Join the ASBP for a free-to-attend workshop to discuss the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into the ‘Sustainability of the Built Environment’.
About the inquiry
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has announced an inquiry into the ‘Sustainability of the Built Environment’. The inquiry will explore a number of sustainability topics including net zero buildings, low carbon materials, whole life carbon policy, the planning system and material reuse. There is currently a live call for evidence with the committee inviting written submissions (max. 3000 words) on 10 key questions until Saturday 15th May 2021.
Find out more at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1147/sustainability-of-the-built-environment.
Why is it important
The inquiry represents a vital opportunity for ASBP, its members and wider industry to influence future environmental policy, particularly in regards to embodied carbon regulation and advocating the use of bio-based materials.
Last year, ASBP vice-chair Mark Lynn gave evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on ‘sustainable and breathable building products & systems‘, with the final EAC report making welcome recommendations on incentivising the use of natural fibre insulation materials.
ASBP also endorses the Architects Climate Action Network’s campaign and report which calls for “urgent introduction of legislation to regulate embodied carbon emissions in the UK”, which ACAN recently won an ASBP Award for their efforts.
About this ASBP workshop
For this free-to-attend workshop, we will joined by experts from the ASBP team and board to explore the inquiry further and discuss each question (see below) in detail. To help our members and wider industry submit evidence, we aim to provide a number of key pointers which ASBP believes should be included in a written submission. We will circulate a draft of these recommendations pre-event and will publish a finalised version following discussions at the workshop.
The Committee is inviting written submissions on the following questions:
- To what extent have the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations on decarbonising the structural fabric of new homes been met?
- How can materials be employed to reduce the carbon impact of new buildings, including efficient heating and cooling, and which materials are most effective at reducing embodied carbon?
- What role can nature-based materials can play in achieving the Government’s net zero ambition?
- What role can the planning system, permitted development and building regulations play in delivering a sustainable built environment? How can these policies incentivise developers to use low carbon materials and sustainable design?
- What methods account for embodied carbon in buildings and how can this be consistently applied across the sector?
- Should the embodied carbon impact of alternative building materials take into account the carbon cost of manufacture and delivery to site, enabling customers to assess the relative impact of imported versus domestically sourced materials?
- How well is green infrastructure being incorporated into building design and developments to achieve climate resilience and other benefits?
- How should we take into account the use of materials to minimise carbon footprint, such as use of water harvesting from the roof, grey water circulation, porous surfaces for hardstanding, energy generation systems such as solar panels?
- How should re-use and refurbishment of buildings be balanced with new developments?
- What can the Government do to incentivise more repair, maintenance and retrofit of existing buildings?
Why should I attend?
- Hear from industry experts on a wide-range of sustainability topics, including embodied carbon, low carbon materials and material reuse.
- An opportunity to debate the important issues that are being scrutinised as part of the inquiry.
- Receive recommendations on how to respond to the inquiry questions.
Programme
13:00 Welcome – Simon Corbey, Director, ASBP
13:05 Short talks from ASBP experts (10 mins each)
13:45 Facilitated discussion
14:20 Wrap up
14:30 Close
Booking
Free to attend, registration essential. Register via Eventbrite.