Author Archives: martin brown

May Day commitment to action

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A number of people have suggested I put the Think top ten actions in here as well as the link to the Think 07. Here they are again – what do we make of them ( more to the point what will John Prescott make of them!) Maybe we use these as the agenda for our question time event in September.

1.To draw up SMART targets for the reduction of carbon emissions, waste & water and to protect biodiversity.

2. To develop industry-wide, consistent carbon modelling and measurement tools for existing and new buildings to achieve these targets.

3. To halve the amount of construction waste taken to landfill every two years.

4. To devise a more effective renewable energy strategy, including district-wide strategies.

5. To encourage landlords and occupiers to share and publish data on buildings’ energy consumption, with the aim of collectively reducing emissions.

6. To adopt operational energy labelling certificates across all buildings.

7. For landlords to adopt a new code on leases which discourages the reinstatement of properties to their original state.

8. To promote the use of life cycle analysis, including embedded and operational carbon emissions.

9. Every building to have a master ‘off’ switch.

10. To encourage the adoption across the construction and property industries of the May Day commitment to action.

Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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This was the conclusion from last weeks Think 07 conference.

Maybe the the only action plan we need?

OJEU Delivered to your screen

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You can now get relevant notices from OJEU delivered straight to your computer screen through RSS feeds which are easy to set up – using iGoogle for instance – leads, news and other important information is there waiting for you when you open up your Google desktop

You need to go to Construction and Real Estate  to view the website page (or copy and paste link into your reader of regular updates)

As a reminder you can feed this blog through to your reader as well – use  https://fairsnape.wordpress.com/feed/

Drop a comment or email if you need assistance in using RSS and iGoogle

Tale of Two Planets – Al Gore again

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First from today’s Guardian

Last month was officially the warmest April since records began in 1659, meteorologists confirmed today.

Al Gore speaking at the Think 07 yesterday told the Tale of Two Planets: Earth and Venus, both approx the same size and surprisingly both with the same total levels of CO2.  The difference is CO2 on Earth is contained mainly in the ground and other matter , where as on Venus it exists in the air. This results in temperatures being on average a pleasant 15 deg C on Earth and a blistering 450 deg C on Venus.

And globally the construction industry continues digging into the earth, releasing more CO2 into the air.  Gulp. Time for rethink ….

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Top Ten – American flavor

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To commemorate Earth Day (an American thing! held annually on the 22nd April) and bring awareness to the importance of energy conservation in commercial buildings, BOMA (the USA’s  Building Owners and Managers Association) published their top 10 ways for building owners and managers to reduce energy consumption.  Check them out on the Building Design and Construction site

Top Ten – Take Two

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The Think 07 top ten actions to address climate change are now on the Think 07 website. These were presented to John Prescott yesterday evening by the Business Leaders Summit group, and range from measures on design and construction of new buildings to reducing the carbon footprint of billions of pounds worth of property already in use.

Do you agree with them – will you sign up to them? Visit the site and pledge to follow them through.

For what it is worth – here are my top ten as posted onto the Think 07 forum – what do you thin? Do you have a top ten?

1. Collaborate – this is not a competition – we all win or we all win.

2. Keep it 70 – excessive speeds will kill our planet.

3. Don’t offset it – do it differently– reduce focus on offsetting (as useful as a chocolate teapot) and focus on energy usage. And I see we will soon have a Code of Practice for chocolate teapots !

4. We don’t need it – only one third of solid materials used on sites is a crime (cf the defra report) – it means more construction transport – more waste management costs etc etc etc

5. Legalise – give the earth legal right protection

6. Tread lightly – reduce carbon our carbon footprints of individuals, households, premises, and importantly the built environment industries

7. Unearth design – Gaia – design for the earth – using local and natural resources – facilities that are fit for purpose ….

8. Educate Educate Educate – are we really prepared for the challenge ahead – to look after the world – are we building as though we care? Do we understand targets being set – and what we need to challenge – cf Monbiot in Guardian comment 01/05/07

9. Think small – Refocus on conserving energy and micro-regeneration than misguided large scale wind farm

10. Think Wild – in our haste to address sustainability lets not rape our wilderness areas in a blind race to be green – we will all need a place to recharge spiritually.

Think 07 – Courage to Answer the Call?

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Just back from the first day of the Think 07 conference. I will post more later this week – but the key thoughts and messages from today :

The Prince of Wales referred to climate change as an emergency and called for immediate action. “Doing nothing is not an option”

The key note was from Al Gore, by live link from New Orleans,  who concluded his speech and question time with the statement “so much depends on the choices we make today” – addressing the Think 07 delegates he asked – “do you you have the courage to answer the call?” and finished with a quote from American poet Wallace Stevens ” After the final no, there comes a yes”

He talked about carbon zero mortgages of which Gore is a keen supporter, ie where costs of greening buildings are not included in the construction cost but are met by additional mortgage, government backed, and paid off by the savings derived through the life of the building . Interesting.

At the lunch time Question Time chaired by Sue MacGregor, Tony Bloxham, Urban Splash,  put carbon offsetting in its place – “Carbon offsetting is absolute nonsense.” he said “It has nothing to do with sustainability.” Others on the panel including shadow construction minister Mark Prisk backed Bloxham’s criticisms.

So if you are looking to offset – be careful, be very very careful – my motto in my top ten actions was – Dont Offset – Just dont do it that way.

And as to the exhibition area – it was interesting to see three of the leading supermarkets there – Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tescos – all trying to out green each other in a race to have the most carbon friendly and sustainable stores. Their approach to construction will undoubtedly impact on the rest of the industry. Watch this space ….

Follow breaking news and comment from this important conference here – over at Zero Champions blog or on the i-think website

Local BSF News

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Contracts worth nearly ten million pounds have already been placed with Lancashire firms as work begins on the Building Schools for the Future programme in Burnley and Pendle. Nearly six million pounds of business has been won by firms in East Lancashire. The contracts include work on things like fixtures and fittings, steel frames, and earthworks.

The Building Schools for the Future programme will involve 250 million pounds of development on nine sites in Burnley and Pendle. Work has started on three sites where students are due to start using the facilities in September 2008. The Shuttleworth College site on Burnley Road, Padiham, will house a 1,050 place school for pupils aged 11 to 16 and a learning support centre.

Keith Walton Brickworth Ltd, of Nelson, has a contract to provide bat roosts.

James Killelea Ltd, of Rossendale, has a contract to provide steel work.

H. Breakell, of Blackburn, has a contract to provide lifts.

Vari-tech, of Blackburn, has a contract to provide fixtures, fittings and equipment.

The Burnley Campus, on Barden Lane, will house a 600 pupil sixth form, a primary school, a primary special school, a children’s centre, a faith centre and a public library. Orders placed so far for the site are worth 1.3 million pounds to Lancashire businesses:

James Killelea Ltd, of Rossendale, has a contract to provide steel works.

    The Pendle Vale College and Pendle Community High School site, on Oxford Road in Nelson, will house a 1,050 place school for pupils aged 11 to 16, a special school for pupils aged 11 to 19, and a learning support centre. Orders placed so far for the site are worth 5.9 million pounds to Lancashire businesses:

      Kiernan Construction,of Ribbleton, has a contract to provide earthworks and substructures.Varitech, of Blackburn, has a contract to provide fixtures, fittings, and equipment.

      Wm Taylor Pools, of Preston, has a contract to provide a hydrotherapy pool.

      H. Breakell, of Blackburn, has a contract to provide lifts.

    The Building Schools for the Future programme is a being spearheaded by Lancashire County Council in partnership with developers Catalyst Lend Lease and builders Bovis Lend Lease.

    Michael Damms, the chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Building Schools for the Future programme is a great boost to the economy of East Lancashire and makes a real statement about confidence in the area. We look forward to working with the county council and the developers to help local companies identify business opportunities.”
    Marcus Johnstone, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “I am delighted that so much of the money we are spending on new schools in east Lancashire is finding its way into the local economy. This project is bringing massive regeneration to Burnley and Pendle We will be working with the developers, the chamber of commerce and local business people to build a more prosperous, happier, and better educated community.”
    Catalyst Lend Lease’s general manager for the Lancashire BSF programme said: “Our goal is to use as many local contractors and suppliers as we can to help us build and equip these new colleges. “We want to support the local community and encourage contractors to recruit local people to work on these projects.”

    Thanks to Cath Pickup for this news item .

    Related events from the club include – Life After Frameworks on the 24th May and Bidding To Win on June 7/8

    Details on the events page.

    For each 250 that join, I’ll donate £1 to solve Climate Change through C&C

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    As Dave Hampton over at Carbon Coach says:  “Take a look at this new group – its membership has soared from 0 to 1000 in just 72 hours – please consider joining and helping”

    I endorse Dave’s comment and urge you to look at the groups intentions and commitments – and consider joining – the group can be found through Facebook 

    

    

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				Think Debate – whats your top 10?
			
    
										
    
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    As part of the Think 07 event this week, the Think web site is running a number of debates that should hear your voice and opinion – see below – and if you do have a top 10 actions we should be taking to address climate change and carbon issues in our industries –  then please post it here too!
    

    Sign up to the built environment ten actions on climate change in association with HRH Prince Wales and Business in the Community. You can submit your ideas on what these should at www.think07.co.uk/ten  
    

    Log on to a new, free web resource – i-Think.com – where you can create your own networks, debate hot issues and video showcase your company –  go to www.i-think.com now to sign on for free
    

    Got a burning question for VP Al Gore? There’s still time to submit your question. Just go to www.think07.co.uk/algore
    

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