Details of the Lancs Best Practice Club event on 12th Feb looking at sustainability targets, site waste management plans and carbon calculators are now available to download on the events page. Fittingly the event will be held at the Solaris Centre in Blackpool
Irrespective of whether you are a client, contractor, developer, product supplier, facilities manager or consultant, the impact of the sustainability, carbon, energy and other performance targets being set for the industry will change the way you do business in a big way.
Lancashire Best Practice Construction club will be holding an early evening event on the 12 Feb looking at the targets and requirements being set for the built environment sector on its route 2 zero or low carbon.
The event will focus on Site Waste Management Plans which become compulsory in April 2008, with take away templates and guidance.
More details on the events page very soon. For advance information click here
For what its worth, here are my top ten themes for the built environment sector in 2008. These are not predications as such but more of an extension of what I have seen emerge in 2007 and will most likely increase their presence on agendas in 2008…and beyond …
1 Carbon supply chain management – with carbon zero and carbon neutral being the buzz for 2008, will we see a re-evaluation of the value that supply chains add from a carbon reduction perspective? Each member of a supply chain will prove its worth to the overall chain through reduction or carbon emissions in the product or service it passes on to its customer. Essential in achieving the targets before us as we move along the route to a low carbon sector
2 Construction (and fm) Carbon footprint – of the construction or maintenance process – we have little understanding of the contribution the construction process itself makes to the life of a building – estimated from 11% to the equivalent of 3 years emissions for a typical home. Not knowing your carbon footprint may well be the equivalent of not knowing your health and safety stats at the end of 2008
3 ouses, ouses, ouses – a recognition of the importance of wilderness, national parks in light of housing expansion, and the importance these areas have – as a contribution to the environmental balance as well as our collective psyche.
4 End of greenwashing – well, at least a move from anecdotal blatant greenwashing to more evidenced based claims – we will still see many guilty of the greenwashing sins though to be caught by bloggers, watchdogs and bloggers alike.
5 Social networking – private facebook type networks such as xing for collaborative working across organisations, projects, supply chains and communities of practice. The use of Web 2.0 technologies to source knowledge and best practice, leading to a re-appraisal of IP perhaps
6 Open source – An increase in the sharing of technology, knowledge on an open source creative commons approach within our industry. Maybe value will come from using technologies and knowledge rather than just ‘owning ‘ it and restricting its real potential
7 From excellence to experience – the world of quality seems to have gotten stuck in excellence mode. Yet organisations are increasingly concerned with the experience – the experience of a journey the customer or end user makes through the facility or with an organisation. Often the level and nature of this experience is determined and shaped by the front of house (or organisation) people – facilities management people!
9 Virtual assets – as more and more organisations move activities and processes on line we see the reduction in need for built physical assets – eg large HQ’s – will the fm sector come to understand the concepts of virtual assets. Will we see FM organisations within Second Life? (we already have a thriving architecture and construction community there)
10 Community based fm – this one has been bubbling around for a while – but with the increase in social responsibility, social enterprises, community owned assets and the regeneration agenda we can see more community based facilities management approaches, some small such as management of village halls, some larger such as Transition Towns
More on these in future posts – your comments and additions are more than welcome
Whilst isite will continue posting issues of interest, many readers and subsribers will be finishing up today for the holiday period, so an opportunity to wish you all the best for a peaceful holiday and new year.
This isite project started just under one year ago, initial as a trial to see what all this blogging stuff was about and has grown to become a significant contribution to what I do. The numbers of viewers to isite has been amazing with tens of thousands over the year – from all across the globe – so a big thanks to all those who have posted comments, subscribed, just viewed or passed on through to other linked locations.
The isite blog archives now provide a record and overview of 2007 – the year the built environment woke up to what sustainability really really means and started to face the challenges it will present. Will 2008 be the year of action?
I have plans for more a more exciting isite early in the new year – so watch this space …. and of course I look forward to your comments and contributions in 2008.
One of the excellent articles on the new Building Sustainability site is The Year to Zero. putting many of the important targets and objectives being set for our industry in a chronoligical count down to carbon zero, neutral or ‘sustainability’. (or wherever its is deemed we need to be)
The article, in conjunction with Fulcron Consultaing will be updated as and when more targets are set, so definelty one to watch.
I use a similar approach, looking into the ‘planned future’ for our sector, helping organisations set their own strategies and targets, on green and other related topics. How do your business or improvement plans map onto this timeline? Will you be ahead of the game, prepared, or lagging and playing catchup? Do you even have a route-map to get you there?
Work has kept me from blogging for the last week or so … plenty to catch up with though.
First up is the welcome for Phil’s (he blogs at sustainability blog) new Building Sustainability site project that launched this week.
Looks good Phil. One to bookmark, RSS etc
The events page is now updated for events in the North West . For members of the Lancashire Best Practice Club a reminder that the AGM is next Tuesday at 5pm. If you know of more events in the north west – let us know.
I recently participated in an online petition to 10 Downing St on the governments response to C and C. The response here is well worth a read, covering C and C and personal; carbon trading, the climate bill and other carbon iniatives.
Cant help thinking there is some political greenwashing here.
Incidentally the petition was organised through Facebook and blogs – demonstrating the emerging recognition and influence these new social networks have.
The Strategic Forum, as apart of the Accelerating Change programme set the industry a target for 50% (by volume) of the UK construction industry to be undertaken in an integrated manner by the end of 2007. As we approach that milestone, the question is are we achieving that target
This target also appears as the centerpiece of the Defra / Strategic Forum Strategy for Sustainable Construction currently out for consultation.
Last year the Constructing Excellence Building Estates (formely Be) held an inetegrated workshop, comprising of the top 100 thinkers and practitioners of integrated working in the (built environment) industry and asked the question are we on track to this target. The conclusion was illuminating:
How are you doing as an organisation to (achieve this target):
Well Ahead 19%
On Course 19%
A Bit Behind 27%
Nowhere Near 35%
How are we doing as an industry to (achieve this target):
Well Ahead 0%
On Course 3%
A Bit Behind 38%
Nowhere Near 59%
Recently the Collaborative Working Champion group of CE, as part of their ongoing collabaoative state of the industry survey found that only 27% of the industry was fully collaborative, and 35% partly collaborative.
Now, throught the SF, I have been asked to publisice a further much wider survey that needs your input:
The Strategic Forum for Construction is seeking information from firms in the construction industry about their experiences of the barriers to project team integration and supply chain integration. This information will be used to develop a programme to further promote integration within the industry.
The Forum would like to hear from all interested parties – their questionnaire can be completed on line or downloaded here and http://www.strategicforum.org.uk/itgs.shtml All returned information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Barriers so far identified include:
A detailed review of each of these barriers is also available on the Strategic Forum website.
View document on Barriers to Integration 
At the same time, the Construction Clients’ Group (CCG) is launching a survey of its own members in November. Their aim is to establish how many CCG members are practising an integrated approach. This can be completed at
http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/sectorforums/constructionclientsgroup/
Martin Nielsen, who chairs the Forum’s Integration Task Group, said: “We want as much of the industry as possible to respond to this survey. The views of clients and companies from all parts of the supply side are welcomed. Their responses will help to shape the future work of the Strategic Forum.”
Mike Davies, Chairman of the Strategic Forum for Construction: “We are hoping that through these two surveys we will get a real feel for whether project team integration and supply chain integration are increasing across the industry. We are also hoping to learn from these surveys how some of the key barriers to integration can be overcome.”
Please take the time to respond. Comments also welcome here !
Melanie over at Get Sus is having currently holding a promotion drive to attract more subscribers to her excellent (and free!) Get Sus e-mail newsletter service that offers sustainable construction news for undergraduates, post-grads and professionals with an interest in sustainability and the built environment
It covers good practice case studies, new books and websites, sources of funding, and work experience, placements and permanent vacancies.
Download the pdf flyer here for promotion news – and a chance to win a T Shirt !
Fairsnape 