Sustainability

Andy Heath is a senior building surveyor at property services firm Re:volve Real Estates Having worked for both major and specialised property firms, on commercial properties of all sizes, the recurring issue of faulty Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessments has been impossible to ignore. “We often work on projects assessed…

Pictured left to right: Fiona Lomas-Holt is director of sustainability and ESG, Mat Jones is senior director of planning, and Katy Lightbody is senior director of heritage and townscape at consultancy Turley Decarbonising buildings is critical to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but the strategy for it raises a…

Sean Ripley is principal ecologist at Mace As we mark Earth Day today (22 April), it is timely to reflect on the significant environmental policy shifts that have been rolled out in England and will shape the future of conservation through mandated biodiversity growth. “This Earth Day, let us all…

Jon Bootland is chief executive of the Passivhaus Trust, which promotes the adoption of the international Passivhaus eco-design standard in the UK Passivhaus is on the rise in the UK, with the Scottish Government developing a Passivhaus-equivalent policy for the energy efficiency of new-build housing, and local authorities and social…

Graham Harle is chief executive of Gleeds Worldwide It may not have felt like it, but January was officially the warmest on record globally and February was the westest in the UK since records began. For most of us, this is a cause for concern and should act as a…

Paul Reeve is director of corporate social responsibility at the Electrical Contractors' Association Designers and other professionals across the built environment are steadily improving the measurement of embodied carbon in their construction specifications. But now, engineering-services contractors tendering for public sector and commercial work are also being asked about the…

Rebecca Hartshorn is the national framework director at John Sisk & Son The UK could easily find itself in a period of tumultuous politics in the near future, but it’s vitally important that public sector projects are able to continue as normally as possible. The potential for a change of…

Derek Horrocks is chair of the National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) To calm fears that undoubtedly arose following the recent rollback of several government green initiatives, including the disbanding of the energy-efficiency taskforce, the government has pledged a further £80m to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). By its own…

Helena Rivers is net-zero lead for buildings and places at consultancy Aecom The National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) recent assessment of how infrastructure could support economic growth and tackle climate change made a bold statement. In essence, it recommended that the government should no longer pursue the rollout of hydrogen heating…

Mat Ilic is co-founder and chief executive of climate ed-tech firm Greenworkx, and a former special adviser at No 10 Downing Street The question of how to deliver a fair and equitable transition to net zero has been under the microscope in recent weeks following the UK government’s climate-policy U-turns.…