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www.specification-expert.co.uk Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group What Drives a Green Specification?

Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

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What Drives a Green Specification?. Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group. The Impact of Climate Change. “Scientific evidence points to increasing risks of serious, irreversible impacts from climate change [that] threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world” - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Ian ElmerTechnical Services ManagerAMTECH Group

What Drives a Green Specification?

Page 2: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

“Scientific evidence points to increasing risks of serious, irreversible impacts from climate change [that] threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world”

Stern N., 2006: ‘The Economics of Climate Change – The Stern Review’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The Impact of Climate Change

Page 3: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

International Context

• The Kyoto Protocol (1997)• Sets out commitments to reduce Global Warming Gas emissions, including a commitment for the UK to reduce emissions by 12.5% between 2008 and 2012, below

1990 levels.

• UN Climate Change Conference (Copenhagen 2009)• Held to agree a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012.

• Copenhagen Accord drafted by the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa as a ‘Meaningful Agreement’

with further discussions to follow in 2010.

Page 4: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Drivers for Change

• The main drivers for climate change and sustainability:

• Legislation

• Performance Standards

• Financial Incentives

Page 5: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Drivers for Change

Legislative Measures

Page 6: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

European

• Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

• Requires member states to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, through minimum energy performance standards

and certification and requirements for plant inspection.

• All buildings that are constructed, sold or rented are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate.

Page 7: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

National

The construction industry constitutes a significant portion of UK economic output and employment, while its output has a major impact on the environment.

• 40% of total UK CO2 emissions are from buildings, of which:

• 78MtCO2 from public sector and commercial buildings*

• 149MtCO2 from residential buildings*

*2008 figures

Page 8: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

National

UK Legislation in place:

• The Climate Change Act 2008

• Aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050

• Includes and interim target of reducing emissions by 34% by 2020

• The Energy Act

• Implemented at the same time as the Climate Change Act

• Allows the introduction of a feed-in tariff for small scale, low carbon electricity generation up to 5MW scale

Page 9: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

National

• Part L of the Building Regulations. Updates to include:

• 25% improvement in regulated emissions from 2010

• 44% improvement in regulated emissions by 2013

• Potentially 70% improvement in regulated emissions by 2019 (according to Definition of Zero Carbon)

• Other ambitions such as new homes to be zero carbon by 2016 have also been announced

Page 10: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

National

The ‘Definition of Zero Carbon’ approach:

• Building Regulations to be underpinned by a very high minimum standard of energy efficiency

• Minimum standard of carbon compliance to be achieved through energy efficiency, LZC technologies and directly

connected heat. • Solutions for dealing with residual emissions resulting from applying these standards (e.g. Upgrading the efficiency of neighbouring buildings)

Page 11: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

National

The F-Gas Regulations

• Framework for reducing emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F Gases).

• Sets out prescribed offences and penalties relating to fluorinated greenhouse gases covering subjects such as use,

recovery, reporting, labelling and certification.

Page 12: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

National

Strategy for Sustainable Construction

• Joint industry and Government initiative intended to promote leadership and behavioural change in construction

• Includes a number of key targets such as:

• Reduce per capita consumption of water in the home to an average of 130 l/p/day by 2030

• 50% reduction of construction, demolition and excavation waste to landfill by 2012 when compared to 2008.

• Reduce CO2 emissions (UK total) by at least 60% by 2050 (based on 1990 levels).

Page 13: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Drivers for Change

Performance Standards

Page 14: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

Main methods for providing performance standards:

• BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) - UK

• Code for Sustainable Homes - UK

• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) - US

Page 15: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

BREEAM:

• Most widely used assessment method in the UK

• Sets standards for best practice in sustainable design and uses a points scoring system describe a building's environmental performance

• Covers a number of topics with points associated to them that combine to give a building a BREEAM credit rating

Page 16: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

The main topics are as follows:

• Management

• Health and Well Being

• Energy

• Water

• Materials and Waste

• Pollution

Page 17: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

There are mandatory minimum standards within BREEAM and these can be used as an indication of whether it is possible to achieve a desired rating for a building:

• For example, for a building to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating it must have excelled in every environmental category within BREEAM.

• Government departments require BREEAM ratings of all their buildings; most local authorities require BREEAM as part of planning approval for developments over a certain size.

Page 18: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

There are a number of versions of the BREEAM scheme tailored to a variety of buildings, among them:

• BREEAM Offices

• BREEAM Healthcare

• BREEAM Education

• BREEAM Retail

• BREEAM Other Buildings

Page 19: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

Code for Sustainable Homes:

• Provides a single framework for house builders to establish environmental standards

• National standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes

• Measures the sustainability of a new home against nine categories of sustainable design, rating the 'whole home' as a complete package

Page 20: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

Uses a one to six star rating system to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a new home

• All new publicly funded housing must be rated against the code.

• Voluntary for new private sector homes, unless there is a local planning requirement.

• Publicly funded housing required to reach at least code 3.

Page 21: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

LEED:

• United States based code for Leadership in Energy and Environmental design launched by the US Green Building Council

• Shares common components and goals with BREEAM in driving improvement in building design

• In the UK, interest in LEED is growing with 66 LEED Accredited Professionals in the UK.

Page 22: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

Main difference between LEED and BREEAM is method of assessment:

• BREEAM uses trained assessors who report to the BRE to validate the evidence and issue a certificate

• LEED does not require trained assessors, though further credit is given if accredited professional (AP) is used.

• Client provides evidence (with assistance of AP) then submits to US-GBC for evaluation.

Page 23: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Performance Standards

Other differences:

• Fixed to the ASHRAE standards and the US way of thinking

• Credits are generally linked to the US Dollar (especially the energy credits), which means that if the exchange rate is unfavourable, then the building's rating could suffer.

• Niche market in UK at present, but interest is growing

Page 24: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Drivers for Change

Financial Incentives

Page 25: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

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Financial Incentives

Mechanisms used to provide incentives to improve the performance of buildings include:

• Tax reliefs

• Grant funding

• Penalties

• Carbon trading

Page 26: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Tax relief:

• Main scheme that the Government offers to provide support for business investment in low carbon technologies is the Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECA scheme)

• Enables businesses to claim 100% first year capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery

• Two schemes that affect the building services industry:

• Energy Saving Plant and Machinery

• Water Conservation Plant and Machinery

Page 27: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Examples of plant and machinery that qualify for ECA:

• Air-to-air energy recovery

• Automatic monitoring and targeting (AMT)

• Combined heat and power (CHP)

• Motors and drives

• Rainwater harvesting equipment

• Meters and monitoring equipment

• Flow controllers

• High efficiency taps

Page 28: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Penalties:

• The legislative schemes covered previously outline penalties for non-compliance:

• Building Regulations – Alteration or removal of work, financial penalties

• F-Gas regulations – Enforcement and prohibition notices as well as fines.

• Energy Certificates – Financial penalties for non-compliance

Page 29: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

• Renewables Obligation:

• Government scheme introduced to incentivise electrical generation from renewable sources in the UK

• Licensed electricity suppliers are obliged to source a percentage of their energy from renewable sources

• Obligation achieved by surrendering required number of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROC’s) to the regulator.

• Failure to do this results in a financial penalty called a ‘buy-out’.

Page 30: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Grant funding:

• A number of grant funding schemes are available to promote energy efficiency:

• Low Carbon Buildings Programme

• Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme

• Microgeneration Strategy

• Energy Act

Page 31: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP):

• Two phases to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme

• Phase 1 – allowed householders, community organisations and public and non-profit sector groups to apply for grants for the installation of technology such as photovoltaics, solar thermal hot water and bio-energy.

• Phase 2 – provides similar grants for public sector building owners (schools, hospitals, housing associations and local authorities) and charitable bodies to install microgeneration technology.

Page 32: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme:

• Funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change

• Promotes efficient use of Biomass for energy and heat generation

• Awards capital grants toward the cost of equipment such as biomass heat boilers and CHP

• Currently aimed at businesses, organisations and charities in commercial, industrial and community sectors

Page 33: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Microgeneration Strategy:

• Government strategy to allow electricity companies to claim for Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC’s)

• Companies that produce less than 50kW are entitled to:

• Claim ROCs either monthly or annually

• Appoint an agent to sell ROCs on their behalf

• Use their own renewable energy without selling it first

• Sell surplus electricity to energy companies

Page 34: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Energy Act:

• Aims to support the increase in renewables required to meet the UK carbon reduction targets set out in the Climate Change Act 2008, in particular by:• Strengthening the Renewables Obligation by supporting low carbon

technologies whilst reducing the support of more established technologies such as co-firing.

• Introducing ‘feed-in tariffs’ to guarantee that small scale generators will receive payment for generating electricity from low carbon electricity generation projects.

• Introducing a financial mechanism to encourage the installation of renewable heat at all scales, industrial to household.

Page 35: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Carbon Trading:

• The EU Emissions Trading Scheme is the main carbon trading initiative at present. Main principles as follows:

• Participating companies monitor and annually report their CO2 emissions

• They are then obliged to return an amount of emission allowances to the government equivalent to their emissions that year.

• They are allowed to buy or sell emission allowances in order that they can achieve their targets at least cost

Page 36: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

In the UK:

• CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme:

• Similar to EU Emissions scheme, organisations buy allowances equal to their annual emissions

• Emissions target is achieved by placing a ‘cap’ on the total allowances available to each group of CRC participants

• Individual organisations can determine the most cost-effective way to reduce their emissions, e.g. buying extra allowances, investing in ways to decrease the number of allowances they need to buy.

• Comes into force in April 2010

Page 37: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Financial Incentives

Other schemes:

• Clean Development Mechanism:

• Aimed at smaller firms not covered by the main schemes

• Participants are issued with Certified Emissions Reductions certificates for every tonne of carbon they stop from being emitted into the atmosphere.

• These can then be sold to governments and companies to meet their Kyoto targets and emissions allocations.

Page 38: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

The Specification

The role of the specification in reducing carbon emissions:

• All of the drivers for change referred to previously have direct relevance in the building services industry

• The specification is a key document which can impact heavily on the sustainable design of a building from project brief to detailed design.

• Provision of information is extremely important to ensure what is installed matches the intention of the consultant and client so the specification is central in disseminating:

Page 39: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

The Specification

Technical information:

Page 40: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

The Specification

Performance Standards:

Page 41: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

The Specification

and Financial Incentives:

Page 42: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Summary

In summary:

• There is a commitment in the UK to reduce carbon emissions

• The drivers for change are primarily driven by legislation, performance standards and financial incentives

• The production of the Building Services Specification is key to the design of sustainable buildings at all stages of the project, from initial brief through to detailed design and construction

Page 43: Ian Elmer Technical Services Manager AMTECH Group

www.specification-expert.co.uk

Thank you and Questions...