Green building in the United Kingdom

Overview of green building in the United Kingdom

Both the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom promote green building. Presently, there are already regulatory mechanisms in place that establish Britain's commitment to this kind of building construction. The government, for instance, set out a target that by 2016, all new homes will have zero carbon emission and it also includes a progressive tightening of energy efficiency regulations by 25 percent and 44 percent in 2010 and 2013, respectively.[1] The UK Building Regulations set requirements for insulation levels and other aspects of sustainability in building construction.

For the private sector, there is the case of the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB), which promotes green building (or sustainable building) in the United Kingdom since 1989.

The UK is also bound to the European Union policy covering green buildings. Under the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD), Europe has made a mandatory energy certification since 4 January 2009. A mandatory certificate called the Building Energy Rating system (BER) and a certification Energy Performance Certificate is needed by all buildings that measure more than 1,000 m2 in all the European nations. According to the UK Green Building Council, existing buildings account for 17 percent of the UK's total carbon emissions.[2] The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), UK's first green building certification system, was established in 1990.[3] Houses are also rated according to the standards set by the Code of Sustainable Homes, which was established in 2007. Here, homes are evaluated against a minimum standards for energy and water usage and are rated from one to six stars based on how they meet the requirements in nine different categories.[4]

In Wales, advice on and access to sustainable building is available from a not-for-profit organisation called Rounded Developments Enterprises.[5] They run a Sustainable Building Centre in Cardiff.

## Examples

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The Beaufort Court at Hertfordshire, which hosts the RES and Inbuilt, is an example of a green building in the UK. It is a zero-emission structure built on the previous Ovaltine egg farm and features its own 225-kilowatt wind turbine and photovoltaic array, capable of 3,200 kilowatt-hours per year.[6] There is also the case of the BowZed building in east London, which made it to The Guardian's list of top eco-building.[7] It is a block of zero-fossil energy flats designed by eco-architect Bill Dunster. It features comprehensive insulation, eliminating the need for a central heating system. About 90 percent of its electricity is sourced from solar and wind power while a wood pellet-powered boiler provides hot water to the residents.

The One Angle Square building in Manchester has the distinction of earning one of the highest BREEAM scores.[8] This structure makes use of natural resources with the passive solar gain for heating and natural ventilation through its double-skin facade. It also harvests rainwater and has sophisticated water recycling technology. Another popular green building in the UK is the Media Centres' Friendly Street building.[9]

## See also

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* UK Green Building Council
* Energy efficiency in British housing
* Hockerton Housing Project
* Energy in the United Kingdom
* INTEGER Millennium House

## References

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1. ^ Mulvaney, Dustin (2011). Green Technology: An A-to-Z Guide. Los Angeles: SAGE. p. 461\. ISBN 9781412996921.
2. ^ "UK Green Council". Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
3. ^ National Research council (4 July 2013). Energy-Efficiency Standards and Green Building Certification Systems. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. p. 27\. ISBN 9780309270380.
4. ^ Hanna, Nick (2011). Investing In Green Buildings: A concise guide to the technologies and companies for investors. Hampshire: Harriman House Limited. ISBN 9780857190772.
5. ^ "Rounded Developments Enterprises – Sustainability Rhetoric into Reality".
6. ^ Yudelson, Jerry (2012). Green Building Trends: Europe. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. p. 43\. ISBN 9781597264761.
7. ^ "Top 10 eco-buildings". The Guardian. 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
8. ^ "20 Most Sustainable and Green Building Examples From Across the Globe". Go Smart Bricks. 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
9. ^ "Friendly Street Building". Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2009-11-17.

## External links

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* BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method)
* GreenSpec

* v
* t
* e

Construction industry of the United Kingdom

* Construction
* Economy of the United Kingdom

Companies|

| Consultancies
and support
services|

* AKT II
* Amey
* Arcadis
* Architecture firms
* Arup
* Atkins
* Faithful+Gould
* Bierrum
* Buro Happold
* Capita
* COWI
* Cundall
* Egis
* Elliott Wood
* ERM
* GHD
* Hoare Lea
* Jacobs
* Mace
* Mitie
* Pell Frischmann
* Pick Everard
* Mott MacDonald
* Ramboll
* RPS Group
* Stantec
* Sweco
* Systra
* Tetra Tech
* Turner & Townsend
* Wood Group
* WSP

|

House
builders|

| Current|

* Barratt Redrow
* Bellway
* Berkeley
* Bloor
* Bovis
* Boot
* Cala Homes
* Crest Nicholson
* Gleeson
* Keepmoat
* McCarthy & Stone
* Miller
* Muir
* Persimmon (Charles Church)
* Retirement Villages
* Taylor Wimpey
* George Wimpey
* Taylor Woodrow
* Telford
* United House
* Untypical
* Vistry (Countryside)

|

Defunct|

* Ashtons
* Beazer
* Broseley
* Bryant Homes
* Comben Homes
* Crosby Homes
* Ideal Homes
* Ilke Homes
* Lendlease
* McLean Homes
* Stewart Milne Group
* Westbury
* William Leech
* Wilson Bowden

Integrated
construction|

| Current|

* Balfour Beatty
* BAM Construct (BAM Nuttall)
* Bovis
* Costain
* Galliford Try (Morrison Construction)
* Interserve
* ISG
* Keller
* Kier
* Laing O'Rourke
* Mace
* McLaughlin & Harvey
* Morgan Sindall
* J Murphy & Sons
* Sir Robert McAlpine
* Skanska (Cementation)
* Speller Metcalfe
* Robertson
* Taylor Woodrow Construction
* Tilbury Douglas
* Vinci SA (FM Conway)
* VolkerFitzpatrick
* Wates
* Willmott Dixon

|

Defunct|

* Alfred McAlpine
* Birse
* Buckingham
* Carillion
* Cleveland Bridge & Engineering
* Clugston
* Connaught plc
* Dawnus
* Dorman Long
* HBG (and Higgs & Hill)
* Holland, Hannen & Cubitts
* Jarvis
* John Aird & Co.
* John Brogden and Sons
* Lendlease
* Leonard Fairclough & Son
* Linford
* Melville Dundas
* Mowlem
* Pauling & Co.
* Rok
* Shand
* Sir Lindsay Parkinson & Company
* Sir William Arrol & Co.
* Trollope & Colls

Suppliers|

| Current|

* Aggregate Industries
* Artex
* Ashtead
* Breedon
* Brogan
* Buildbase
* Cemex
* Ferguson Enterprises
* Forterra
* Heidelberg Materials UK
* Hope Cement
* HSS Hire
* Ibstock
* Jewson
* Kingspan
* Kingspan Off-Site
* London Brick
* Mero-Schmidlin
* Painter Brothers
* Pilkington
* RMD Kwikform
* Saint-Gobain
* Shepherd
* SIG
* Speedy Hire
* Tarmac
* Tarmac Building Products
* Tata Steel Europe
* Travis Perkins
* Wolseley

|

Defunct|

* Blue Circle Industries
* Redland
* RMC
* Tarmac

Government and
regulatory bodies|

* Chief Construction Adviser to UK Government
* Department for Business and Trade
* Health & Safety Executive
* Infrastructure and Projects Authority
* Local planning authority
* Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
* National Infrastructure Commission
* Planning Inspectorate

Industry
bodies|

* Actuate UK
* British Constructional Steelwork Association
* BSRIA
* Build UK
* Building Engineering Services Association
* Building Research Establishment
* Chartered Institute of Building
* Centre for Digital Built Britain
* Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
* Civil Engineering Contractors Association
* Construction Clients' Group
* Construction Industry Council
* CITB
* Construction Products Association
* Constructing Excellence
* Electrical Contractors' Association
* Electrical Contractors' Association of Scotland
* Electrical Safety Council
* Federation of Master Builders
* Home Builders Federation
* Institution of Civil Engineers
* Institution of Structural Engineers
* National Access and Scaffolding Confederation
* National Federation of Builders
* National Federation of Demolition Contractors
* National House Building Council
* Refined Bitumen Association
* Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
* Scottish Building Federation
* Society of Construction Arbitrators
* Strategic Forum for Construction

Sustainability|

* Association for Environment Conscious Building
* BREEAM
* Code for Sustainable Homes
* EcoHomes
* Energy efficiency in British housing
* Good Homes Alliance
* UK Green Building Council

Other|

* British Construction Industry Awards
* Building
* Building control
* Building regulations in the United Kingdom
* Building regulations approval
* Construction News
* Development control in the United Kingdom
* Modern methods of construction
* New Civil Engineer
* Planning permission
* Retentions
* Town and country planning in the United Kingdom

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