| Greetings!
Welcome to the summer edition of our newsletter. This month we have details of two industry consultations. One from BRE covering their proposal for Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products, closing in a few days. The other from the UK Green Building Council covering measures to reduce the carbon footprint of existing housing stock. Both represent opportunities for suppliers to the industry. |
| Responsibly Sourced Products |
|
 "BRE are creating a new product standard that will provide a level playing field for the sustainability of construction products. The framework will take into account specific environmental, economic and social impacts and provide recognition for suppliers embracing genuine sustainability." - BRE press release
You may recall that I mentioned this document in my May newsletter. BRE have developed "BES 6001: 2008 Framework Standard for the Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products".
The initiative is based on the Responsibly Sourced Timber Credit introduced into BREEAM. Because this gave an advantage to timber products over other materials it was expanded to all materials in April 2006 becoming the Responsibly Sourced Materials Credit. This is taken into account in the BREEAM assessment of a building's environmental performance and is expected to be incorporated into the Code for Sustainable Homes in the future.
The first draft of BES 6001 was published on 20th March followed by a period of consultation with the construction industry. As a result BRE have now published a response to the first round of consultation and a revised standard. This was opened to further consultation on 8th August with a closing date at the end of this week - Friday 15th August.
Although only a proposal at this stage, it is likely that at some point it will be adopted by the industry. If you saw last week's article "Plundered with Impunity" in 'Building' you will know that action is now starting to be taken to reduce the high volume of illegal timber imported into the country. Once this has been resolved we can expect other supply chain issues to be addressed. Already, according to BRE "Some clients and specifiers are aiming to extend responsible sourcing to steel, concrete and stone by 2010."
More details about the scheme, a copy of the draft standard and the mechanism for commenting are all available at the BRE web site.
If sustainability is important to your organisation, why not subscribe to Competitive Advantage's new quarterly report 'Sustainability Watch'. In September we plan to survey Sustainability Consultants to gather information on their attitudes to sustainability and the influences on their use of sustainable materials.
|
| Reducing carbon emissions in existing housing stock |
The UK Green Building Council is leading a consultation into how carbon emissions can be reduced in the existing housing stock. Starting with a two week online consultation on 18th August it will conclude with a workshop on 12th September.
The online consultation will ask for feedback on four key issues: Technology & Innovation, Market & Service offerings, Behavior change & awareness and Policy. This is an opportunity to contribute your views to the debate which could create a whole new market for the industry. |
Many companies in the construction sector are recognising that if they are to counter the effects of a decline in some sectors of the construction industry they need to invest in their staff. Why not consider sending members of your team to one of Competitive Advantage's open training courses being run this Autumn in collaboration with the Building Centre.
