Equinor, together with eleven other companies and organisations, has submitted a joint proposal to create a low carbon cluster in the Humber, the UK’s largest and most carbon-intensive industrial region. The application by the Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) Partnership is a first step to creating the world’s first net zero
Futurebuild calls on the built environment supply chain to transform the industry Futurebuild is calling for manufacturers to join contractors, architects, engineers and more across the built environment supply chain in taking a critical role to achieve net zero carbon emissions. At the event, from March 2 to 4, 2021
Costain, the smart infrastructure solutions company, has won a £2m consultancy programme management contract to deliver Bradford Council’s Smart Street Lighting project, which will involve the replacement of 59,000 lights and 17,000 lampposts across the city over a period of four years. The new, energy-efficient, LED lights will be controlled
The leading trade body representing builders has today called on the construction sector and any future Government, to act now if they are to meet the 2050 zero carbon target. With construction directly influencing 47% of UK carbon emissions and 61% of UK waste1, the sector is a critical part
As part of the 10th annual World Green Building Week, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has issued a bold new vision for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can reach 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve 100% net zero emissions buildings by 2050. Together, building
A £102 million contract has been sealed by Balfour Beatty for the delivery of 302 Zero Carbon Homes near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The firm will build phase one of the East Wick and Sweetwater development, which involves four mixed use buildings, including 302 apartments, townhouses and duplex residencies
Pod Point has completed the installation of 67 electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints for Skanska UK, one of the country’s leading contractors, at its Hertfordshire head office. The installation is believed to be one of the largest to date in Europe. The company, which employs 6,000 people in the UK, worked
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Equinor, together with eleven other companies and organisations, has submitted a joint proposal to create a low carbon cluster in the Humber, the UK’s largest and most carbon-intensive industrial region. The application by the Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) Partnership is a first step to creating the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040 and will support clean growth in the north-east of England. The bid, announced recently, for Phase Two funding from the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, builds on a successful application for Phase One funding which was announced in April. The ZCH Partnership includes Equinor, Associated British Ports, British Steel, Centrica Storage Ltd, Drax Group, Mitsubishi, National Grid Ventures, px Group, SSE Thermal, Saltend Cogeneration Company Limited, Uniper, and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMRC). “We are proud to be a leader of Zero Carbon Humber, partnering with a broad group of forward-looking companies. This proposal can bring tremendous benefits to the Humber region, protecting industries, creating jobs, promoting economic growth and reducing emissions. Our bid demonstrates the kind of ambitious action that is needed to for the UK to achieve its net zero carbon target by 2050,” says Al Cook, Equinor executive vice president and UK country manager. The bid centres around two elements, the first being the Equinor-led H2H Saltend (Hydrogen to Humber Saltend) hydrogen project at Saltend Chemicals Park near the city of Hull. H2H Saltend will be largest plant of its kind in the world to convert natural gas to hydrogen, combining a 600 megawatt autothermal reformer with carbon capture. From first production H2H Saltend will reduce industrial emissions by nearly 900,000 tonnes per year. The second element is the hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline network developed by National Grid Ventures that aims to link H2H Saltend to other industrial sites in the Humber region, enabling them in turn to fuel switch to hydrogen or capture their emissions. These sites include Drax Power station, SSE Thermal’s Keadby site, Uniper’s Killingholme site and British Steel at Scunthorpe. “We believe in the necessity of hydrogen and carbon capture to clean up heavy industry which is required to reach net zero targets. The technologies are proven and it’s now a question of putting them together. We and our partners have made great progress in our plans to decarbonise the Humber, through working with and learning from each other and also in engaging with national and local stakeholders. We are convinced that by continuing to work together we can make this happen,” says Grete Tveit, Equinor senior vice president for low carbon solutions. CO2 emissions from H2H Saltend and the other Humber sites will be transported by pipeline to Easington on the Yorkshire coast and then offshore to permanent storage under the Southern North Sea on the UK continental shelf. A consortium of world-class energy companies including Equinor is working to develop the offshore transport and storage infrastructure, and this network will be shared with the Teesside industrial cluster, where Equinor is also a partner in the Net Zero Teesside decarbonisation project. The total size of the ZCH proposal is GBP 75 million, comprising private and public funding. The funds will be used to progress work towards a final investment decision during 2023 with H2H Saltend and the associated infrastructure potentially coming online in 2026.
Futurebuild calls on the built environment supply chain to transform the industry Futurebuild is calling for manufacturers to join contractors, architects, engineers and more across the built environment supply chain in taking a critical role to achieve net zero carbon emissions. At the event, from March 2 to 4, 2021 at ExCeL London, exhibitors and visitors can debate issues, share ideas and showcase products to tackle the generation’s greatest challenge — the climate and ecological crisis. Companies can apply to exhibit at Futurebuild 2021 here. In 2020, the pandemic meant that many events for the built environment industry to meet and collaborate were either postponed or cancelled. We know that we cannot pause our progress in transforming the sustainability of the industry, so Futurebuild 2021 will be going ahead. Our industry currently faces two main challenges — recovery after the current pandemic and achieving net zero carbon. The Chancellor’s recent announcement of £3bn in funding to reduce emissions generated by current infrastructure brings us closer to the UK’s target of net zero by 2050, but is it enough to transform the industry? According to research, 85 per cent of the infrastructure we’ll have in 2050 will have been built by 2030. Some even say that construction will need to transform itself by 2025. So, we have five to ten years to make the fundamental changes required to radically reduce carbon emissions. We must act now. “Futurebuild is the platform to debate current issues, exchange best practice and showcase the solutions and technologies that can really drive change,” explained Martin Hurn, event director of Futurebuild. “The Government’s plan for green recovery is a good first step, but so much more is needed. We know that the entire supply chain must work together to make a real difference. Specifiers have the power to transform the industry — it is their products that drive our green infrastructure capabilities.” Futurebuild, previously Ecobuild, has led the way in tackling climate change in the construction industry for over ten years. The event brings together over 20,500 industry influencers to debate ideas, showcase products and drive real change across the built environment. For example, 73 per cent of visitors in 2020 reported that they attend the show with the intent to see and invest in the latest innovations and product launches. In 2021, the event’s stages will put a spotlight on six key areas to support industry transformation — whole house retrofit, digital impact, future installer, district energy, circular materials and intelligent buildings. Are you a manufacturer that has ideas or technologies, new or existing, that can improve sustainability and help us meet net zero carbon? Net zero needs you to showcase it. Register your interest to exhibit at Futurebuild 2021 here.
Costain, the smart infrastructure solutions company, has won a £2m consultancy programme management contract to deliver Bradford Council’s Smart Street Lighting project, which will involve the replacement of 59,000 lights and 17,000 lampposts across the city over a period of four years. The new, energy-efficient, LED lights will be controlled by a CMS (Central Management System) which will allow remote control of illumination levels (switch on/off times only) which will deliver significant environmental and safety benefits. The CMS also provides the backbone for the inclusion of additional Internet of things (IoT) solutions. The project will reduce the Council’s street lighting power consumption by 65% and its carbon emissions by over 6000 tonnes per year, helping the Council to meet its climate change strategy targets and saving taxpayers an estimated £189m over 50 years. The ability to support a wide range of emerging IoT technologies will potentially assist the Council in making further cost savings in other areas in the future. In the spirit of true partnership, Costain will work with the Council to ensure additional IoT capabilities can be easily enabled to measure things like road temperatures, air pollution, road gully condition or river levels to even more effectively target maintenance and capital programmes. This latest consultancy contract win builds on Costain’s three year relationship with Bradford, which has culminated in current status as strategic delivery partner and the development of a high level plan to give an overall picture of £500m worth of capital delivery programmes within the city. The planensures effective integration and governance of the programmes associated with the Transforming Cities Fund, which seeks to improve productivity and prosperity through sustainable transport development, as well as other road, rail and multi-modal programmes. Costain brings significant experience in working with the Department for Transport and Highways England, a broader understanding of the UK infrastructure landscape and decades of delivery heritage, into the partnership. Sue Kershaw, Transportation managing director, Costain, said: “In these unprecedented times, where Covid-19 has brought much of the economy to a standstill, local authorities are under huge pressure to continue delivery of critical programmes of work for their communities. Our relationship with Bradford Council, which focuses on partnership and outcomes, has allowed us to reach back into our organisation to deliver additional capacity, capability, resilience and flexibility in a range of areas to support our client and keep the transport infrastructure services working.” Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw, Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “Bradford’s Smart Street Lighting programme represents a major investment in one of the biggest assets of the Council – our 59,000 street lighting columns. The ability to ensure effective delivery of the contract was paramount in Bradford’s approach to seeking a delivery partner with the skills, knowledge and ability to drive both the financial savings and the associated positive contribution to our CO2 emissions which are key outputs over the next five years. The appointment of Costain to the strategic delivery partner role has given Bradford the confidence that we have the right people helping us achieve these outcomes based on our experience of their involvement in our programmes of transport investment in the district.“ This work supporting Bradford Council also demonstrates Costain’s commitment to helping clients accelerate the transition to a net zero carbon economy, made as part of its Climate Change Action plan launched in February 2020, and is another step in fulfilling its ambition to lead UK infrastructure into a zero carbon future by 2035 at the latest, supporting the UK Government in meeting their 2050 target.
The leading trade body representing builders has today called on the construction sector and any future Government, to act now if they are to meet the 2050 zero carbon target. With construction directly influencing 47% of UK carbon emissions and 61% of UK waste1, the sector is a critical part of the radical change needed. The National Federation of Builders’ (NFB) Major Contractors Group (MCG) launches its ‘Transforming Construction for a Low Carbon Future’ report at midday today, warning that the construction industry must be transformed within a generation, otherwise it will have failed the country and the Government will fail in its zero carbon ambitions. Speaking at the launch, NFB’s Chairman, Nick Sangwin, said, “This Report is not a document to sit on shelves gathering dust, it is designed to galvanise the sector into action, to see the opportunities and to lead the way towards zero carbon by 2050. It is critical that those within the construction sector are stepping forward and implementing a real step-change in the way they do business.” Mark Wakeford, Chair of the NFB’s Major Contractors Group, commented: “The year 2050 might seem a long time away but it’s really not much time to radically change our industry. We must start now and the Government, in whatever guise they return, must lead the way and make this a firm priority post election. Anyone still operating the same way as they are today in 20 years’ time will be lucky to still be in business. There are no excuses: Government, contractors, the supply chain, manufacturers, designers and the trades must all embrace the challenge now, as highlighted in our recommendations. “To make this happen, domestic housing requires a Government spend of £15 billion a year, industrial and commercial property and infrastructure requires up to £10 billion a year, flood defences £1 billion a year, and the power sector £20 billion a year. But it’s about more than just money: the transformation required in the construction industry is multi-faceted and it is critical that Industry and Government take a joined-up approach to bring together developments in skills, procurement, design, products and materials, transport and more. “The report we are launching today is a call-to-arms, we’re telling the Government and the industry alike to wake up to the reality of zero carbon and act now.” While the Report warns against the risks of not acting now, it also spells out the huge opportunities that exist across the sector, including domestic, industrial, flood defence, the power sector and transport. It looks at funding streams, the transformation of skills, procurement and design, and innovative approaches to reducing carbon emissions and waste. The report has contributions from a wide range of organisations with an interest in the sector, including: the CBI, the CITB, Constructing Excellence, the Institution of Civil Engineers, Laing O’Rourke and Nottingham City Council. Find the interactive report at https://www.builders.org.uk/nfb-groups/nfb-major-contractors-group/mcg-carbon-report-november-2019/
As part of the 10th annual World Green Building Week, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has issued a bold new vision for how buildings and infrastructure around the world can reach 40% less embodied carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve 100% net zero emissions buildings by 2050. Together, building and construction are responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world[1], with operational emissions (from energy used to heat, cool and light buildings) accounting for 28%. The remaining 11% comes from embodied carbon emissions, or ‘upfront’ carbon that is associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole building lifecycle. WorldGBC’s vision to fully decarbonise the sector requires eliminating both operational and embodied carbon emissions. The ‘Bringing embodied carbon upfront’ report proposes this ambitious goal alongside solutions to accelerate immediate action by the entire building and construction value chain. The vision is endorsed by representatives from developers and construction companies, financial institutions, city networks and government, as well as industry representatives from concrete, steel and timber and many more including: HeidelbergCement, Skanska, Stora Enso, Google and the Finnish Government. The report sets out to demystify the challenge of addressing embodied carbon emissions, through breaking down complex terminology and creating a common language to set a consensus-built definition for net zero embodied carbon. Embodied carbon emissions have been overlooked in the past but as shown by milestone research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), achieving drastic cuts in all carbon emissions over the next decade is critical to keeping global temperature rise to 1.5oC. Addressing upfront carbon is therefore crucial to fighting the climate crisis, as new construction is expected to double the worlds building stock by 2060 causing an increase in the carbon emissions occurring right now. Therefore, the new report is calling for coordinated action from across the sector to dramatically change the way buildings are designed, built, used and deconstructed. WorldGBC presents a clear pathway of actions that designers, investors, manufacturers, government, NGOs and researchers across the whole value chain can take to accelerate decarbonisation, address current market barriers and, develop low carbon alternative solutions for market. However, the report warns that change will not happen unless there is a radical shift in how industry works together to enable a market transformation. The transition towards mainstream net zero carbon standards requires immediate action to achieve greater awareness, innovation, improved processes to calculate, track and report embodied carbon, voluntary reduction targets from industry and roll out of new legislation at city, national and regional level. Approaches such as maximising the use of existing assets, promoting renovation instead of demolition and seeking new circular business models that reduce reliance on carbon intensive raw materials are also needed. To kick-start cross-sector collaboration, WorldGBC is calling for new national and sectoral roadmaps to be developed, such as those produced in Finland, Norway and Sweden, with strong support from industry and policymakers. Demonstrating the feasibility of achieving zero carbon goals, the report is supported by case studies of existing best practice across the whole breadth of the building industry. Businesses involved in design and delivery have already committed to ambitious individual or national decarbonisation strategies. For example, Skanska, a major development and construction group is making strides in enabling projects to be evaluated for full lifecycle impacts. Materials suppliers are also taking a leading role. HeidelbergCement has committed to developing carbon neutral products by 2050, and Dalmia Bharat Cement, one of India’s leading cement manufacturers, is committed to becoming a carbon negative group by 2040. Cities have also been instrumental in pushing for new innovations and approaches. Oslo, Norway, has a commitment to fossil free construction sites. Vancouver, Canada, has mandated that embodied carbon be reduced in new buildings by 40% by 2030, as part of its climate emergency response, demonstrating the type of regulatory frameworks that can drive market change. Quotes: Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council says: “Our new report is a solution focused response to the urgent need to significantly reduce upfront emissions in buildings and construction and demand action across carbon intensive industries and materials. With the support of our global network and the endorsements we have received for the report, we are confident that we can stimulate market demand and facilitate radical whole value chain collaboration that will be truly transformative and benefit both people and planet. “We will accelerate action to achieve our goal of slashing embodied carbon by 40% by 2030 and securing net zero embodied carbon by 2050, in addition to our net zero operational carbon goals.” Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 says: “The majority of the world’s population live in cities, projected to rise to 70% by 2050. As cities continue to grow, and temperatures continue to rise dangerously, it has never been more important for the buildings and construction sector to be leading the way on climate action. Because the sector is responsible for such a large chunk of global emissions, it means there is huge potential for reduction. It is excellent news that the pathways laid out by the World Green Building Council contain an interim target for 2030 – as we know how important this date is for getting the world on track to limit global temperatures to 1.5C. Now the sector needs to mobilise immediately to put these changes into action for global benefit. Collaboration between sectors and organisations will be key to achieving this transformation – and at C40 we are looking forward to supporting cities to make it a reality.” Anders Danielsson, President & CEO, Skanska says: “This report sets out bold ambitions for embodied carbon reduction in the built environment which we welcome at Skanska. We recognise our responsibility and see an increased sense of urgency in our work to reduce carbon, which started many years ago. As we move forward, greater transparency on carbon emissions is needed throughout the whole value chain. Tools like the EC3 which we have developed with partners can help with this. But this is not
A £102 million contract has been sealed by Balfour Beatty for the delivery of 302 Zero Carbon Homes near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The firm will build phase one of the East Wick and Sweetwater development, which involves four mixed use buildings, including 302 apartments, townhouses and duplex residencies and a number of associated commercial facilities including retail and leisure amenities. The new homes will contribute to the transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, providing a new, diverse and vibrant part of East London, as well as 1,500 new homes for the community. Around 500 people are expected to be employed at construction peak, with 7% of the workforce made of up apprentices. “This contract award builds on Balfour Beatty’s strong relationship with the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the London Legacy Development Corporation, having constructed the London 2012 Aquatics Centre and delivered transformative engineering works to the London Olympic Stadium. We look forward to providing East London with a lasting legacy by creating a range of employment opportunities for local people and businesses through the development of this new and exciting neighborhood,” said Graham Hill, Balfour Beatty’s Managing Director for its London Regional construction business. This work is the first of seven construction phases for the development and is being supported by equity from Balfour Beatty Investments in joint venture with Places for People and borrowed funding provided by Homes England. Ground preparation works commenced in early 2019 with completion expected in spring 2021.
Pod Point has completed the installation of 67 electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints for Skanska UK, one of the country’s leading contractors, at its Hertfordshire head office. The installation is believed to be one of the largest to date in Europe. The company, which employs 6,000 people in the UK, worked with EV charging specialist Pod Point to install the 7kW chargepoints, along with the infrastructure for the solution to be scaled up to 243 chargepoints in the future. The chargepoints enable Skanska employees to charge their vehicles while they work, before returning to a fully powered battery at the end of the day. The installation is part of Skanska’s commitment to decarbonise its company fleet as fast as technology allows, and to have the lowest emissions fleet in the industry. The solution enables Skanska to control access to EV charging centrally, monitor usage and set custom electricity tariffs. Pod Point was selected following a competitive procurement process and the installation was completed within two weeks. Skanska’s Senior Project Manager Paul Jarvis said: “The installation of the EV chargepoints was a credit to all concerned. All site work was done efficiently, on time and to budget with minimal impact on a busy, occupied site.” Pod Point CEO Erik Fairbairn said: “This is the largest single site chargepoint installation that we’re aware of in the UK, but also a sign of a larger shift over the past six months, as more businesses wake up to the benefits of EVs. We’ve certainly seen a big increase in enquiries from companies wanting futureproof chargepoint installations that can be scaled up as their fleets make the switch to electric.” Along with zero carbon emissions, electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs than their petrol or diesel equivalents due to a smaller number of moving parts. There are also tax advantages, with no benefit in kind rates for charging company cars, while the BIK rate for purchases of new EVs will fall to 2 per cent in 2020/2021 compared to up to 20 per cent for petrol or diesel vehicles.
