Irish Green Building Council

🏘️ A Year to Remember: IGBC in 2024 🌿 As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on another incredible year of progress and collaboration. While our full Activity Report is on the way, here’s a sneak peek at what we’ve achieved with our members and partners: ✅ 450+ members united in driving sustainable change. ✅ 40+ educational resources added to our learning platform, empowering professionals across the industry. ✅ 50+ events and webinars hosted to share knowledge and inspire action. ✅ 20+ active projects shaping a greener built environment. ✅ 20+ dedicated team members making it all possible. We want to thank everyone who has supported, collaborated, and grown with us this year. Here’s to an even more impactful 2025! #YearInReview #Sustainability #GreenBuilding #IGBC #ActNowForClimate

♻️ IGBC Awarded #CircularEconomy Innovation Grant ♻️ Minister of State for the Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth, has announced €650,000 in funding for 13 projects across Ireland under the third Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS). The IGBC is proud to be among the recipients! 🎯 Our goal is to support the Irish construction industry in embracing #circular design, creating adaptable, disassemblable buildings, and keeping valuable materials in use for longer. This project is a significant step towards aligning with #EUTaxonomy standards and making #CircularEconomy principles a minimum requirement for the next version of our #HomePerformanceIndex (HPI) certification. This project will deliver: 📗 A practical, step-by-step guide tailored for HPI to help contractors and design teams integrate circular design principles—such as material selection, design for disassembly, and waste reduction—into their projects. 📑 A comprehensive resource featuring real-world examples, case studies, and proven strategies to inspire and guide the construction industry in adopting sustainable and circular practices. 👷♂️ We’ll work with IGBC members and other stakeholders through consultations, workshops, and feedback sessions to ensure these tools are practical, effective, and widely adopted across the sector. If you want to have more information and get involved, please reach out to Fernanda Rocha. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKFw-8rP

🏠 Over 70% of private rental properties inspected by local councils fail to meet minimum standards.    On Monday, 2 January, the Irish Times reported that of the 61,141 private rental inspections carried out in the first nine months of 2024, 44,699 (71%) failed to meet minimum standards. Breaches can range from minor issues like faulty extraction fans to major defects like holes in ceilings or significant levels of black mould. As Anne-Marie O'Reilly of national housing charity Threshold Ireland notes, tenants in these homes "could be living in dire conditions and others might be facing really simple things that the tenants themselves haven’t even noticed".    Healthy Homes Ireland, a collaborative forum of leaders in the built environment, housing and public health, has called on the government to ensure that private rental tenants have access to #healthyhomes. One of the key recommendations of the Healthy Homes Ireland report is that the Government improve enforcement of the Minimum Standards in Rental Accommodation. This should involve government supporting local authorities to enforce standards or finding an alternative mechanism. For example, Threshold have advocated for an NCT-style certification system for rental properties. The Department of Housing told the Irish Times that they are concerned that a certification system might disrupt or reduce supply in the rental market. While increasing supply in the rental market is crucial, the incoming government must remember the impact of housing quality on health and wellbeing, and work to ensure that renters have access to healthy, green homes.    Healthy Homes Ireland is an initiative between Irish Green Building Council and VELUX with secretariat support provided by Chambré. Read the Healthy Homes Ireland report here: https://lnkd.in/eqbpQEEe

At the end of 2024, we wrapped up the #INDICATE initiative with the launch of our final report. The project assessed #EmbodiedCarbon emissions for 50 building types, establishing baselines using consistent methods. 🗝️ Key findings: 🏗️ New builds average 546 kgCO₂e/m² to completion, with 279 kgCO₂e/m² forecasted for replacements and deconstruction. 🛠️ Refurbishments averaged 209 kgCO₂e/m² to completion, with an additional 189 kgCO₂e/m² forecasted—62% and 32% lower, respectively, than new builds. 🧱 Across 51 assessments, 742,651 tonnes of materials were reported, with a total carbon footprint of 191,153 tonnes CO₂e. Explore all the findings in the full report here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gMNbPi_q

📣 SAVE THE DATE! 📣 🎉 Don’t miss your chance to attend the #NebulaB4P final event and second #Built4People Innovation Cluster (B4PIC) signing ceremony; ‘Shaping Sustainable Futures’! 🎉 On March 6 - 7 2025, the Nebula Project will host its final event, in collaboration with fellow European Union (EU) funded projects: 🔹 CrAft - Creating Actionable Futures 🔹 AEGIR 🔹 INGUMA_Biobased 🔹 NEB Academy Join the event to discuss the projects’ results and lessons learnt on how: 🟢 Clusters can drive innovation for sustainable construction across Europe. 🟢 Renovation can become more sustainable, beautiful and inclusive. 🟢 Digital tools and education can help implement the New European Bauhaus (NEB). 🟢 The NEB is taken up with municipalities. The coming together of several EU-funded projects will provide a unique opportunity to share findings about sustainable innovation in the built environment and the key role that Built4People Innovation Clusters (B4PICs) can play in contributing towards the decarbonisation of Europe’s building stock by 2050. 🏢 The event will also offer an opportunity for exchange with the European Commission about future needs of the construction sector. Day one of the event will focus on innovation for the built environment, and will include a special signing ceremony for B4PICs (thereby demonstrating their further commitment to the Built4People partnership), while day two will focus on NEB impact and skills. ⚠️ Spaces are limited! ⚠️ Don’t miss your chance to register and view the full agenda here: https://bit.ly/4gALTfT 📅 6-7 March 2025 📍 Brussels, Belgium #BuildingTheTransition #BeBoldOnBuildings World Green Building Council, Architects' Council of Europe (ACE-CAE), BUILD:INN, Basque Construction Cluster, Green Building Council Croatia , Dowel innovation, ECTP - European Construction and sustainable built environment Technology Platform, Green Building Council Finland, Irish Green Building Council, NOBATEK/INEF4, Odéys, PLGBC Polish Green Building Council, R2M Solution, Savet zelene gradnje Srbije | Serbia GBC, TECNALIA Research & Innovation, TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY, European Commission

📢 Final Call! Applications for DASBE funded courses starting this January at Atlantic Technological University close today, Tuesday, 7th January 2025, at 5 PM! ⏳

🏘️ Become a Certified #HPI Assessor in 2025 🏘️ Advance your skills in housing #sustainability with the Home Performance Index, Ireland’s national quality and sustainability assessment system for new housing. 📅 March/April 2025 (online) 📍 HPI General: €250 (members) | €375 (non-members) 📍 HPI Assessor: €450 (members) | €675 (non-members) Book now: https://lnkd.in/da8xDWnc

❗ Don’t Get Stuck in the Carbon Tunnel Vision! ❗ Our first post of the year is a reminder that #ClimateChange isn’t the only crisis our planet is facing. #BiodiversityLoss is just as urgent and must be tackled hand-in-hand with climate action. Join the IGBC Biodiversity in the Built Environment Masterclass to learn how to integrate nature into the built environment on the 6th of February ➡️ https://lnkd.in/d-BHKmmX 💡 What you’ll learn: - Policy drivers & EU Nature Restoration Law. - Designing green infrastructure for biodiversity net gain. - Real-world case studies of biodiversity in action. 🖥 Details: - Live online session (4 hours, recording available). - Cost: Members €120 | Non-members €220. - Ideal for developers, architects, planners & more. 🌟 Delivered by expert ecologist Joanna Ferguson from Greengage Environmental Ltd. ➡️https://lnkd.in/d-BHKmmX

🌱 New Year, New Goals for a fully decarbonised Built Environment! 🏗️ As we ring in 2025, it’s the perfect time to set resolutions that truly make an impact. Construction professionals, let’s work together to reduce the carbon emissions of our projects and #decarbonise Ireland's Built Environment! Here’s how you can take the first steps: ✅ Learn the basics: Start with our #EmbodiedCarbon 101 course – understand what it is and why it matters. You can sign up here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/efrmPgYM ✅ Get informed: Review the findings from our initiatives #INDICATE and #ViableHomes to stay ahead of the curve. ➡️https://lnkd.in/dJ3BpWtR ✅ Upskill & measure: Start developing the skills to measure embodied carbon and take the lead in transforming your projects. Have a look here at inspiring leaders who are already making a difference ➡️https://lnkd.in/dpEu4A9S #BuildingLife #ActNowForClimate

❓ Have you started to measure the embodied carbon of your building projects yet ❓ In this recent article published in Irish Construction News/Constructionnews.ie., Lenny Antonelli, Membership Engagement Officer at IGBC, highlights our key programmes for 2025 and outlines how contractors can measure and reduce the whole-life carbon of their construction projects ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dXRu6ptP