Sustainable development links

Cyberium presents these (mostly external) links in good faith as the tip of the iceberg of the kind of content and support we can supply to organisations and businesses. Some of these sites are created or serviced by Cyberium. We make no guarantee about the reliability or authenticity of these sites and their content. Suggest a site.

Biodiversity

National Biodiversity Network - a project to build the UK's first network of biodiversity information.

Worldwide Fund for Nature - very much pushing the envelope on practical sustainability initiatives for planners and developers in the UK.

Building communities

BioRegional - resources and inspiration to enable One Planet Living, including Z-squared - a zero-energy and zero-waste community development.

Hockerton Housing Project - the UK's first earth sheltered, self-sufficient ecological housing development.

The Quality of Life Assessment approach is a tool for identifying what matters and why, so that the consequences (both good and bad) of plans, development proposals and management options on quality of life can be better taken into account by practitioners and decision takers. Promoted by the Countryside Agency, English Heritage, English Nature and the Environment Agency.

Self-build - case studies on self-build housing, self-build features and information, product listings and useful links

Urban Green Spaces Taskforce - set up to drive forward the Deputy Prime Minister's sustainable communities agenda.

The Green Building Press - publisher of the excellent Building for a Future magazine and The Green Building Bible.

Walter Segal Trust - ecological self build - a simple, ecologically sound system for self build which almost anyone can do

Climate change

Defra's climate change pages - what causes it, how the world and the UK could be affected, what the government is doing to tackle the effects of climate change, and how industry, businesses, and individuals can do their bit.

The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research - foremost research group of scientists, economists, engineers and social scientists developing sustainable responses to climate change.

Resources for local authorities from IDeA Knowledge (the Improvement and Development Agency) - including a declaration signed by 80 councils and various policy and strategy routes for adapting to and mitigating climate change.

The UK Climate Impacts Programme - develops and promotes measures to mitigate its effects through planning.

Stop Climate Chaos - Eighteen campaign groups, including some of Britain's best known organisations, have joined forces to launch the biggest climate change coalition this country has ever seen.

Carbon Balanced is a programme that is being run by the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity, to provide funding for high priority projects from investment for 'carbon offsets'.

Construction (and buying other) resources

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment - inspiring people to demand more from their buildings and spaces. "We believe that well designed homes, streets, parks, work-places, schools and hospitals are the fundamental right of everyone." Research, practical help, case studies and much more.

Association of Environment Conscious Builders (AECB) - the leading independent environmental building trade organisation in the UK. The Association and its network of members provide a wealth of knowledge to enable enterprises help the environment. Members include local authorities, housing associations, builders, architects, designers, consultants and manufacturers.

Be - Collaborating for the Built Environment - an independent construction reform group, with the aim of "Collaborating to create sustainable improvement in the built environment".

BRE - Timber and Composites page - provides a variety of valuable links to best practice projects involving timber constructions.

Building Research Establishment (BRE) - the UK's leading centre of expertise on buildings, construction, energy, environment, fire and risk. The centre provides research-based consultancy, testing, and certification services. In particular, BREEAM and EcoHomes are sustainability rating and certifications developed by BRE respectively for commercial and residential buildings. BRE's website provides information about BREEAM, EcoHomes, Envest, Environmental Profiles, Green Guide, MaSC, post-occupancy evaluation, SMARTStart, SMARTWaste, whole life costing and much more.

Constructing Excellence - aims to achieve a step change in construction productivity through focused programmes in Innovation, Best Practice Knowledge, Productivity, and Engagement. The organisation influences the Government in the formulation of construction policies.

Construction Industry Council (CIC) - the representative forum for the industry's professional bodies, research organisations and specialist trade associations. CIC's approach and policy towards sustainability in construction and the built environment is translated through the work of its Sustainable Development Committee.

Construction Skills - CITB-Construction Skills provides assistance in all aspects of recruiting, training and qualifying the construction workforce. The organisation also works with partners in industry and government to improve the competitiveness of the industry as a whole.

Engineering for a Sustainable Future (IEE) - a networking group, primarily composed of engineers, aiming at developing a sustainable society, through the promotion of new and sustainable approaches to issues such as energy generation, storage, distribution and use, design and manufacturing, consumption and production.

Forest Stewardship Council - audits sustainable timber suppliers

Good Wood Guide - looking for sustainable timber for building or office refurbishment? This is a good place to start when thinking of buying or using wood for construction projects, self-build or DIY

Green construction - a collection of abstracts of newspaper and periodical articles on green building.

Sponge - a network for young professionals who share a particular interest in sustainable construction. These individuals generally work in, or are associated with the development of the built environment; from bricks and mortar through design, engineering and planning to communities and regeneration.

BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) - a sustainability evaluation method for assessing and improving the environmental performance of office, retail, and industrial buildings, and Ecohomes is its equivalent for residential developments. BREEAM is currently the world's most widely used means of reviewing and improving the environmental performance of buildings. Some 600 major office buildings have already been BREEEAM assessed in the UK.

Considerate Constructors Scheme - a code of practice for improved construction sites, and promotes working practices to minimise disturbance and disruption caused by noise, dust, additional traffic and pavement congestion.

Design Quality Indicators (DQI) - an interactive tool that helps in making an assessment of the participative process which enables stakeholders' involvement in a development.

Arup's Sustainable Project Appraisal Routine (SPeAR) measures the sustainability of a project at all stages with optimisation of its key elements: environment, social, economic, and resource use.

EcoConstruction - contains guidance on issues ranging from planning, choosing and specifying materials, to case studies of recycled & reclaimed material use.

EcoHomes - the BREEAM-equivalent certification scheme for homes. EcoHomes provides an authoritative rating for new and converted or renovated homes, and covers houses, apartments and sheltered accommodation. The scheme assesses seven categories of best-practice criteria: energy; water; pollution; materials; transport; ecology and land use; health and well-being. EcoHomes assessments are carried out by independent assessors who are trained and licensed by BRE. You can get a good idea of the EcoHomes credit requirements by downloading the documents available from this website, or by buying the guides EcoHomes: the environmental rating for homes (£25) and The Green Guide to Housing Specification (£35) from the BRE bookshop.

Envest - software developed by BRE that simplifies the otherwise very complex process of designing environmentally-friendly buildings. The tool assesses the environmental impacts of a building at its early design stage. By inputting information about a development, such as height, number of storeys, window area, and choices of elements (external wall, roof covering, etc), Envest identifies those elements with the most influence on the building's environmental impact, showing the effects of selecting different materials. It also predicts the effects of various strategies for heating, cooling, and operating a building.

Environmental profiles - a universal method of measuring the sustainability of all construction products and materials over their entire life cycle, through their extraction, processing, construction, use and maintenance, and their eventual demolition and disposal. The website also provides profiles of building elements (e.g., roofs, walls) and materials (e.g., aerated blocks, glass wool insulation, kiln dried timber and MDF).

GreenPro - an online Internet library and archive of building products, case studies and research information, which have been carefully selected by the Green Building Press to meet high environmental credentials. The database contains details of over 1000 green building products for the UK as well as eco-building articles.

GreenSpec - a BRE website allowing constructors to design greener materials specifications for their developemnts.

Office Scorer - Refurb, or demolish and rebuild? Which is the most sustainable? The answer is often unclear. BRE's Sustainable Refurbishment / Redevelopment Decision Support Tool enables users to systematically compare and test the environmental and economic impacts of different office design concepts, using BRE's Ecopoints system.

Square One - Environmental Design Website provides free information for architects, building designers, students and anyone else interested in energy efficient and sustainable design. The site also contains on-line courses on eco-building design issues, such as natural lighting, passive systems, and acoustics.

Sustainable Homes - promotes awareness of sustainable development issues and good practice, and encourages housing associations to adopt sustainable policies and practices.

Well Built! - a network site for Local Authorities about sustainable construction, supported by DTI Construction Industries Directorate and promoted by the LGTF. The aim of the site is to build up a network of Local Authority staff who are interested in undertaking more sustainable construction.

Energy

Buy renewable electricity from the grid - for local authorities and for others - it's easy and doesn't have to be dearer than brown electricity.

General

Advice on getting EU funding for renewable energy

The Carbon Trust is an independent company funded by the UK Government, with the role of helping the UK move to a low carbon economy by supporting business and the public sector reduce carbon emissions and capture the commercial opportunities of low carbon technologies. From simple tips to in-depth advice and on-site support.

Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) - an environmental charity aiming to "inspire, inform, and enable" people to live more sustainably. The organisation offers practical solutions to environmental problems, with key areas of work in renewable energy, environmental building, energy efficiency, organic growing and alternative sewage systems.

dti - Renewable Energy - DTI website with explanations of each type of renewable energy technology, how they work, grants and relevant case studies.

Community Renewables - a new initiative to help schools, offices and housing developments in England fund renewable energy projects

CREST - Centre For Renewable Energy Systems Technology at Loughborough University

Dulas Ltd - local services for renewable energy, including design and implementation of hydro and solar power systems, environmental assessment and energy policy

European Green Energy news - prices, sellers, buyers

Green Dragon Energy- renewable energy trainers and installers

Home Power This page has an Excel Spreadsheet for you to input all the data for your electricity loads, and helps determine what PV panels, batteries, and other equipment are needed. The same information can be used for wind or water generators. The site is that of the Home Power magazine, with US expertise.

Combined heat and power

Combined Heat and Power Association - for efficient power and heating, grants available.

CHP Club - support for CHP users and wannabe users.

Heat pumps

Heat Pumps - useful basic information about heating-only applications with heat pumps. It covers environmental issues, and supports the appropriate use of this technology in high efficiency eco-friendly applications. The site also includes interactive heat source comparison charts.

Solar electricity

British Photovoltaic Association (PV-UK) - a non-profit Trade Association for the PV industry of Great Britain, and has strong ties with other organisations involved in sustainable development. The Association promotes photovoltaic technology by exchanging knowledge and information on its use and availability, and provides a complete guide to grid-connected solar electricity in the UK.

Solar Electricity calculators - This great little page includes a loads calculator, an array size calculator, a battery calculator, and all the other information you need to design a basic solar electric system.

Solar heating by building design (passive solar)

Solacalc - a PC-based programme has being developed to make predicting passive solar house design performance easier, and help using free heat from the sun to heat or cool buildings. The tool calculates heat losses and solar gains in residential buildings, using interlinked worksheets and UK climate data, to calculate thermal balances and financial analysis.

Solar water heating

Solar water heating calculator - for thermal (water) panels, where insulation value tables can be used to work out how many panels are needed to satisfy specific water heating needs. The site uses NASA data with links to its original data page. Note that the solar calculators are specific to Apricus own panels.

Soltherm Europe - the central action network to stimulate market growth of solar thermal products. The site provides tools and calculators for planning, feasibility, simulation, financing, designing, and installing both small and large scale solar water heating projects. Registration is required, but it is free and quick.

Solar Water Heating - includes benefits and costs information, descriptive diagrams, and frequently asked questions on solar water heating systems and how to install them - all on one page

Water

Water Power - British Hydropower Association (BHA) - a trade association which represents the interests of all those involved in the hydropower industry. Its website helps determining if a site is suitable for water power, and how much energy could be obtained out of it.

Wind

British Wind Energy Association - at which you can download a programme to enable you to get the average windspeed of any location in the UK using ordinance survey co-ordinates.

Database of Wind Characteristics - contains four different categories of wind data (time series of wind characteristics, time series of wind turbine responses, wind resource data and wind farm measurements), for wind turbine design purposes and site analysis, at 55 different locations in Europe, Egypt, Japan, Mexico and the United States.

Hugh Piggott's Windpower pages - Hugh Pigott is a guru of the small scale wind power world. His website contains numerous links summarizing all of his knowledge.

Danish Wind Industry Association's windpower website is excellent for understanding wind power, and its Wind Energy Reference Manual contains enough technical details to satisfy the most assiduous d-i-y-er or professional.

Energy Efficiency

The Carbon Trust - a UK Government programme designed to provide free information and grants to organisations to help them cut their energy bills

Association for the Conservation of Energy

BRECSU - promoting energy efficiency in buildings on behalf of the UK government

Community Energy - Energy Saving Trust's energy efficiency advice for domestic, business, local government and trade sectors

Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme - enables businesses to claim 100% first year capital allowances on investments in energy saving equipment

Lighting calculator - this Cyberium calculator enables you to calculate how much you save by investing in compact fluorescent bulbs - you'll be amazed at the return on your investment

SAVE - an EU grant Programme for energy efficiency. Funding is available for companies, local authorities, public and private bodies for projects aiming to encourage energy efficiency by all energy users through non-technical measures

Civil Estate Benchmarking Tool - allows energy managers to calculate the energy performance of a building periodically, and compare it against benchmarks for similar buildings within the Government's Estate. The following data need to be inputted:

• Total floor area and percentage of each type of floor area

• Annual electrical consumption

• Annual gas or oil consumption (kWh)

• The Degree Days correction figure (available from a calculator on the same page)

• Weekly occupancy figure (in hours).

Degree Days - Degree-day figures are essential data for anyone who needs to manage significant energy consumption related to the heating or cooling of buildings. These figures indicate how much solar energy falls in different regions across the UK throughout the year.

Energy Saving Trust (EST) - contains the EST guide, and Energy Efficiency in New Housing. The EST produces other free guides for building professionals to help construct more energy efficient homes.

Hospitality Industry Benchmarking Tool - allows comparisons of hotel premises with industry norms in terms of energy consumption, costs, and management, and advises on efficiency and comfort issues. An Energy Efficiency Map is also available, providing contact information for establishments currently registered to the Hospitable Climates programme.

Industrial Estate Benchmarking Tool for Heating and Lighting website can help determining heating and lighting efficiencies in a building by comparison with good practice benchmarks. A report of the possible energy saving measures, appropriate to the building, is issued.

National Institute of Standards and Technology - Insulation - This very technical US website contains a database to determine the Heat Transmission Properties of Insulating and Building Materials.

Office Benchmarking Tool - The Office Benchmarking Tool has been developed to help assessing the energy consumption of an office building, by comparing an office consumption with national benchmark levels for UK office buildings. The program first calculates a benchmark based on the type of office space, number of workstations, and standard occupancy, and then allows it to be refined with additional variables. The website includes a checklist of all the data needed to run the program.

National Home Energy Rating (NHER) - The NHER is the UK's largest energy rating scheme, and is specialized in delivering energy efficiency advice, tackling fuel poverty, and developing local and regional improvement strategies. The scheme is designed to calculate energy ratings for existing, refurbished or new build stock, from on-site surveys or building plans, detailed or basic. The Government's Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is a simplified version of the NHER scheme, the Government's recommended procedure for an energy rating of dwellings, with a final rating ranging between 1 to 120Ñfrom worst to bestÑ based on the annual energy costs for space and water heating. SAP also calculates the Carbon Index, on a scale of 0 to 10, based on the annual CO₂ emissions associated with space and water heating. A SAP rating for every new dwelling have become compulsory to fulfil the Building Regulations requirements of notifying and displaying an energy rating in new dwellings. The SAP specification may be downloaded (free of charge) in PDF format from here [refers to SAP 2001]. For information on SAP 2005, click here.

Forestry

Forestry Commission - Technical Research and trouble-shooting advice in all forestry related subjects

Finance

Ecology Building Society - invests in sustainable projects

The Ethical Property Company - ethical property investment

Triodos Bank - a pioneer in sustainable saving and green investments

Water

BRE - Water - BRE works to ensure the provision of clean, healthy water via efficient and cost effective supply systems and appliances. The establishment provides practical guidance, assessments, and testing in water systems and appliances; water management; water fittings and components; compliance with regulations and standards, and water sampling. A pdf leaflet on the Eco-Bio process for cleaning waste water can also be downloaded from this web page.

Water Harvesting and Run-off Calculator - The objective of this web page is to examine the concept of water harvesting, how it is used, and how it impacts us. A tool allows inputting a catchment's area, efficiency figures, and annual rainfall, in order to determine the volume of run-off that can either be harvested, or needed to account for with storm sewers.

A run-off coefficient for different types of land surface.

Events and training

Practical help for Local Authorities - an Energy Saving Trust initiative which contains a search tool to find forthcoming energy and sustainability training and events run by a range of organisations.

Sponge Events - Sponge's website describes a variety of events and courses all related to sustainable construction.

Sustainable Development & Eco-Building Training - EcoConsulting (UK) Ltd. has designed an innovative CPD course, suitable for all levels, to give local authorities, planners, and housing associations a complete and methodical understanding of sustainable development and eco-building techniques.

Publications

A vast range of books, magazines, reports, and other publications is available in the UK on green construction methods and materials. A small selection is described in this section.

BedZED Total Energy Strategy

This report (£20) covers the 'zero energy' concept of meeting building and transport energy demands from on-site renewable energy sources, and includes a description of the BedZED Green Transport Plan. Available from BioRegional

BedZED Toolkit for Carbon Neutral Developments - Part 2

Based on the Beddington Zero (fossil) Energy Development (BedZED), this report (£20) is a practical guide to building carbon neutral developments, including how to make a good return on investment. Available from BioRegional

Construction Materials Report for the Beddington Zero (Fossil) Energy Development - Part 1

The report (£20) describes all the materials used in the construction of BedZED, and shows how the embodied environmental impact of the development was reduced. Available from BioRegional

Building For a Future (BFF)

BFF is an excellent quarterly magazine giving an overview of the green construction industry in the UK, with a large range of articles describing concrete experiences and case studies, technical information on building materials and technologies, as well as green building news. Free downloads of BFF recent and back issues are available from www.newbuilder.co.uk

Centre for Alternative Technology - Online Green Shop

CAT stocks a large range of environmentally-friendly books and products that can be ordered on-line from their website.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC)

Useful sustainability studies are available from the CIC, including Constructing for Sustainability; Brownfields - building on previously developed land; and Water Conservation in Business.

dti - Sustainable Construction Resources

The Sustainable Construction page of the Department of Trade & Industry gives access to a broad range of documents and studies on green construction and legislation in a downloadable format.

Eco - online green newspaper.

EcoHouse 2

This second edition of 'Ecohouse' by Sue Roaf, and outlines the key issues, strategies and design solutions for designers and builders who want to build low energy, low impact homes. The book (£25) includes 24 case studies and contributions from experts in the field. Available from www.newbuilder.co.uk

Energy Resource Environmental & Sustainable Management magazine

Energy Resource Environmental & Sustainable Management magazine is an official publication of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and has established itself over many years as a major source of news, information and advice about energy, waste, water, and pollution. The magazine is available free within the UK.

From A to Zed - Realising Zero (fossil) Energy Developments

This book (£39) is a practical guide on how to realise a ZED (Zero Energy Development) - with sets of Housing Corporation accredited standard house types, an inventory of the ZED products used to build them, and exemplar case studies applying the principles to real sites. The book also incorporates a guide to the work and theory of Bill Dunster architects ZEDfactory to date. Available at RIBA bookshop

Green Construction

Green Construction is a collection of abstracts of newspaper and periodical articles relevant to green building in the UK.

Green Futures

Green Future's aim is to lead the debate on sustainable development, provide a lively snapshot of the latest news and opinion, along with cutting edge examples of good practice. The monthly magazine often features interesting articles on sustainable construction.

The Green Guide to Specification

A book by Jane Anderson, Building Research Establishment, David E Shiers, Oxford Brookes University, Mike Sinclair (£45) outlining the ecological rating of different building materials, following extensive research undertaken by BRE. Available from BRE bookshop

The Sustainable Housing Forum's publication Building Sustainably [PDF link 1.5MB] - how to plan and construct new housing for the 21st century. Oct. 2003.

Earthscan and James & James Publishers

J&J and Earthscan's website offers a large selection of books, magazines, and publications providing information for energy and environment professionals worldwide, with an emphasis on renewable energy and sustainable construction resources. Includes Renewable Energy World, a monthly magazine that will allow you to catch up with renewable energy news, technologies, and case studies from around the globe.

The Natural Plaster Book

This book (£22), from Cedar Rose Guelberth and Dan Chiras, is a hands-on book on all the tricks of the natural plastering trade, including how to use lime, earth and gypsum plasters to create stunning looking walls. Available at www.newbuilder.co.uk

Sustain Magazine

Sustain is a very succinct well-presented monthly magazine focusing on the sustainability of the built environment.

Sustainable Housing Schemes in the UK

A guide with details of access, (£10) published by the Hockerton Housing Project, this is a gateway to a range of sustainable development projects from all over the UK, with a profile of over 30 schemes. Available from BioRegonal

WWF Reports

WWF has a variety of interesting downloadable reports and studies related to sustainable construction, and describing their 1 Million Sustainable Homes UK campaign. In particular, the report Building Towards Sustainability helps to show strong investors support for sustainable homes. Undertaken by Insight Investment, the asset management arm of HBOS plc, it provides a benchmarking study of the sustainability performance of UK's leading house-builders.

You've been Timber Framed!

This book (£13) by Paula Sunshine is a basic manual for both existing occupants and potential buyers of timber-framed homes, and addresses the directions and pitfalls of surveying, renovating, and maintaining such dwellings.

Sustainability

The Environment Council - an independent UK charity, brings together people from all sectors of business, non-governmental organisations, government and the community to develop long term solutions to environmental issues

The Low-Impact Living Initiative - training, workshops, presentations and manuals

Sustainable Development Commission - advises the UK government

Sustainable Development - UK Government site

Sustainable Development Unit at the IDeA - local government and sustainability best practice knowledge base.

Waste management

Biffaward - multi-million pound environmental grant-giving fund utilising the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

BREWEB - BRE's Waste & Environmental Body facilitates ongoing environmental improvement in the waste and construction industries by the use of landfill tax sponsorship in high-profile demonstration and research projects.

The Community Recycling Network - promotes community waste management in the UK - both as an effective way of tackling Britain's growing waste problem and as a way to build the social economy

DEFRA - Recycling & Waste - The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, recycling & waste website provides valuable information about UK regulations with regards to waste, including the UK Waste Implementation Programme.

Envirowise - home of the helpline - 0800 585 794 - which helps UK business save more than £100 million through waste minimisation - government-funded programme that offers UK businesses free, independent, confidential advice and support on practical ways to increase profits, minimise waste and reduce environmental impact. The online Waste Minimisation Guide can help businesses identify where waste occurs in the supply chain and audit business premises.

The Materials Information Exchange (MIE) - SalvoMIE is a free materials 'dating agency' for the construction and landscaping sectors; especially for waste materials.

Salvo - an online directory for people in search of antique, reclaimed, salvaged, and green building materials.

SMARTWaste System - BRE's SMARTWaste system has won several awards including an eWell-Being Award. The website includes a set of tools to help applying sustainable waste management:

• SMARTStart, a simple and easy-to-use benchmarking tool

• SMARTStartLG, a monitoring and target-setting tool for local government, contractors, and managers

• SMARTAudit, a detailed auditing tool to measure the source, type, quantity, cause, and cost of waste

• BREMAP, a geographical information system that helps identify the best practical environmental option for waste

BRE can be directly contacted for more information about using recycled aggregates and waste by-products in a construction project.

Waste Watch - a charity backed by Tetrapak promoting action on waste reduction, reuse and recycling

WRAP - the Waste and Resources Action Programme. WRAP's mission is to accelerate resource efficiency by creating efficient markets for recycled materials and products, while removing barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.

Links courtesy Cyberium - "Design and Content for the Real World"