CASE STUDIES
This area includes examples of known low carbon case studies within the different sectors outlined below. We anticipate that you would like to demonstrate your own low carbon case studies; to find out how, click 'Your Move' on the menu.
BUILDINGS IN DESIGN
Green Building Company’s construction division, Green Building Store, built the house by combining British vernacular construction methods with the German low energy Passivhaus design methodology.
The Welsh Assembly Government’s Pathfinder programme and Powys County Council cofounded the £1.3 million project. It was project managed by the council’s Property and Design Services and designed by architects JPW Construction.
The Hemp HC eco-block is composed of industrial hemp shiv, natural slaked lime and a mixture of other natural minerals. The block, which has similar costs to traditional building materials, has a series of advantages:
- no embodied carbon
- very low thermal conductivity, producing a brick with vastly superior insulation properties against both cold and heat.
- produces no toxic byproducts and is fully recyclable
- absorbs sound and is non-flammable
Southwark Primary School was chosen as an ‘exemplar’ primary school by the then Department for Children Schools and Families to encourage best practice in terms of education, building design and sustainability.
Richmond Hill Primary School, with 630 pupils, is one of only two Passivhaus certified schools in the north of England. Passivhaus is a design methodology that minimises the use of energy for heating and cooling the building.
Designed by Space Group and built by Interserve Construction, part of the international support services and construction Interserve group, the innovative sustainable construction of the school means it is designed to use up to 80 per cent less energy than conventionally designed and built equivalent facilities, reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent, and all this crucially without the use of renewable energy.
The project won the Innovation Award at the Yorkshire & Humber Construction and Best Practice Awards 2012.
BUILDINGS IN CONSTRUCTION
One Kingdom Street was the first Skanska UK Building project to implement a Sustainability Plan in addition to the standard Environmental Management Plan, at the request of the client, and has set a sustainability benchmark for all other Skanska UK Building projects.
BAM Construct UK (BAM), named as one of the UK’s best green companies in 2011, has embedded a strong carbon management principle within its organisation. In January 2010, BAM launched their own environmental reporting system called BAM Sustainability and Measurement Reporting Tool (BAM SMaRT). Based on the Building Research Establishment (BRE) SMARTwaste system, BAM SMaRT is a bespoke, reliable and user-friendly software tool that allows all BAM projects to measure and manage their sustainability, including, but not limited to, carbon reduction.
This website from CITB-ConstructionSkills helps make small and medium-sized (SMEs) companies aware of the changes within the construction industry and makes those changes simple to understand. This increases the opportunities open to companies to benefit from low carbon housing initiatives such as the Green Deal.
The Supply Chain Sustainability School is a free, virtual learning environment that aims to help construction suppliers and sub-contractors develop their sustainability knowledge and competence.
The Hemp HC eco-block is composed of industrial hemp shiv, natural slaked lime and a mixture of other natural minerals. The block, which has similar costs to traditional building materials, has a series of advantages:
- no embodied carbon
- very low thermal conductivity, producing a brick with vastly superior insulation properties against both cold and heat.
- produces no toxic byproducts and is fully recyclable
- absorbs sound and is non-flammable
Southwark Primary School was chosen as an ‘exemplar’ primary school by the then Department for Children Schools and Families to encourage best practice in terms of education, building design and sustainability.
Oxley Woods, an example of a development built using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), is built from closed timber frame prefabricated panels. The dwellings have achieved ‘Very Good' EcoHomes status. They offer carbon savings of up to 50% compared to similar sized dwellings.
Richmond Hill Primary School, with 630 pupils, is one of only two Passivhaus certified schools in the north of England. Passivhaus is a design methodology that minimises the use of energy for heating and cooling the building.
Designed by Space Group and built by Interserve Construction, part of the international support services and construction Interserve group, the innovative sustainable construction of the school means it is designed to use up to 80 per cent less energy than conventionally designed and built equivalent facilities, reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent, and all this crucially without the use of renewable energy.
The project won the Innovation Award at the Yorkshire & Humber Construction and Best Practice Awards 2012.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Richmond Hill Primary School, with 630 pupils, is one of only two Passivhaus certified schools in the north of England. Passivhaus is a design methodology that minimises the use of energy for heating and cooling the building.
Designed by Space Group and built by Interserve Construction, part of the international support services and construction Interserve group, the innovative sustainable construction of the school means it is designed to use up to 80 per cent less energy than conventionally designed and built equivalent facilities, reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent, and all this crucially without the use of renewable energy.
The project won the Innovation Award at the Yorkshire & Humber Construction and Best Practice Awards 2012.
REFURBISHMENT AND RETROFIT
This project from Drum Housing Association, part of Radian, involved thirteen 3-bed semi-detached properties, of concrete REEMA construction, which had reached the end of their envisaged useful life and needed substantial updating.
This case study looks at the re-use of the defunct North Kowloon Magistracy in Hong Kong as it was turned into the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Hong Kong campus. It explores how to utlilise and retrofit heritage buildings in order to make them both socially and environmentally sustainable.
This website from CITB-ConstructionSkills helps make small and medium-sized (SMEs) companies aware of the changes within the construction industry and makes those changes simple to understand. This increases the opportunities open to companies to benefit from low carbon housing initiatives such as the Green Deal.
The Hemp HC eco-block is composed of industrial hemp shiv, natural slaked lime and a mixture of other natural minerals. The block, which has similar costs to traditional building materials, has a series of advantages:
- no embodied carbon
- very low thermal conductivity, producing a brick with vastly superior insulation properties against both cold and heat.
- produces no toxic byproducts and is fully recyclable
- absorbs sound and is non-flammable
SKILLS AND EDUCATION
The Supply Chain Sustainability School is a free, virtual learning environment that aims to help construction suppliers and sub-contractors develop their sustainability knowledge and competence.
Southwark Primary School was chosen as an ‘exemplar’ primary school by the then Department for Children Schools and Families to encourage best practice in terms of education, building design and sustainability.
LEADERSHIP
This website from CITB-ConstructionSkills helps make small and medium-sized (SMEs) companies aware of the changes within the construction industry and makes those changes simple to understand. This increases the opportunities open to companies to benefit from low carbon housing initiatives such as the Green Deal.
The Supply Chain Sustainability School is a free, virtual learning environment that aims to help construction suppliers and sub-contractors develop their sustainability knowledge and competence.
BAM Construct UK (BAM), named as one of the UK’s best green companies in 2011, has embedded a strong carbon management principle within its organisation. In January 2010, BAM launched their own environmental reporting system called BAM Sustainability and Measurement Reporting Tool (BAM SMaRT). Based on the Building Research Establishment (BRE) SMARTwaste system, BAM SMaRT is a bespoke, reliable and user-friendly software tool that allows all BAM projects to measure and manage their sustainability, including, but not limited to, carbon reduction.
One Kingdom Street was the first Skanska UK Building project to implement a Sustainability Plan in addition to the standard Environmental Management Plan, at the request of the client, and has set a sustainability benchmark for all other Skanska UK Building projects.
