FOOTPRINT+ podcasts

Concrete: Developments in the supply chain

There are myriad concrete technologies in development around the world, but the majority of these are at the laboratory stage and not ready to deploy. In this session we cover three of those that have made it to the supply chain: GGBS, limestone fines, and calcined clays.
GGBS is a finite resource. What should developers and specifiers know about making the best use of the limited supply to drive down the carbon emissions of concrete?
Limestone fines and calcined clays are abundant resources. They can be used separately or in combination (as "LC3") to deliver carbon savings on a similar level to a high-GGBS mix concrete. Some concretes using these can achieve as much as a 50% lower carbon footprint than ordinary "CEM I" concrete. What are the realities of using these products in the UK and what is the potential to scale production to meet demand?
Speakers
Laura Batty, Senior Associate - Heyne Tillett Steel
Cassandre Legalliard, Product Manager - London Concrete
Will Arnold, Head of Climate Action - IStructE
Gareth Wake, Director - Mineral Products Association

Building with Nature: An opportunity for construction and society

The built environment is a net consumer of materials and a major contributor to climate change. Future generations are concerned about how current decision-makers are seeking to address this, and many children are already considering what their role might be in the future to make a positive contribution.
Speakers
Timothy Clement, Head of Carbon & Environment - Morgan Sindall
Anna Lisa McSweeney, Architect - White Arkitekter
Jenny Bailey, Author - Tales from Mother Earth
 

MMC offsite timber-frame houses delivering on performance, cost, quality and carbon reduction

Countryside Partnership’s development in Hemel Hempstead will deliver 445 low carbon homes. Spencer’s Park is also being used as a monitoring site for Category 2 MMC closed panel timber frame, providing evidence on the benefits of offsite manufacturing, not only for a safer, more pleasant working environment for contractors, but a more environmentally friendly and sustainable solution than more traditional masonry builds.
Speakers:
Joe Giddings, UK Networks Lead - Built by Nature
Simon Horn, Technical Development Manager - Donaldson Timber Systems
Rory Bergin, Head of Sustainability - HTA Design
Rachel Witcherley, Technical Manager, Sustainability - Homes England
 

Portfolio greening through retrofit

In spite of higher complexity and less financial incentives, a few developers have proven that it is possible to make retrofit a main business model. On the other hand, larger developers are looking at new models for portfolio-wide "greening" through energy retrofits, low-carbon extensions, operational hyper-optimisation and product transformation.
Hear from leading UK developers on their emerging strategies to make retrofits a desirable and viable proposition on the market.
Chairperson
Chris Newman, Zero Carbon Design Manager - Mitsubishi Electric
Speakers
Ben Cross, Creative Real Estate Developer
Tim Heatley, Co-Founder - Capital & Centric
Younha Rhee, Technical Director - Atelier Ten
Suki Gilliland, Sustainability Director - Energy - Landsec

ESG Investments: A primer

An increased focus on ESG has given rise to a suite of new regulations, and the financial market is poised to take the lead on climate action in the years ahead. The European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) means that all financial sector entities within the EU, including asset managers, are now required to disclose their ESG performance.
This session will explore the SFDR and the EU Taxonomy, and what they mean to investors, asset managers and developers, discussing how to:
review and understand the current performance of their assets, funds, and portfolios
produce comprehensive sustainability strategies for new developments, decarbonisation plans for existing assets, and climate resilience strategies for their portfolios
reduce risk and abate risk insurance premiums and devaluation
create opportunity for cost-effective capital funding to access and attract finance
Speakers
Simon Wyatt, Partner, Sustainability - Cundall
Darren Berman, Associate Director - Cundall
Helen Newman, Director of Sustainable Investing - Fabrix
Emily Hamilton, Head of ESG - Savills IM
Julie Townsend, Executive Director - ESG Lead Europe & Asia - PGIM Real Estate

The UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard

The UK NZC Building Standard sets out to provide a methodology by which buildings can be assessed as Net Zero against Science-Based targets to reduce emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement. Working groups have tackled 13 different building sectors to determine an approach to setting limits on embodied carbon and operational energy, and minimum targets for aspects such as on-site renewables, demand flexibility, etc.
Chairperson
Heather Evans, National Head of Sustainability - Rider Levett Bucknall
Speakers
Julie Godefroy, Head of Net Zero Policy - CIBSE
Adam Baranowski, Head of Climate Action & Investment - Better Buildings Partnership
Fabrizio Varriale, Place & Space Analyst - RICS

Improving the accuracy of embodied carbon modelling

Carbon calculations rely on accurate data and modelling of the embodied carbon in proposed schemes. Significant decisions about the direction of the project including weighing up the relative value of refurbishment vs. demolition and rebuild are based on these results.
How can we develop consistent carbon modelling and establish a consensus on the approach to be used?
How do these figures need to be updated as methods evolve?
Chairperson
Ben Marston, Director - Jestico + Whiles
Speakers
Alex Benstead, Senior Advisor - UKGBC
Johanna Jarvinen, Business Development Manager - One Click LCA
Pat Hermon, Technical Lead - BRE
 
 

Timber for Retrofit and Extensions

Deep retrofit of commercial buildings often aims to increase useable floor area whilst maintain the existing structure. Timber is a lightweight structural material whose additional load can frequently be added to existing buildings without the need to upgrade existing structure especially the foundations. Key protagonists of such projects give an introduction to what you need to know drawing from their wide experience.

UK Green Taxonomy: Update and Q&A

The UK Green Taxonomy is intended to provide a common framework for investments that can be defined as environmentally sustainable. It is an opportunity for the UK to set a high bar globally with a rigorous, science-based taxonomy that helps accelerate green finance and support the UK’s transition to a net zero economy.
The Green Taxonomy Advisory Group provide an update on progress since last year and answer all your questions about its’ implications once implemented.

Commercial Buildings in Timber

Mass timber structure is being used for larger and more ambitious commercial buildings than ever before.
In this session we ask what has changed to enable the use of timber in these buildings and chart a possible trajectory for the growth of timber as a carbon-negative structural material in the commercial sector.