The COP-26 summit in Glasgow has led the world to think more deeply and more urgently about climate change, and how we must all live and work more sustainably to combat it. Clark-Drain is no exception – and we are stepping up to the mark, as we have done in
Following the global focus on sustainability prompted by COP26, 300 public and private sector industry professionals recently came together to learn about how the built environment can do more and go further in their efforts towards net zero. Ed Reynolds, Midlands technical director at Willmott Dixon, reflects on the recent
Andrew Carpenter, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West (CESW), said: “Construction and the built environment are responsible for a shocking 40% of global carbon emissions – and that means when it comes to achieving a net zero future, building matters. “The sector has an urgent responsibility to reduce its carbon
Hopes are high that the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP26 – will help to bring about significant change for the future of our planet. The construction industry is increasingly aware of the important role it must play in tackling the crisis – but how can it foster
Green Street in Glasgow, just a stone’s throw from COP26 will show that the only way to install 600,000 heat pumps a year and hit net zero is by replacing the UK’s current gas grid. The inner city street will be brought to life using pioneering augmented reality to show
HOT on the heels of the COP26 summit, national construction company Willmott Dixon is partnering with Building Brum to host “Net Zero Carbon: What’s Stopping Us?” on 16 November at The Grand Hotel, Birmingham. Britain’s ‘second city’ will welcome built environment sector leaders from across the country, as they outline the region’s
Virtual 360 degree exhibition launched ahead of COP26 to profile measures HS2 is taking to cut carbon: https://360.hs2.org.uk/interchange Online tour with 30 interactive features, five new videos on HS2’s environmental innovations and 25 images of Interchange Station People can sign up for three HS2 webinars during COP26: https://www.hs2.org.uk/cop26/ In the
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
The COP-26 summit in Glasgow has led the world to think more deeply and more urgently about climate change, and how we must all live and work more sustainably to combat it. Clark-Drain is no exception – and we are stepping up to the mark, as we have done in the past. We are proud to announce that we signed up to the Government’s Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme back in 2018, which commits us to environmental targets over time. It was an important step forward, and complements the many other measures we have already taken, and continue to take, to reduce resource consumption, pollution, and climate change impacts. From the market’s first fully recycled and recyclable channels and chambers, to efficient drainage that increases hydraulic performance using less material, to lightweight designs that use less fuel to transport and install, Clark-Drain has always put sustainability high on its agenda. And with our CCA commitment, our long-established, family-run business is shifting its environmental conscience up a gear. So, what exactly does CCA deliver, how, and what are the benefits? Measure, report, hit the mark – consistently Primarily, CCA is about reducing our energy use and carbon emissions to agreed levels. Energy consumption is the cause of much of the world’s carbon emissions, and carbon itself makes up 80% of the greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change, so cutting down on both energy use and carbon emissions is a no-brainer. As part of our commitment to CCA, we must measure and report our energy consumption and emissions over periods of two years, until the end of March 2025, and must hit the agreed targets throughout that time. The measuring and reporting are rigorous, comprising both absolute and relative measures of energy consumption and carbon emitted. The targets, which are defined by the Government based on the industry sector we operate in, are calculated relative to a past “base year”, and are both absolute and – necessarily – challenging. In short, with the CCA scheme we are doing in environmental terms what we have always done elsewhere in our business: championing transparency, learning lessons, aiming high, and delivering a better outcome. But what’s in it for us – and our customers? CCA: making environmental and economic sense Like all the best environmental initiatives, CCA incorporates sensible financial incentives to help offset the costs to the business of managing the scheme, and potentially deliver some residual economic benefit, both of which ultimately drive uptake. By hitting the CCA targets, businesses like Clark-Drain benefit from significant reductions in the Climate Change Levy (CCL) that we currently pay as part of our electricity and fuel bills. Ultimately, we are free to deploy any surplus however we think it will benefit our customers most – in new product development, operational and customer service investment, price or quantity incentives, and so on. It’s the proverbial win-win situation, three ways: we reduce our impact on the environment, we lower our costs, and we free up funds to better serve our customers. Transparency and credibility: going public One thing that COP-26 has taught us all is that lip-service just doesn’t cut it anymore. Environmental commitments must be visible, and they must have teeth. The CCA scheme addresses this not only through its extremely specific targets, conditions, and measurement, as described above (a much fuller explanation of which is given in the various technical documents here), but also in the fact that it maintains a completely public register of businesses that continue to meet the targets and be eligible for the CCL discount. This register (called the Reduced Rate Certificates spreadsheet) is available to download here, and makes successful CCA commitment a matter of public record. Our customers can therefore be sure they are dealing with a business that has not only signed up to the CCA scheme, but is actually delivering on it. Critical changes, manageable progress As the great and the good head off from Glasgow, leaving a legacy of urgent environmental action in their wake, the ball is very much in our court – the millions of expert, specialist businesses that, across the globe, sell the things the world can’t do without, but at an environmental price it soon won’t be able to afford. Our commitment to the CCA scheme is one more demonstration of our determination to deliver products and to work in ways that are more sustainable, bit by bit, day by day. At Clark-Drain, we’re proud that what we produce is, as we always say, “grounded in expertise”- but now, more than ever, we want to make sure that how it is produced is grounded in environmental good sense.
Following the global focus on sustainability prompted by COP26, 300 public and private sector industry professionals recently came together to learn about how the built environment can do more and go further in their efforts towards net zero. Ed Reynolds, Midlands technical director at Willmott Dixon, reflects on the recent ‘Net Zero – What’s Stopping Us?’ panel event hosted in Birmingham and how the spirit of collaboration was felt more than ever. “Collaboration and transparency. If there were two words I heard over and over again during our debate, it was those. “It felt like times of old once again, with colleagues, customers and fellow industry professionals all gathered together with a shared interest to discuss. Events such as this offer a timely reminder of what can be achieved when we take the time to catch up with one another properly, instead of via Zoom or Teams, which we have all become reliant on over the past two years. “Bringing everyone together to discuss such a hot topic post-COP26 meant we saw over 300 people and from various organisations and walks of life – local councils, designers and consultants, students, universities, tech companies, LEPs and more. It was heartening to see the sector united in their efforts to drive forward sustainable practices and push for industry action in tackling the climate emergency. “It was my pleasure to open the event on behalf of Willmott Dixon and introduce our knowledgeable and insightful panellists, including our very own Julia Barrett; Deborah Cadman OBE, chief executive of Birmingham City Council; Belinda Morgan from Cundall; Tim Carey, chief product director at Collida; James Douglas from Lendlease, and Chris Clarke from Scape. “Together, the expert panellists pointed out opportunities for growth and shared visions for the future, whilst sparking meaningful conversations and drawing on their breadth of cross-sector experience. “Our sustainability strategy Now or Never, sets out our key priorities in three parts to take us to 2030: Brilliant Buildings, Building Lives and Better Planet. As a business we know that all three are important to align our customers, supply chain and the wider community in meaningful ways. But we also know that each of these three areas take investment, a commitment to continuous learning and development, and a determination to engage, collaborate and innovate to drive sustainability above all other interests. “Judging from the atmosphere in the room, and the conversations that have followed, the event has already had a significant impact, and I look forward to working closely with our industry on the topic again.” Challenging behaviours “One of the underpinning themes throughout the debate was the pace at which we need to change attitudes towards sustainability in the sector. To prevent the ‘race to the bottom’ on price, contract selection must be geared more towards sustainability. “Deborah gave her views, insisting that Birmingham Council would “turn investment and development away if it’s not done with good intent and with low carbon in mind.” “James, representing Lendlease, agreed: “We must report our performance and share our progress. I don’t want to see carbon become commercial, we’re all on the same journey. We are going to turn down investment and development opportunities if they don’t have low carbon in mind. We will simply say this is not the place for you.” “Julia also challenged panellists on the performance gap – or, in her words, “how long are we going to be building buildings that don’t do what they say on the tin?” “To ensure effective designs are robustly delivered on-site, it was agreed that more needs to be done in terms of legislation and holding businesses to account over sustainable standards – though believed the ‘carrot over the stick’ approach would be more effective to set targets and encourage greater collaboration. This is something I wholeheartedly believe in myself. “Belinda, speaking on behalf of engineering consultancy Cundall, emphasised that “early engagement is the key to collaboration” – and provided an example of where they had been appointed on a contract following a behavioural workshop to determine the team’s efficiency and said that fees came secondary. Belinda said the scheme was highly successful and believed that lessons could be applied from the experience. Cundall became carbon neutral last year.” We’re not moving quickly enough “There were also discussions about how many retrofits to buildings is now required, all of which could have been avoided had available energy-efficient methods been implemented at the time of construction. “To echo this, Deborah said that it is “almost criminal” for gas boilers to be installed in new homes in the next five years. Deborah was also “not convinced that innovation, research and development is where it needs to be. The industry needs to work with higher education institutions to fix this.’ “A section of the discussion focused on ‘whole life value’, and Julia explained how “we’re going to see the decarbonisation of the grid by 2035, which is when we will see embodied carbon take over.” “James believes that “it’s the biggest challenge to the construction sector. There is no legislation in place to drive forward lower embodied carbon and very little reporting. Leading private sector organisations are tackling this independently, but I believe there needs to be policy and intervention.” “Whilst positive strides from government have been made in recent years, I think that the allocation of funding to meet sustainability targets has been a cause of concern. “Julia pointed out that that the Code for Sustainable Homes existed in 2006 but was scrapped in 2016. She said that if the UK had stuck with it, every house being built today would be net zero carbon – and reiterated messages from her recent webinar series, shared as a podcast here. “Tim explained that Collida was established because they knew the construction industry needed to change. He said: “We know that we need to accelerate our rate of modernisation, embrace aspects such as the Construction Playbook and offsite manufacturing. We want to operate with integrity, so we chose
Andrew Carpenter, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West (CESW), said: “Construction and the built environment are responsible for a shocking 40% of global carbon emissions – and that means when it comes to achieving a net zero future, building matters. “The sector has an urgent responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint, and I was delighted to be among the construction professionals who gathered on day 12 of COP26 to discuss exactly how we do that. “Top of the list of talking points was the Construction Leadership Council’s Co2nstruct Zero plan – a clear, impactful nine-point programme, with 28 metrics, for making construction fit for the net-zero age. “By working together to achieve its recommendations, including switching to zero emission vehicles, supporting the development of low carbon materials and processes, embracing green heating solutions and collaborating with government to deliver a wide-ranging home retrofit programme, we can have an enormous positive impact.”
Hopes are high that the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP26 – will help to bring about significant change for the future of our planet. The construction industry is increasingly aware of the important role it must play in tackling the crisis – but how can it foster real results? National framework provider Pagabo’s latest ‘Building Blocks’ podcast, hosted by executive chairman Gerard Toplass, and featuring Julia Barrett, chief sustainability officer at national contractor Willmott Dixon and Jose Hernandez, director of sustainability at multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard, explored the issues. Gerard said: “The Construction Playbook and Build Back Better initiatives rolled out by the UK Government have already placed sustainability, net zero emissions and a change in best practice at the forefront of work in the built environment. Now it is hoped the crucial COP26 summit in Glasgow will strengthen global action, provide a strategic vision and allocate sufficient resources for solutions to tackle the issues we face. “There has been a sea change in the world’s view of the climate crisis, influenced by a number of factors such as high-profile campaigning, media reporting, increased awareness among young people, recent weather extremes and our post-pandemic recovery. It feels very much like this is something that people are taking more seriously now during their daily lives and are calling for real action from our leaders.” Awareness of environmental issues is finally increasing “While many businesses have spent the best part of a decade looking at sustainability in terms of their own activity, reducing carbon emissions and maximising recycling for example, we now recognise on a wider scale that more must be done as a united front. The general awareness is now much greater; we need only look to the likes of the UN’s Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change declaring a ‘code red for humanity’ and the Environment Agency warning on natural disaster deaths that will happen here and elsewhere to see that. “We need new strategies to build on what we have already achieved, taking into account Scope 3 emissions; this may consider employee travel and commuting as well as those emissions associated with the processing of raw materials and contracted solid waste disposal among other things. “As an industry, we have a responsibility to think about our approach both in terms of materials and the impact they have on emissions during production, otherwise referred to as embodied carbon. For example, concrete production represents around eight per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.” Jose added: “It is concerning that reports have shown that last year global emissions may have reduced by six per cent but the forecast for this year is an increase of four per cent. Moreover, the entire building and construction industry must understand its role when considering it is responsible for roughly 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions. It is critical that we use all this information as an opportunity to decouple absolute and relative carbon emissions from economic growth.” Covid-19 took our choices away and forced us to change Julia said: “One of the key impacts of the pandemic is how it has actually advanced the environmental agenda, not least because of the way the construction industry adapted but also because of the dramatic decrease in people travelling. “Businesses realised they could save time, expense and increase efficiency through online meetings and virtual working. We all recognise the importance of in-person meetings for relationship building but the new hybrid approach to working has been a real positive to come from the last 18 months.” Modern construction methods are key As well as delivering great buildings, the industry has a responsibility to ensure they perform at the best level through their operation lifecycle and with minimised embodied carbon. By the time a new building is in use, between 30 and 70 per cent of its lifetime emissions are accounted for. Julia added: “In practice, this means engaging clients early on in the brief to ensure that sustainability and efficiencies are embedded rather than an ‘add on’. Understanding that addressing environmental impact early on, despite some larger upfront costs, will also have a positive economic outcome in the long-term is vital. This is a shift change in some cases but will play a hugely important role in supporting the climate change agenda. “It’s also really important that supply chain SMEs must know what they are spending on fuel and energy because of the impact on their carbon emissions. According to the CBI, only 11 per cent of SMEs know what their carbon emissions are, which is a massive opportunity to reduce fuel costs thereby increasing profits while protecting the planet.” The benefits of frameworks Gerard continued: “The key elements in a framework are the references to whole life carbon. The impact doesn’t stop once the building has been completed and starts being used – and this is vital when it comes to climate change and sustainability. “Frameworks provide a consistent structure and scope, giving firms an opportunity for growth and alignment. It levels the playing field in a collaborative and positive way to drive up standards, creating a ‘gold standard’. The Construction Playbook has been a driver for change within the industry, but wider adoption particularly among the public sector in terms of sustainability requirements is key.” Thoughts for the future “COP26 is now underway and while we have started to see the conversation changing, there is still much to do. Each country pledged to sign up with its nationally declared contributions to reducing emissions to limit a global temperature rise but it is not yet clear what that means. It’s time to stop talking and take action. “Innovation, particularly within the construction sector, is widespread so we have an excellent opportunity to embrace sustainability and climate change as key drivers for what we do next. We collectively need to make changes now, embrace new technologies, ways of working and thinking as we make strides towards our ambitious but vital carbon targets.” Listen
Green Street in Glasgow, just a stone’s throw from COP26 will show that the only way to install 600,000 heat pumps a year and hit net zero is by replacing the UK’s current gas grid. The inner city street will be brought to life using pioneering augmented reality to show how networked ground source heat pumps that mimic the current gas network are the cheapest way to decarbonise heat and could save the UK an estimated £1bn a year to 2050. The solution shifts responsibility from consumers getting rid of their gas boilers and installing individual infrastructure for ground source heat pumps on an ad-hoc house-by-house basis, to the pre-installation of utility-scale underground infrastructure that allows consumers to easily and cheaply change to ground source heat pumps when they’re ready. The infrastructure is funded, owned and maintained by an energy or water company, local authority or private investor removing the cost from consumers who pay a standing charge similar to gas. Simon Lomax, CEO of Kensa, the UK’s only manufacturer of ground source heat pumps, said: “It isn’t possible to reach critical mass or secure the cost reductions expected by government by adopting a house-by-house approach, placing responsibility to deliver our climate targets on individuals. “To really kick-start the transition to heat pumps, the government needs to work with the energy industry and suppliers to popularise a networked ground source heat pump where the cost of infrastructure is divorced from the heat pump in a split-ownership approach. “Running costs and carbon emissions will be far lower than any other heating choice. Pre-installation of the infrastructure means whole communities such as tower blocks can switch to individual networked heat pumps simultaneously, as well as enabling households to easily and affordably make the transition from their gas boiler to a heat pump when they’re ready to change, with minimal disruption.” Kensa’s ‘Welcome to Green Street’ launching on 1 November at COP26, created by Emmy award winners Alchemy Immersive, will prove how a whole systems approach to decarbonising how we heat our homes can unlock benefits across communities and compliment and balance the electric network as we come to reply more heavily on it with heating and electric vehicles. Simon added: “Green Street is our way of setting out a virtual street map that proves any street can be a Green Street, by showing how the ground beneath our feet can transform how we heat and power our homes and accelerate progress on climate change through the lowest carbon, cost and electrical grid compact solution. “By utilising waste heat and low-temperature ambient loop systems our solution connects homes and businesses to deliver sustainable heating and cooling that’s highly efficient, low carbon and low cost for all stakeholders and enables the balance of energy supply and demand.” Kensa has been engaging with energy suppliers, the UK and Scottish governments and other leading organisations and continues to make progress to making the ‘Green Street’ solution a national reality. Thousands of properties across the UK are already enjoying the benefits of networked heat pumps. Thenue Housing which has homes in Green Street, said it welcomed innovative and trailblazing solutions to the global climate emergency including those which relate to domestic energy consumption. Eleanor Derbyshire, Head of Property Services at Thenue Housing, said: “Thenue Housing is delighted that one of the streets where we have our housing stock should be showcased in this way as the way forward in terms of energy consumption and conservation. We recently invested in our on-site heating so while we are currently not planning to make energy-related changes to our homes in Green Street, we think there is no better-named street anywhere in the city to highlight this work. “As a housing provider which has strong historical links with Glasgow and its heritage, we readily acknowledge the need for action at this game-changing summit where so much can be gained by global co-operation on climate change.” Since 1999 Cornwall’s Kensa has saved over 1 million tonnes of carbon through ground source heat pump installations across social housing, new build and retrofit homes and businesses. It was the first company to prove a solution for flats and apartments through its small ‘Shoebox’ heat pump, used by many city councils and recognised by the Greater London Authority as the most efficient, lowest carbon, lowest cost solution for heating and cooling high-rise buildings. To experience Green Street please visit www.welcometogreenstreet.com
HOT on the heels of the COP26 summit, national construction company Willmott Dixon is partnering with Building Brum to host “Net Zero Carbon: What’s Stopping Us?” on 16 November at The Grand Hotel, Birmingham. Britain’s ‘second city’ will welcome built environment sector leaders from across the country, as they outline the region’s low carbon ambitions and debate its strategy in a live panel and Q&A session. Julia Barrett is Willmott Dixon’s chief sustainability officer and director of the Aldersgate Group, a business, politics and civil society leadership alliance that drives action for a sustainable economy. Julia will draw on the progress made at the COP26 summit, which runs until 12 November, during the panel debate. Providing unique insight and valuable experience, the guest panelists include Deborah Cadman OBE, chief executive of Birmingham City Council, Belinda Morgan, partner at Cundall, Tim Carey, chief product director at Collida, and Chris Clarke, director of performance and improvement at Scape. Nick Gibb, the deputy managing director of Willmott Dixon, who will be opening the event, said it will be a pleasure to be working alongside Building Brum, the city’s largest industry networking platform: “We are looking forward to hosting this event, which will make clear the region’s incredible efforts to support the Government’s ambition for net zero carbon by 2050. “The built environment sector plays a huge part in the country’s ability to reach this target, and the public and private sector must come together to make the changes we need to see. This event provides a valuable opportunity for growth – addressing topics such as technology, innovation, strategy, practical implications and changing mindsets.” The event will ask panelists to consider the challenges we face in meeting the ambitious targets as well as discuss the role their respective organisations are playing in delivering change. Conor Nolan, programme director of Building Brum, added: “Building Brum is committed to providing educational events and unique networking opportunities that connect industry specialists – sharing commercial approaches, learnings, challenges and solutions. “The event will deliver a strong environmental message. Birmingham is committed to playing its part in the national zero carbon agenda and welcomes fresh ideas and perspectives to accelerate change.” The event will take place in The Grand Hotel Ballroom between 5.30pm and 9pm. If you would like further details ahead of the event, please contact Conor Nolan – conor@curzon-consultants.co.uk or Louise Roden – louise.roden@willmottdixon.co.uk
Virtual 360 degree exhibition launched ahead of COP26 to profile measures HS2 is taking to cut carbon: https://360.hs2.org.uk/interchange Online tour with 30 interactive features, five new videos on HS2’s environmental innovations and 25 images of Interchange Station People can sign up for three HS2 webinars during COP26: https://www.hs2.org.uk/cop26/ In the run-up to COP26, HS2 Ltd has launched a virtual tour of its eco-friendly Interchange Station to profile how the new high speed railway will help the UK tackle climate change. The 360 degree online tour hosts a virtual exhibition pavilion showcasing how HS2 is reducing carbon by using new technology to build one of the most sustainable railways of its kind in the world. People can step through the entrance of the station, walk through the concourse and ticket check-in area and onto the station platform, viewing videos and virtual exhibition areas on the way. Each area of the virtual station focuses on different environmental credentials of the project, including how HS2 will help to decarbonise the transport sector by providing a low carbon alternative for long distance travel, reducing the need for car and domestic plane journeys. It provides insights about how the project is using clean construction techniques, improving air quality, designing sustainable stations and creating a green corridor of connected habitats for wildlife and green spaces for people to enjoy along the route. The exhibits include videos which explain how innovation is playing a major role in the construction of the railway and how HS2 is working with its supply chain, industry and academic partners to reduce emissions through new low carbon technologies. Progress on creating new connected habitats for wildlife is brought to life with footage of new areas of tree planting, with insights from HS2’s environmental experts. Interchange Station in Solihull was chosen to host the exhibition because of its BREEAM Outstanding award, putting it in the top 1% of buildings in the UK for sustainability. The exhibition also features pop-up information and videos about the station’s sustainable design. HS2’s Director of Environment Peter Miller said: “This interactive exhibition provides a fantastic virtual tour through HS2’s many environmental innovations, as a showcase for the project during the UN Climate Change Conference – COP26. It clearly demonstrates how HS2 is playing an important role in delivering the Government’s commitment to bring all greenhouse gas emissions in the UK to net zero by 2050.” The exhibition has a custom interface developed by 3 Deep Media. It’s made up of seven panoramic 360-degree renders from a 3D model of the railway produced by HS2’s digital engineering and Building Information Management (BIM) teams, with 30 pop-up interactive features, 25 pictures of the new Interchange Station design and five new videos on how HS2 is tackling climate change. Visitors to the online exhibition can also register for HS2’s COP26 webinar series during the UN summit, covering cleaner construction, sustainable stations and building a railway resilient to climate change. These are open to anyone to attend, and recordings of the webinars featuring HS2 experts and external partners will be also available to view in the virtual exhibition afterwards. The webinars are: 4 Nov – Clean construction webinar: How HS2 is innovating to decarbonise construction and leave a legacy for the future of the industry. 9 Nov – Resilient, reliable railway webinar: How the adaptation and resilience measures on HS2 will minimise delays and make sure the project is ready for a changing climate. 11 Nov – Sustainable stations webinar: Why HS2’s stations are environmentally world class and how they will become hubs for other forms of sustainable travel.
