corus system - carbon zero, neutral or greenwashed?

I couldnt let the Corus ad on the Building website go without comment.
Is the Corus Confidex Sustain® zero carbon, cradle to cradle, building envelope systems nothing more than elaborate greenwash? It would appear the claim of being carbon zero (and occasionally zero neutral in the same marketing) is based soley on carbon offsets.  A case [...]

a guide to zero carbon homes

Zero carbon homes in 100 words.
The UK Green Building Council released a report this week defining what a zero-carbon house should be in practice. Download from here
Still to read in detail but on first read appears to be a welcomed, considered and helpful guide, with a time-line to help organisations on a route to zero.
There [...]

constructing excellence to restructure?

Paul at ExtranetEvolution carries the news that Constructing Excellence is to restructure, maybe even downsize to focus on delivering value to membership.
Constructing Excellence has announced an organisational restructure to enable a sharper focus on its core business of delivering value to its membership.
Over the last two years, Constructing Excellence has moved from its original Government [...]

rethinking construction - ten years after

From Constructing Excellence:
Reviewing change in the UK construction industry and the next ten years, your chance to shape the future of the industry by learning from the past
CE are reviewing the last ten years of improvement and its impact, kick-started by John Egan’s landmark report - Rethinking Construction - and before that the Latham [...]

zero carbon ‘floating’ development for Preston

Green, innovative and zero carbon project development on our doorstep in Preston, Lancs, !

The RIBA have recently awarded a zero carbon design as the visitor center at the new Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Nature Reserve in Preston, to regenerate a former quarry site into a major visitor attraction.
The project called “A Floating World”, consists of [...]

resource efficiency could save construction industry millions

The latest report from the EA (The Environment Agency Science Report - The economic and environmental benefits of resource efficiency in construction ) calls for better resource management in construction. For this to happen, the report recommends

new sustainability forum

I really should promote Phil’s new sustainability forum at Building.  There is a danger of being awash with forums and blogs and comments, but the caliber of those registered so far gives this forum much promise.
Now trying to sort out the RSS feed from the forum into my igoogle homepage, and wondering how long before [...]

time for built environment transition?

We may now have a handbook for sustainability change in our sector.
When facilitating sessions on sustainability in the built environment, I often get delegates to ’stand in the future’, 2030 is always a good date, imagine what buildings and our use of them would be like, and try to identify what messages they would send [...]

responsible sourcing accreditation to BS6001?

Will 6001 join the lexicon of standards for our sector, along with 9001, 14001, 18001 (with apologies to others missed!)
Understanding the ripple effect of a facility in use or in construction is increasingly important within both client and supply organisations reputation, ethical standing and overall CSR, (Corporate Social Responsibility). Industry investors are watching such [...]

… the futures nano

The science of nanotechnology is already revolutionising the worlds of medicine and construction, according to a Guardian article looking at nanotech in food, Once Bitten
Seamless tubes of graphite one atom thick and 10,000 long (to the naked eye, large quantities would look like soot), carbon nanotubes are up to 100 times stronger than steel but [...]