Offsite manufacturing specialist, TALO, is expanding its transformational timber superstructure systems for low rise housing in the UK. Developed in Finland and widely used across the Nordic countries for over 40 years, TALO’s offsite manufacturing solutions can eradicate energy bills for homeowners and residents of social and affordable housing. As
Ahead of the 2025 update cycle for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) announces its forthcoming NDC Scorecard – a tool to support the evaluation and strengthening of nation-level policy on the built environment. Today, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) announces its new initiative: ‘NDC
Actis continues seven-year relationship with LABC by renewing CPD partner support The renewal this autumn of insulation specialist Actis’ CPD partner support with LABC marks the seventh year of a relationship between the two organisations. The renewed arrangement will see Actis specification team members take part in LABC’s monthly technical
Housing association believe housing has appointed a new chair of its board. The not-for-profit landlord, which manages more than 18,000 homes across County Durham and beyond, has appointed John Marshall as its new chair. A board member since 2019, he takes over the post from Hazel Dale, who came to
Offsite manufacturing specialist, TALO, is expanding its transformational timber superstructure systems for low rise housing in the UK. Developed in Finland and widely used across the Nordic countries for over 40 years, TALO’s offsite manufacturing solutions can eradicate energy bills for homeowners and residents of social and affordable housing. As part of its expansion in the UK, TALO has just been awarded ICW Endorsed accreditation from ICW Group – one of the country’s largest structural insurance warranty specialists, which serves all major mortgage lenders. This certification follows a robust technical assessment of TALO’s timber superstructure system and its manufacturing processes to meet ICW’s stringent MMC requirements. The endorsement means that the TALO offsite system is now pre-approved, subject to satisfactory site audits, for use in conjunction with ICW’s structural warranties across multiple housing projects. Philip Quinn, Director of Surveying Services at ICW, said, “TALO’s commitment to quality is clear, as attested by their comprehensive technical design and robust manufacturing processes. Working with TALO has been refreshing and their approach to sustainability is impressive.” “We found TALO’s team to be responsive, technically minded and engaging professionals. We are thrilled to be working in partnership together as we look ahead to future MMC projects.” Leona Wikman, TALO’s Technical Director said, “The accreditation from ICW gives our housebuilding customers the reassurance that the TALO system meets ICW’s requirements for their structural warranties.” “We have an exciting project pipeline in place for both housebuilders and social and affordable housing providers. This certification will open the doors to more opportunities in the residential sector, as well as provide our existing customers with independent verification of the consistently high-quality standards we work to.” “ICW’s MMC team visited our offsite manufacturing centre in Finland as part of the assessment process. The depth of technical knowledge of MMC and competence of their team made the approval process very straightforward.” TALO is now working towards its first UK offsite manufacturing centre as demand increases for its zero energy housebuilding solutions in the UK. Its timber superstructure system is currently manufactured in Finland for its UK customers. Once production in the first factory nears capacity, there are plans for further manufacturing centres which will be rolled out across the UK to meet customer demand and create local jobs for local housing. This will accelerate the construction of TALO’s zero energy homes – from Scotland to the South West of England. TALO specialises in the offsite manufacture and installation of advanced timber superstructures to deliver new low-rise homes for sale, rent and social housing more efficiently. The high level of thermal efficiency of the TALO system removes the need for energy bills and snagging, and at no cost premium for the developer or housing provider. For further information, visit www.talo.co.uk, call 03301 334121 or email hello@talo.co.uk. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Ahead of the 2025 update cycle for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) announces its forthcoming NDC Scorecard – a tool to support the evaluation and strengthening of nation-level policy on the built environment. Today, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) announces its new initiative: ‘NDC Scorecard for Sustainable Buildings’. This tool is currently being co-developed with five pilot Green Building Councils (GBCs), alongside the GBC global network including the Global Policy Taskforce, and local stakeholders including governments, to ensure nations are being bold on buildings in their climate action plans, which are due to be updated in early 2025. Under the Paris Agreement, each country must draw up a national climate action plan (known as NDC – Nationally Determined Contribution) outlining their strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to enable the collective global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5ºC and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Current NDC commitments fall far short of this target, with current commitments on track for 2.5-2.9ºC of warming. The WorldGBC NDC Scorecard tool will allow all policymakers, GBCs and others to assess and compare their countries’ NDCs, and reveal where further action is necessary on the built environment to increase the ambition and effectiveness of their NDCs and national policies so they are putting the sector on a trajectory for 1.5ºC. The tool will also enable stakeholders to conduct a gap analysis to ensure that NDCs, national policies and implementation are all aligned so that commitments are being put into practice. “Being bold on buildings is essential if countries are to live up to the welcome ambitions signalled by the Buildings Breakthrough, the UAE Consensus and the Déclaration de Chaillot,” said Cristina Gamboa, CEO of WorldGBC. “It is absolutely critical that this next batch of revised NDCs accelerates the transition and closes the gap to 1.5ºC. This can be achieved by not overlooking the role of buildings and encouraging governments to send strong policy signals that unlock finance and enable the private sector to scale existing climate solutions.” The tool enables the evaluation of NDCs using a number of criteria, such as carbon, resilience and adaptation, circularity, water, biodiversity, health, equity and access, and finance mechanisms, and establishes if the NDC is supported by national policies and building codes to ensure implementation. Most current NDCs overlook the potential of buildings Only with strong action on the built environment, which is responsible for 37% of global emissions, can the world hope to succeed in building the transition and achieving the 1.5°C limit targeted by the Paris Agreement. Yet most country’s NDCs and policies are not currently close to meeting the challenge. According to the GlobalABC Global Status Report 2023, despite a growth in the number of adopted codes globally, over 30% of building codes have not been updated since 2015. Only three places have codes aligned with Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB) principles. Mandatory building energy codes are lacking altogether in 110 countries. And these include the places where 82% of global population growth will occur, and consequently increased building, in the period to 2030. A global pilot phase WorldGBC is working with five GBCs in different regions of the globe to develop the Scorecard. The project involves Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Nigeria and the Philippines. Its development process is designed to identify best-practice building policies that should be in revised NDCs and integrated into national buildings regulatory frameworks. The project will also produce tailored action plans for each of the five countries. The Scorecard tool will be developed using a collaborative process that engages the GBC network, local stakeholders and political actors from the outset, ensuring that the communities who are responsible for implementation are involved in the process. This aims to maximise the chance for better and deliverable outcomes, and drives locally-relevant action that delivers on global priorities. “It’s been encouraging to see such strong support from local stakeholders. The recent flooding and heatwaves across Nigeria are harsh reminders of how vulnerable our communities are to climate change, and they show just how urgent it is to align our building policies with climate goals. This is why the project is so timely! We believe it will be a game-changer in shaping Nigeria’s built environment and setting the stage for our 2025 NDC update.” Danjuma Waniko, President, Green Building Council Nigeria “The NDC Scorecard for Sustainable Buildings Project can significantly influence the shaping of the Philippines’ NDC. Integrating sustainable buildings reduces emissions, enhances energy efficiency, and promotes green construction. It fosters job creation, strengthens resilience to climate impacts like typhoons and heatwaves, and improves living conditions — advancing national climate goals and driving sustainable urban development and economic growth nationwide.” Christopher Cruz de la Cruz, CEO, Philippine Green Building Council “At Colombia GBC we truly believe that the built environment can play a great role in dealing with climate change. We have been committed to work very closely with our government to integrate the built environment as part of the national agenda and as an important part of the NDC update processes. This process includes not only the impact of different policies, but also the work with the private sector to ensure an integrated approach.” Angélica Ospina, CEO, Consejo Colombiano de Construcción Sostenible (Colombia Green Building Council) “We are enthusiastic about discussing the best policies and opportunities to reinforce the green building agenda at the NDC scale. The green building movement in Brazil has influenced market behaviour towards decarbonisation, biodiversity, and resilience while guaranteeing economic results for developers and occupants. By better understanding and advancing our movement through policies and regulation, our contribution will be expanded to all.” Felipe Augusto Faria, CEO, Green Building Council Brasil “As Egypt faces increasing climate vulnerabilities and a rapidly growing construction sector, projected to expand by nearly 6% annually — the NDC Scorecard for Sustainable Buildings Project is a crucial tool for promoting climate-resilient, sustainable development. This project will provide Egypt with a framework to assess the carbon reduction potential of our construction practices and ensure that new developments prioritise
Actis continues seven-year relationship with LABC by renewing CPD partner support The renewal this autumn of insulation specialist Actis’ CPD partner support with LABC marks the seventh year of a relationship between the two organisations. The renewed arrangement will see Actis specification team members take part in LABC’s monthly technical seminars over the coming twelve months. Key presenters include Actis regional specification managers Amaret Chahal, Jason Docherty and Elijah Peters. They will share highlights of Actis’ updated RIBA-approved Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standards CPD with architects, specifiers, builders and building control officers, while other industry experts share information on other pertinent subjects. As in previous years, the sessions will be a mixture of regional face-to-face and online events aimed at construction professionals working across England and Wales. The roadshows, which last two hours when taking place virtually and three and a half when in real life, have provided CPD training to more than a thousand delegates over the past year. Actis UK and Ireland sales director Mark Cooper said: “We’ve been running CPD training at LABC’s popular long-running roadshows since 2018 and we’re delighted to continue to support the construction community in this way. The sessions are always informative and interesting and are also great for networking and sharing best practice. The CPD partnership means we can continue to offer valuable advice which will help builders and specifiers comply with building regulations as we move towards net zero.” In addition to the 20-minute sessions it offers via the LABC roadshows, Actis has developed a number of full length CPD training courses including RIBA-approved modules on how to comply with changes to Part L and prepare for the Future Homes Standard – Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standard – andAddressing the Performance Gap with Reflective Insulation . Another of its popular CPD sessions is on Proven Compliant Systems. Actis’ Hybrid range of insulation, vapour control layers and breather membranes and its two-in-one Eolis HC have been praised by users for their cleanliness, ease and speed of installation, lack of waste, lightness and ease of transportation as well as their impressive thermal performance. Their flexibility and ability to bend around corners and be squeezed into gaps means they are excellent at counteracting thermal bridging and ensuring air tightness. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Housing association believe housing has appointed a new chair of its board. The not-for-profit landlord, which manages more than 18,000 homes across County Durham and beyond, has appointed John Marshall as its new chair. A board member since 2019, he takes over the post from Hazel Dale, who came to the end of her term in September after serving nine years as a board member and one as chair. John’s background is as a solicitor, and he holds a broad range of high-profile roles across the northeast of England. They include chairing the North East Chamber of Commerce, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative (NGI), Newcastle United Foundation, as well as being Vice Chair of the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and incoming Chair of Governors at St Chad’s College, Durham. “I first joined believe housing’s board because the importance of housing was very obvious to me, from the other roles I hold and some of the work I’ve done in the charity and health sectors. It is at the root of so much. “If somebody is able to have the right home for them, it gives them the opportunity to start a better life,” he said. “I feel honoured to be the chair of believe housing. “While there are many challenges that face the sector, I’m really encouraged by what I think believe housing can achieve with the people it has, the culture is has developed, and its real customer focus. “The future will include finding new ways to deliver our services to customers, continuing to develop a really high standard of new homes, and continuing to invest in existing homes particularly making them more energy efficient for our customers. “believe housing is a really important business in County Durham’s economy. “And I want customers to know that when we make decisions, we always have the impact on them and how they will feel in our minds.” Chief Executive of believe housing, Alan Smith, said: “John brings a wealth of experience from various sectors and is very knowledgeable about our business, with a clear understanding of the housing crisis regionally and nationally. “The role of chair is vital, helping to drive the direction of believe housing and the role we play in the business community and housing sector. “John is incredibly well-connected, he cares about customers and colleagues, and above all else he is a passionate and caring individual who makes a meaningful difference.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
