Following our recent attendance at Futurebuild 2024, and in the spirit of raising awareness of key topics within the industry we’re pleased to share further insights from consultants Ellis Clarke and Nathan Adams.  Ellis joined us just under a year ago as a trainee sustainability consultant so we are delighted that he was able to attend Future Build and learn about the key topics affecting the industry and how we are moving forward.

Reducing The Carbon Impact of Development Through Landscape: This seminar, facilitated by the British Association Landscape Institute (BALI), Hardscape, and LDA Design, emphasised the need for standardised approaches in landscape development, echoing the meticulous standards already applied to buildings. Topics included Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), the distinction between natural and manufactured materials, and tools for calculating Life Cycle Assessments.

Masterclass: Unravelling the Complexities of Carbon Measurement: Presented by ACO, this session delved into methodologies for carbon footprint analysis and emphasised the importance of data in understanding carbon impacts. With a focus on “life cycle thinking,” the seminar explored supply chain management and highlighted key insights into scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

Built by Nature: Biobased Construction from UK Landscapes: This seminar showcased the potential of utilising natural materials in construction, introducing the concept of the “3 S’s” of sustainable building: Sequester, Storage, and Substitute. Attendees learned about innovative biobased products such as hemp-based plasterboard and mycelium-based insulation, offering promising avenues for reducing the carbon impact of the built environment.

Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS): An overview of the forthcoming standard provided valuable insights into its top-down budgeting approach from government and bottom-up budgeting from companies. Key aspects of the new standard, including the voluntary offset carbon, whole-building approach, and verification process after one year of use, were discussed. Additionally, discussions revolved around anticipated feedback and potential adjustments in the future.

In addition to attending these key seminars, the team was also able to explore the numerous product and manufacturer stands in order to increase their knowledge of upcoming products and industry trends, which we can use to better serve our clients and drive positive change within the industry.

In attending Futurebuild, our team were able to further their knowledge of upcoming regulations that will affect the team’s work on Life Cycle Assessments. With the new Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (NZCBS) due to be released in the first half of 2024, that will influence the LETI and RIBA benchmarks used in their assessments, and the new RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment standard (WLCA) releasing in July, the Assess team are ready to incorporate these changes into their services.

If you have any questions, or would like to delve deeper into any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ellis or Nathan on 0115 976 5050.