Welcome to the seventh edition of our Sustainability and Construction newsletter, and our second of 2023!
With the new year now underway we have brought together once again a round up of hot industry topics relating to Net Zero and the construction industry to help promote sustainable practices within the sector.
Our vision for the future is to improve sustainability throughout our organisation whilst also promoting Net Zero in the built environment. Engaging with the Supply Chain Sustainability School is a key part of this journey to understand the evolving best practices, guidance, and legislation-changing drivers within the markets where we and our customers operate.
In his latest article for The Hub, Chris Newman looks at the value of using cascade heat pumps to deliver lower carbon heating. Chris also speaks about a new document he is working on which describes how to design a system that can start off with high temperature flow rates but include the ability to reduce those flow temperatures in the future, once thermal improvements have been made.
This CPD Certified Guide offers a bird’s eye view of the sustainable buildings landscape in the UK, providing an overview of the increasingly complex network of government policy, legislation and guidance which is sending the UK's built environment along the road to Net Zero carbon.
Next month Mitsubishi Electric is hosting a series of Breakfast Seminars, which will provide an opportunity to find out more about the changes to our business, learn about our products, and legislation and how we can continue to work together to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment.
Liverpool - Thursday 2nd February 2023 - 8:30am - 11:00am
Manchester - Friday 3rd February 2023 - 8:30am - 11:00am
To register for either the Liverpool or Manchester Breakfast Seminar, please click here.
Former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore has published his Net Zero Review, outlining the opportunities offered by Net Zero. In the review, Skidmore states that more than 90% of the world’s GDP is now committed to Net Zero. His review makes 129 recommendations, all to seize opportunities for creating a green economy.
Glenigan's report takes a look back at the impacts of global events, macroeconomic shocks, the cost-of-living and energy crises and continuing material and labour shortages in 2022, together with how the construction industry performed amidst them.
Adam Roper, from UK Construction Online, forecasts some of the green trends which will be shaping the UK construction industry in 2023. These trends include the continuation of Net Zero buildings becoming increasingly popular, existing buildings being scrutinised further, and the increased importance of sustainable design and construction.
In November 2022, the government withdrew support for the Carbon Emissions (Buildings) Bill, with the intention to consult on embodied carbon in 2023 and 2024. Although this has been criticised as an inadequate response to the need to reduce the 50 million tonnes of embodied carbon emitted by the construction industry in the UK each year, what is positive is that embodied carbon is now squarely on the government’s agenda.
The world could reach Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions in the early 2040s, substantially ahead of the mid-century climate target, if governments set more stretching goals and make bold policy decisions, the UK’s outgoing climate business expert has said.
With three in four sustainability officers in FTSE 250 industrial companies having been in the role for less than two years, there is a risk that organisations will be unable to achieve their implementation goals for the Global Stock Take of the Paris Agreement at COP28 in 2023.
A new report assessing the environmental benefits of a circular economy has revealed that just 7.2% of the virgin materials extracted from the earth each year are reused or properly recycled, down from 9.1% in 2018. Since 2018, humanity’s use of natural resources has held fairly steady, at 100 billion tonnes per year. It forecasts an increase to 170 billion tonnes by 2050 on a business-as-usual trajectory.
Sustainable cooling will be firmly on the agenda at this year’s COP28 meeting in Dubai, with UNEP promising a Global Cooling Pledge and a Cool COP Menu of Actions. UNEP will publish a Cooling Stocktake report which will assess implemented country actions on sustainable cooling, evaluate new opportunities and offer insights into political action that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the cooling sector.
We hope you've found the content of this newsletter useful and relevant. In each edition, we'll focus on bringing you the latest news and topics around sustainability and construction. If there are any news articles you would like us to feature, please get in touch with us and we'll make sure your news is included.
Find out more about our new Sustainability and Construction team here.
