return to carbonconstruct website >

Shortlisted carbon initiatives

Initiative

Lead organisation

Website/email

Topic scope

Additional information

 

Policy and regulation: development and implementation monitoring

Measurement and reporting tools

Building performance: design, operation and maintenance

Infrastructure performance

Procurement, clients and ownership

Generation and storage

Macro-scale issues

Policy at local, national or international government level

Tools for measuring carbon, comparing options. Collecting benchmarking data etc.

Initiatives specifically focussed on buildings and their operation but including development-level energy infrastructure

Initiatives specifically focussed on infrastructure and its operation

Procurement, drivers, owner/user relationships, user behaviour etc.

Property, development-level, and regional generation schemes

Social and national / international issues

The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan Chapter 3 - Transforming our power sector

DECC

see website

***

       

***

***

""Plots how the UK will meet the 34% cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2020""

Inventory of carbon and Energy version 1.6a

University of Bath

see website

 

***

*

*

*

   

Professor Geoff Hammond and Craig Jones from the Department of Mechanical Engineering (University of Bath) have been working on a database to determine the embodied energy and carbon of a large number of building materials. The database has been used to release an Inventory of Carbon & Energy (ICE). The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) is available for download as a pdf file

A Comparative carbon footprint analysis of on-site construction and an off-site manufacturerd house

Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York

see website

 

***

***

       

Report: Considers how to achieve low greenhouse gas emissions in the housing sector (construction and direct energy), Scenarios compare conventional construction and off-site manufacturing

carbon calculator for construction activities

Environment Agency

see website

 

***

         

Excel spreadsheet for calculating the embodied CO2 of materials and that associated with their transportation

Assessing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services (PAS 2050)

BSI 

see website

 

***

         

PAS 2050 Specification for a method for measuing the embodied greenhouse gas emissions from goods and services.

Zero carbon compendium - who's doing what woprldwide

zero carbon hub

see website

   

***

       

Report illustrating how 15 different countries are demonstrating leadership in low carbon technology, culture, change, policy development and change management. Covers: Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA.

Defining a fabric energy efficiency standard

Zero Carbon Hub ./ Energy Efficiency task group

see website

   

***

       

Report of task group set up to ""Examone the energy efficiency metrics and standards which will realise our ambition of the highest practical energy efficiency level realisable in all dwelling types""

State of the Nation: Low Carbon infrastructure
Summary / Full Report

ICE

see website 1
see website 2

     

***

     

People are increasingly aware of the impact of carbon emissions on climate change. Well-designed infrastructure has a major role in creating an environment in which people and businesses can alter their behaviour – in their travel habits, their consumption of water and power, and in how their waste is managed
This study brought together the views of fifty organisations on the short term, medium term and long term solutions to the promotion of a low carbon infrastructure.
Many of the largest sources of carbon emissions are currently associated with the construction, operation, maintenance and use of infrastructure in particular in the energy, transport, water and waste sectors. This ICE inquiry suggests that many of the technologies and practices we need to create significant change in these sectors already exist, but their delivery is constrained by unfavourable investment and delivery conditions.

Challenges facing housing developers to deliver zero carbon homes in England (review)

World Academy of Science - journal article

see website

   

**

 

***

   

Journal article setting out factors that hinder a succesful delivery of zero carbon homes in England

Sustainability and commercial property valuation 

RICS (2009)

see website

       

***

   

Report discusses issues that are relevant when undertakeing valuations of commercial buildings including energy and climate change aspects

A review of microgeneration and renewable energy technologies

nhbc

see website

         

***

 

Review includes: Biomass, Solar photovoltaic, solar hot water, wind power, ground shource heat pumps, air source heat pumps, absorption heat pumps, small scale hydroelectric, micro CHP, renewable combined heat and power and fuel cell systems.

Prosperity without growth

Sustainable Development Commission

see website

           

***

Prosperity Without Growth? says that the current global recession should be the occasion to forge a new economic system equipped to avoid the shocks and negative impacts associated with our reliance on growth. Ahead of the G20 Summit in London, the report calls on leaders to adopt a 12-step plan to make the transition to a fair, sustainable, low-carbon economy

Powering our lives

UK Govt  Foresight Programme

see website

***

         

***

UK Foresight Report covering:
Transitions in energy systems in the built environment
Behaviours, values and interventions for change
Scales of energy systems
Security and resilience of future systems

Why do companies rent green (USA)

RICS (2009)

see website

       

***

   

This report, by Piet Eichholtz, Nils Kok and John Quigley, examines the tenant-base of 'green' office buildings in the USA, to see which organisations seem most likely to occupy 'green' space