Entries for October 2008

Several major construction clients and contractors have signed up to a new voluntary agreement launched by the Government’s Waste & Resources Action Programme to halve the amount of waste they send to landfill by 2012 as the industry grapples with its meaning.

DCLG has launched clearer guidance* on the scope of and requirements for Energy Performance Certificates when marketing residential properties for sale or let, coinciding with introduction of compulsory EPCs for all such transactions from 1st October, 2008.

Skills secretary John Denham has identified the industries vital to the UK that will need a more skilled workforce and said they include renewables and energy conservation.

Government should treat micro-generation and renewable heat technologies as being as important as large-scale electricity generation, a House of Lords committee has recommended.

DCLG has published a guide to the scope and requirements of Regulations applying to energy performance certificates when non-domestic properties are being sold or let.

The Government’s acceptance of the need for feed-in tariffs for small-scale electricity generation – and for renewable power for heating - has received a general welcome.

Outgoing housing minister Caroline Flint committed Labour to delivery of the zero carbon homes plan, but she warned that consumers need to be protected from being “over marketed by dodgy green ideas.”

BRE Global and the British Board of Agrément have signed a licence agreement to provide environmental profiles certification for construction product manufacturers.

A new, long-term vision* for sustainable social and economic development in the North West up to 2021, providing for large-scale housing development, but putting sustainability and climate change at the core of planning policy, has been announced by Communities Minister Baroness Andrews.

Companies seeking capital for recycling of non-inert construction and demolition waste in Scotland can now seek funds from the Waste & Resources Action Programme’s new grant scheme.

The International Council of Shopping Centers and BRE Global have launched a pan-European sustainability standard for retail property developments and is already being piloted on major developments in Germany and Turkey.

What Makes an Eco Town? is a question both enthusiasts and opponents have been asking themselves in recent months, but the faltering programme has spawned a report of that name from Bioregional and CABE which aims to answer the question.

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers has decided to promote the National Engineering Specification with the Amtech Group which acquired the software packages Specification Expert and O&M earlier this year.

DCLG has finally published a report summarizing building thermal performance requirements in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, classifying them according to their approach.

The Government has announced its intention of appointing a new “champion” for the construction industry who will promote its image, work on improving procurement and help oversee implementation of policy like the Strategy for Sustainable Construction.