launch an ambitious economic programme aimed at rebalancing Brazil’s budget and laying the foundations for an economic recovery. But Mr Jucá’s decision to step down so quickly may help limit the political damage from the crisis, analysts say. Mr Jucá is one of several members of Mr Temer’s new cabinet who are under investigation in the Petrobras case, in which members of the former ruling coalition of Ms Rousseff’s PT are alleged to have plotted with company executives and contractors to extract bribes and kickbacks. He was caught on tape telling Sérgio Machado, ex-president of a Petrobras subsidiary, Transpetro, in a private conversation that a change of government would be necessary to stop the investigation from implicating everyone in his party, Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said. “We have to change the government to stop this bleeding,” he said. Mr Jucá did not deny the existence of the conversation but said it had been taken out of context. Mr Machado is also under investigation in the Petrobras probe. He could not be reached for comment on Monday. Mr Jucá forms part of the senior leadership of Mr Temer’s PMDB alongside the leader of the senate, Renan Calheiros, who is also under investigation in Lava Jato, or Car Wash, as the Petrobras investigation is referred to. Eduardo Cunha, the head of the lower house of congress, has also been suspended in the probe. Everyone is on the tray waiting to be eaten – Romero Jucá, planning minister In extracts of the tape reported by Folha de S.Paulo, Mr Machado warns Mr Jucá that attorney-general Rodrigo Janot planned to target the entire PMDB leadership. “I’m worried because I think Janot is out to get you and I think I am the path to that,” Mr Machado, a former PMDB senator, said. He added later in the conversation: “The situation is grave because, Romero, they are out to get all politicians.” Mr Jucá replied: “To put an end to the political class so that a new pure breed can emerge.” The pair discussed how Aécio Neves, the leader of the main opposition party, the PSDB, would likely be also consumed by the corruption investigations if there was no impeachment. “Everyone is on the tray waiting to be eaten,” said Mr Jucá. Mr Machado replied: “The first [in the PSDB] will be Aécio.” In a note, the PSDB said the dialogue between Mr Jucá and Mr Machado did not contain any explicit accusations of wrongdoing against Mr Neves. Mr Jucá mentioned in the conversation he was speaking with the military, which had guaranteed it would maintain calm during the political crisis. He said he had also spoken with some supreme court judges, who had implied that the Lava Jato investigation would continue as long as Ms Rousseff was there because of her unpopularity with the media and others. In a press conference after the publication of the recording, Mr Jucá said he supported the Lava Jato investigation but that it should be concluded more rapidly so that the nation’s politicians did not exist permanently under a “dark cloud”. He said it was in this context he had discussed the case with the judges of the supreme court, whom he had met socially. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

National Grid is set to push forward with its proposals to include the emergency gas number in the sale of its gas distribution business following feedback from industry. The company said it has received a “mixed response” from industry on its plans, but said transferring the service to the distribution company “presents the lowest risk option”. It added that if the service was to stay with National Grid it would require either the creation of a new call centre, or a contractual arrangement with the new gas distribution company to provide the service. National Grid said: “We are discussing with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the most appropriate way to ensure that the obligation continues to align with the delivery of the service.” Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead said the opportunity should be taken to create a new independent body to manage the service, but National Grid said this is not within the scope of the proposed sale. National Grid said: “The solutions that we are discussing with the HSE include creating the flexibility for future changes in the duty holder. “This would facilitate the duty holder being either a category of persons or perhaps more widely, any suitable person possessing appropriate skills, resources and expertise, that might wish to be a provider of this service. It added that it understands that the HSE, in consultation with Ofgem and the Department for Energy and Climate Change is considering whether there is a case to review the gas safety management regulations. The Gas Industry Safety Group has already backed National Grid’s plans to include the gas safety number in the sale of its gas distribution businesses, saying the sale will not materially affect the running of the number which has proven effective. Source link

©Bloomberg Donald Trump did not mince words when he likened the dilapidated state of LaGuardia Airport in New York City, a hub for 28m travellers last year, to that of infrastructure in a third world country. The presumptive Republican nominee in the White House race has offended whole classes of the electorate — among them women, immigrants, the disabled and Muslims — as the November election looms. More On this topic IN Transport But his targeting of LaGuardia did not cause much consternation. US vice-president Joe Biden offered a similar characterisation of the airport in 2014. The airport, which cost the city of New York $40m when it was constructed in the 1930s, took a crucial step towards changing that depiction on Tuesday. A group hired to reconstruct and operate a new terminal at LaGuardia for 35 years secured $2.5bn of financing in one of the year’s marquee municipal bond offerings. The sale of the debt, led by Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Barclays, attracted more than 150 investors, a person familiar with the transaction said. New 30-year bonds maturing in 2046 priced with a yield of 3.27 per cent and a 5 per cent coupon, the person added. In contrast, 30-year US Treasuries closed Tuesday’s session with a yield of 2.60 per cent, while a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index of triple B rated municipal bonds across multiple maturity dates yielded 2.88 per cent. The consortium of borrowers, known as the LaGuardia Gateway Partners, includes airport operator Vantage Airport Group, construction company Skanska and Meridiam Infrastructure, an investor and asset manager of infrastructure projects. The influx of foreign buyers into the US municipal bond market as sovereign bond yields decline has suppressed borrowing costs for many cities, states and public agencies seeking to fund public works. The debt sale included bonds that mature between 2026 and 2051 in both tax-exempt and taxable offerings. New insured 35-year paper priced with a yield of 3.41 per cent. The Port Authority, which owns LaGuardia and its sister airports John F Kennedy and Newark Liberty, is expected to contribute another $2.2bn to the project, including investment in new roads, parking and the unification of a Delta Air Lines terminal. The consortium will kick in an additional $200m of equity, financing documents showed. Earl Heffintrayer, an analyst with credit rating agency Moody’s, said the construction project was “among the most complex Moody’s has rated”, citing poor geological conditions, environmental contamination, space constraints and issues with keeping the current facilities in operation during construction. Moody’s rated the bonds Baa3, one notch above junk. The first half of the LaGuardia reconstruction is expected to be completed by 2019, just as attention turns to the 2020 general elections in the US. eric.platt@ft.com Twitter: @ericgplatt Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

New orders in the capital hit £3.75bn in Q1 2016, up by 30 per cent compared with £2.88bn of new orders reported in Q1 2015. London remains the UK’s largest construction market, with the value of new orders now 45 per cent higher in the capital than Scotland and Wales combined. Elsewhere, results were more mixed, with the South-west and East of England showing robust year-on-year growth, with new orders up by 11.9 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively. Results in the Midlands and the North proved more inconsistent, however, with new orders in the East Midlands only growing by 1 per cent and orders in the West Midlands falling by 7.7 per cent. Yorkshire & the Humber saw orders grow by 3.1 per cent – the highest of any Northern region – while the North-west was bottom of the pack, reporting a 31.8 per cent fall in orders. However, this was from a significantly high base, with the region reporting its highest level of new orders since before the recession in Q1 2015. New orders in the region, which stood at £1.48bn in Q1 2016, also remain well ahead of the long-term average. New orders in Scotland remained flat at £1.56bn, while Wales saw a fall of 22 per cent, with the value of new orders hitting £1.03bn, down from £1.32bn year-on-year. Source link