Archived news
Archived news
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13th May 2009
Parliamentary update
A number of important amendments to Part G of the Building Regulations were presented to Parliament earlier today. These include:
the requirement that baths in new homes are fitted with protective measures, such as thermostatic mixing valve, to limit the temperature of the hot water
a water efficiency standard of 125 litres per person per day for new homes
extending existing safety measures to all types of hot water systems (not just vented systems)
setting out where greywater and harvested rainwater can be safely used
The amendments will come into effect for all new homes from October this year. For more information please follow this link.
CLG are also due to publish today the Water Efficiency Calculator for New Dwellings to be used for measurement under Part G and also the Code for Sustainable Homes.
the requirement that baths in new homes are fitted with protective measures, such as thermostatic mixing valve, to limit the temperature of the hot water
a water efficiency standard of 125 litres per person per day for new homes
extending existing safety measures to all types of hot water systems (not just vented systems)
setting out where greywater and harvested rainwater can be safely used
The amendments will come into effect for all new homes from October this year. For more information please follow this link.
CLG are also due to publish today the Water Efficiency Calculator for New Dwellings to be used for measurement under Part G and also the Code for Sustainable Homes.
March 2009
2009 Corporate Benchmark
Phase 1 of the analysis for the NextGeneration Corporate Benchmark is now underway, in which the UK’s top 25 house building companies will be graded on the quality of their public reporting on sustainability issues. The 25 companies included in this year’s benchmark are: Antler Homes, Barratt Developments, Bellway Homes, Berkeley Group, Bloor Holdings, Bovis, Cala Group, Countryside Properties, Crest Nicholson, Crosby Lend Lease, Fairview New Homes, Galliford Try, Gladedale Group, MJ Gleeson, Inspace Partnerships, Keepmoat Homes, Kier Group, Lovell, McCarthy & Stone, Miller Homes, Morris Homes, Persimmon, Redrow, Stewart Milne and Taylor Wimpey.
Phase 2 will commence in May, in which member companies are engaged with allowing them to demonstrate evidence of their sustainability practices. Results of the benchmarking will be launched in October. NextGeneration’s membership for 2009 is made up of the following nine companies: Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group, Crest Nicholson, Crosby Lend Lease, Gladedale Group, Inspace Partnerships, Keepmoat Homes, Miller Homes and Taylor Wimpey.
Phase 2 will commence in May, in which member companies are engaged with allowing them to demonstrate evidence of their sustainability practices. Results of the benchmarking will be launched in October. NextGeneration’s membership for 2009 is made up of the following nine companies: Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group, Crest Nicholson, Crosby Lend Lease, Gladedale Group, Inspace Partnerships, Keepmoat Homes, Miller Homes and Taylor Wimpey.
January 2009
NextGeneration members Barratt Developments, Crest Nicholson and The Berkeley Group have responded to Housing Minister Margaret Becketts commitment to the 2016 zero carbon target by underlining their own commitment despite the troubled economic situation.
Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive of Barratt Developments: "A workable definition of zero carbon is critical if we are to deliver environmental ambitions in an affordable way - particularly in the hostile economic environment that we face today. A more flexible definition of zero carbon, as we recommended in the UK-GBC report back in May, is welcome, but we need to be very clear about exactly what needs to be delivered and how the solutions can be delivered by the developer, working in partnership with the energy supply industry".
Stephen Stone, Chief Executive of Crest Nicholson: "The economic downturn we are battling with at the moment does not mean that climate change goes away. The government needs to decide what its priorities are, and we believe that cutting carbon emissions should be at the top of the list. But that means other things might have to give, and government has to act to help the industry deliver much-needed new homes".
Karl Whiteman, Managing Director of Berkeley Homes Urban Renaissance: "We are committed to the zero-carbon target, and stand by the recommendations of the UK-GBC report on the definition. Theres been a lot of innovation over the last couple of years, and well see more - but only if the industry is confident that government is going to stick to its policy, and help the housebuilding industry through these challenging times".
Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive of Barratt Developments: "A workable definition of zero carbon is critical if we are to deliver environmental ambitions in an affordable way - particularly in the hostile economic environment that we face today. A more flexible definition of zero carbon, as we recommended in the UK-GBC report back in May, is welcome, but we need to be very clear about exactly what needs to be delivered and how the solutions can be delivered by the developer, working in partnership with the energy supply industry".
Stephen Stone, Chief Executive of Crest Nicholson: "The economic downturn we are battling with at the moment does not mean that climate change goes away. The government needs to decide what its priorities are, and we believe that cutting carbon emissions should be at the top of the list. But that means other things might have to give, and government has to act to help the industry deliver much-needed new homes".
Karl Whiteman, Managing Director of Berkeley Homes Urban Renaissance: "We are committed to the zero-carbon target, and stand by the recommendations of the UK-GBC report on the definition. Theres been a lot of innovation over the last couple of years, and well see more - but only if the industry is confident that government is going to stick to its policy, and help the housebuilding industry through these challenging times".
2008
NextGeneration held a series of stakeholder focus group meetings during December and January at the Jones Lang LaSalle offices at 13th May 2009 22 Hanover Square, London.
The focus groups were attended by industry professionals working in investment, sales and marketing, policy making and planning. The meetings allowed NextGeneration to feedback the 2008 benchmarking findings in a focused manner, and provided a platform for discussion and debate around the pertinent sustainability issues facing the sector and those involved with it. Thank you to the guest speakers, which included Rory Sullivan of Insight Investment and Neil Jefferson and Matt Robinson of the Zero Carbon Hub.
If you would like any further information about these focus group meetings, please contact Luke Chitty at luke.chitty@eu.jll.com
The focus groups were attended by industry professionals working in investment, sales and marketing, policy making and planning. The meetings allowed NextGeneration to feedback the 2008 benchmarking findings in a focused manner, and provided a platform for discussion and debate around the pertinent sustainability issues facing the sector and those involved with it. Thank you to the guest speakers, which included Rory Sullivan of Insight Investment and Neil Jefferson and Matt Robinson of the Zero Carbon Hub.
If you would like any further information about these focus group meetings, please contact Luke Chitty at luke.chitty@eu.jll.com
Fairview New Homes have completed the installation of 8 quietrevolution wind turbines at their City House development in Croydon. This represents the largest installation of its kind in the UK, and will provide the required 10% of Fairviews energy requirements from a renewable source on site. The vertical axis turbines can generate around 10,000 kWh a year - enough to power the lighting, computers, phones, faxes, printers and servers of a twenty person office, or the electrical energy requirement of around five energy efficient homes. Click here for more details.
NextGeneration presents the results of its 2008 benchmark in the report, Developing homes for a changing climate (Click here for the Executive Summary). The report was launched at the Royal Horticultural Halls on October 29th with Iain Wright MP as keynote speaker. Iain joined Sarah Ratcliffe (Director of Upstream, JLL), Stewart Baseley (Chairman of the HBF), Paul King (CEO of UKGBC), Rory Sullivan (Head of Responsible Investment, Insight Investment) and Simon McWhirter (Head of Campaigns, WWF) on a panel to take questions from the audience (Click here for the presentation slides from the event).
Crest Nicholson awarded Sustainable Housebuilder of the Year at the Building awards - click here for Building magazine article.
Barratt Developments awarded Sustainable Project of the Year (Small Building) - click here for Building magazine article.
Margaret Beckett appointed new housing minister - click here for Building magazine article.