The Conservative Party would scrap the Building Regulations and put forward challenging standards in their place, according to John Gummer, who announced the plans at an Environment Industries Commission conference on climate change.

London’s first vertical gardens were unveiled last month, prompting a flurry of interest in the mainstream press, and prompting Ella Taylor to wonder just how much do they do to benefit our environment.

Last month the Building Services Research and Information Association published partial statistics for new school Energy Performance Certificates, but only showed part of the problem, as full statistics are nearly impossible to find.

Energy company E.on has called on the UK Green Building Council to set up a task group to remove planning obstacles and red tape to low carbon infrastructure such as community energy networks.

Sunderland University's new £12m sports and social centre, Cityspace, has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent standard, rare for a sports facility as internal environmental requirements vary drastically from floor to floor, along with energy loads and occupancy levels.

The Welsh Assembly Government has published new building standards in its draft technical advice note Planning for Sustainable Buildings which is now out for consultation until July 31.

Labour MP Paddy Tipping has tabled a new Early Day Motion promoting the benefits of a low carbon industrial strategy.

Louis Eperjesi is resigning as executive director from the board of Kingspan Group at the end of July to pursue other business interests.

Former communities secretary Hazel Blears was the highest profile victim of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s recent cabinet reshuffle, resigning – and wearing the now infamous lapel badge saying ‘Rocking  the Boat’ – while several other senior ministers were moved and removed from other posts.

Future expenditure on the Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill, has been approved by the House of Commons, led by the new energy and climate change secretary, David Kidney, and sponsored by Conservative MP Peter Ainsworth, a former chairman of the cross party Environmental Audit Committee. 

All UK households will have a ‘whole house’ green makeover of energy saving measures, renewable energy sources and loft and cavity wall insulation by 2030 under government plans to reduce carbon emissions.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has dismayed sustainability circles with a report which points out how long it can take to repay the cost of some home energy saving devices.

“We’ll take the cost of carbon into account if we’re building a new substation, [or] if we’re installing new gas lines,” Chris Mostyn, National Grid US unit, International Herald Tribune, Business of Green supplement, 14 Oct.

Amidst the doom and gloom, lo and behold some green shoots.At the weekend, Communities secretary, Hazel Blears, said that the government’s priority was to keep together the construction skills base and to do that finance will be found for large scale public investment.