Builders looking at sky
The subject of Climate Change Sustainability is a complex subject but one that we should all come to understand, because of its influence on our future.
Commonly we talk about Climate Change Adaptation and Climate Change Mitigation. We also talk about the reduction in fossil fuel energy and replacement with renewable energy, minimising or eliminating altogether carbon footprints. Often Adaptation and Mitigation are treated as totally separate things. Adaptation tries to accommodation a change in climate, assuming that to some extent, it is going to happen. Mitigation is about reducing the risk of it happening. Reducing the use of energy can be as a result of Adaptation, but it can also be as a result of Mitigation. Changing from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy is more to do with Mitigation than Adaptation. It is worth referring to David Mackay's 'Sustainable Energy - without the hot air' (UIT Cambridge England, 2009, ISBN 978-0-09544529-3-3), available to download free.
The majority of people within the West Midlands Construction Industry will be aware that there has been considerable research into Climate Change Sustainability. As a result, new methods and new materials have been developed and this will continue. Many of the new methods and new materials are at the “Model T Ford” stage, although this is not always the case. Where we are in the early stages of development, where maximum efficiencies have not yet been achieved, it would be easy to reject them because what has been developed is not cost effective. That could be a mistake and care has to be taken.
The Kyoto Protocol has the goal of achieving stabilisation of greenhouse concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. The United Kingdom passed the Climate Change Act in 2008, with a target of 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, using a 1990 base. The construction industry is working towards this.
Relevant are the UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy ('Securing the Future' - 2005) and the UK Government 'Strategy for Sustainable Construction' (June 2008). The latter covers the following headings:
| Headings | Overarching Target | |
| The 'Means' | Procurement | To achieve improved whole life value through the promotion of best practice construction procurement and supply side integration, by encouraging the adoption of the Construction Commitments in both the public and private sectors and |
| Design | The overall objective of good design is to ensure that buildings, infrastructure, public spaces and places are buildable, fit for purpose, resource effcient, sustainable, | |
| Innovation | To enhance the industry’s capacity to innovate and increase the sustainability of both the construction process and its resultant assets. | |
| People | An increase in organisations committing to a planned approach to training (e.g. Skills Pledges; training plans; Investors in People or other business support tools; | |
| Better Regulation | A 25% reduction in the administrative burdens affecting the private and third sectors, a 30% reduction in those affecting the public sector by 2010. | |
| The 'Ends' | Climate Change Mitigation | Reducing total UK carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 60% on 1990 levels by 2050 and by at least 26% by 2020. Within this, Government has already set out its policy that new homes will be zero carbon from 2016, and an ambition that new schools, public sector non-domestic buildings and other non-domestic buildings will be zero carbon from 2016, 2018 and 2019 respectively. |
| Climate Change Adaptation | To develop a robust approach to adaptation to climate change, shared across Government. | |
| Water | To assist with the Future Water vision to reduce per capita consumption of water in the home through cost effective measures, to an average of 130 litres per person per day by 2030, or possibly even 120 litres per person per day depending on new technological developments and innovation. | |
| Biodiversity | That the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity within and around construction sites is considered throughout all stages of a development. | |
| Waste | By 2012, a 50% reduction of construction, demolition and excavation waste to landfll compared to 2008. | |
| Materials | That the materials used in construction have the least environmental and social impact as is feasible both socially and economically. |
People need to understand how they may help to achieve the 80% reduction (Kyoto protocol), bearing in mind that we all, in one way or another, will be affected by legislation in the coming years, as well as by increasing energy prices.
