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Welcome to our December edition.

Welcome to the latest issue of the bi-monthly e-newsletter from GreenBookLive, the unique reference source and online listing of environmental products and services.

Season’s Greetings to all our readers!

 

Building of the month:

 

New Co-op HQ

Prior to its official opening by Her Majesty The Queen on 14 November, the Co-operative Group’s new head office in Manchester had been awarded the highest ever BREEAM Outstanding score of over 95%. The building’s many features include a double skin façade that acts as a ‘duvet’, providing insulation in winter and ventilation in summer. More

 

News

Green Book showcase at the BRE Innovation Park

In Spring 2014, the Hanson EcoHouse and Barratt Green House on the BRE Innovation Park in Watford will be dedicated to showcasing green technologies from the Green Book (along with Red Book products). An event at the Park on 29 January will give Green Book listed companies an opportunity to explore opportunities for showcasing their products at this unique venue. Read more

 
 

National Solar Centre moves to the Eden Project

The BRE National Solar Centre was established in March this year to drive innovation, cost reduction and increased confidence in the photovoltaic industry. Early next year the Centre’s offices will be relocated to the Eden Project’s Foundation Building. A PV testing area will also be established in an area of brownfield land on the perimeter of the site near St Austell in Cornwall. More

 
 

Major opportunity in China

Scottish company Applegreen Homes has been invited to showcase its model ‘home for the future’ in China, after launching the innovative modular home solution on the BRE Innovation Park at Ravenscraig in North Lanarkshire. Click here for a video tour of the AppleGreen Home. More

 
 

Award for off-grid farmhouse

An innovative 'off-grid' solution to living a greener lifestyle, based on the traditional Welsh longhouse, was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Wales Planning Award 2013 on 22 November. The Maes yr Onn off-grid farmhouse in South Wales has been developed by Caerphilly County Borough Council, BRE and SSE, and by the Davies family who live in the house and farm the surrounding hillside pastures of Manmoel. More

 
 

EAC highlights risk to recent advances in sustainable house building

On 20 November the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) released its response to Government proposals for streamlining housing standards by winding down the Code for Sustainable Homes. The EAC concluded that the proposals put at risk recent significant advances in sustainable house building. More

10,000th BRE Global certificated MCS product

BRE Global’s MCS team has now certificated over 10,000 products. This milestone was reached when a PV module (PV0148/399 from the TSxxxXBZ range) was certificated for India’s Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd. Part of the UKAS accredited MCS scheme since its inception in 2008, BRE Global offers product and installer certification services (and witness testing) for solar collectors, biomass, wind turbines, heat pumps, pitched roof installation kits and CHP. Tel 0333 321 8811 or email microgenproducts@bre.co.uk

Mace uses SMARTWaste to optimise sustainability

International consultancy and construction company, Mace, has worked with BRE to develop a bespoke version of the SMARTWaste tool for monitoring, benchmarking and reporting waste. Called Optimise, it cost-effectively measures and reports the sustainability of Mace projects, including carbon emissions, water consumption, biodiversity and use of responsibly sourced materials. Optimise also enables Mace to report sustainability improvements to staff, contractors and clients. For information on bespoke solutions email smartwaste@bre.co.uk

Free Passivhaus certification scheme application

Anyone who has had Passivhaus training and passed the exam with BRE is eligible to apply to the Passivhaus Certification scheme, free of charge. For more information on joining the Passivhaus Certification scheme click here, tel 0845 863 0014 or email passivcert@bre.co.uk

Welcome to new SMARTWaste members

A very warm welcome to new and upgraded members of the SMARTWaste Membership Scheme:

  • Bronze new members Carillion Construction, Hill Partnerships, Kingerlee,  McLaughlin & Harvey, Southdale Homes, Spring & company, Williams Southern.
  • Silver new members – ISG, Lagan Construction Group, Miller Construction.
  • Gold – Kier Group (upgraded from Silver membership).

For the full list of SMARTWaste members and for further details on the SMARTWaste Tool click here.

BREEAM is Europe’s leading sustainable building certification 

An independent report from RICS Germany of a survey conducted in 33 European countries, states that BREEAM accounts for more than three quarters of all sustainable building certificates in Europe. A copy of the report can be found here.

Forthcoming events and training

Training at CoRE
BRE Training has teamed up with the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence (CoRE) to host CPD training events at CoRE in Stoke-on-Trent. Forthcoming training courses include:

BREEAM In-Use Auditor training on 11 December - more
Site Sustainability Manager training on 14-15 January - more
BIM AP (Accredited Professional) training on 18-19 February - more
BREEAM Accredited Professional training and examination on 4 March - more
BREEAM 2011 UK New Construction Assessor training on 11-13 March - more
Passivhaus Introduction and Workshop on 14 April - more

Green Deal Advisor (domestic) training for qualified Domestic Energy Assessors
18-19 December at BRE Watford
The Level 3 Diploma in Green Deal Advice is available to qualified Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) or Approved Energy Certifier for Existing Dwellings (Scotland). This course is split between on-line learning and classroom based workshops. More

SMARTWaste Plan and SWMP training
15 January at BRE Watford
Training on complying with Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) regulations and on how to use the free web based tool SMARTWaste Plan. More

Site sustainability manager
20-21 January at BRE Watford
There is pressure on design teams to achieve low carbon and sustainable buildings, and challenges for construction teams when trying to turn these designs into reality. This site sustainability manager training course provides vital skills and understanding to help close the gap that can otherwise occur between design and in-operation performance. More

BREEAM training
For full details of events and training programmes on all aspects of the BREEAM schemes and built environment sustainability click here.

Recent publications

Information papers:

  • Building with confidence using renewable materials (IP 13/13) – more
  • Delivering energy efficiency in commercial buildings (IP 15/13) – more

Reports:

  • Design of low-temperature domestic heating systems  (FB 59) – more
  • Performance of photovoltaic systems on non-domestic buildings (FB 60) – more
 
 

LATEST NEWS FROM BRE GROUP

BRE: BRE and Ecobuild announce new research and innovation partnership. More

Building4Change: Major industry players join carbon-cutting initiative. More

Technology4Change: Living a low-carbon life in a modern micro-home. More

Red Book News: Red Book listed clients offered an opportunity to showcase their listed products at the BRE Innovation Park. More

Training courses: for details of training offered by the BRE Group click here

BRE bookshop: for full details of a vast range of construction and built environment publications visit www.BREBookshop.com

Twitter: follow us on @BREWatford

 


 

 

 

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