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RICS APC > Sustainability > Flashcards

Sustainability Flashcards

1
Q

Why is sustainability important in construction?

A
  • construction has a huge impact on the environment, accounting for around 40% CO2 emissions
  • hazardous waste arising from construction works can cause pollution, so it’s important to dispose of it appropriately
  • Utilising methods such as lean construction can reduce waste on site
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2
Q

Can you name some of the key environmental issues that may be encountered within the construction industry?

A
  • Sound pollution
  • Dust pollution
  • Noise pollution
  • Use of chemicals
  • Contaminated ground or water course
  • Asbestos
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3
Q

What do we mean by sustainable development?

A

Meet the needs of the present (eg the project) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

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4
Q

What are the three types of sustainability?

A
  • Environmental:
    Preventing the impact on the environment by careful use of resources and ensuring we work to protect our environment
  • Economic:
    Efficient use of resources and ensuring developments represent value for money
  • Social:
    Ensuring developments are suitable for the wider community, eg library constructed next to university
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5
Q

What is the Paris agreement?

A

A global framework to avoid dangerous climate change; to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees

Under the agreement, each country is obligated to report on their contribution to mitigate climate change

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6
Q

What does the term ‘net zero carbon’ mean?

A
  • not contributing to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
  • achieving the balance between carbon emitted and carbon removed from the atmosphere
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7
Q

Are you aware of any legislation with regards to sustainability?

A
  • Climate Change Act 2008
  • Future Generations Wellbeing Act 2015
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8
Q

What approved document implements sustainability?

A

Approved document L: Conservation of fuel and power

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9
Q

What does approved document L: conservation of fuel and power, outline?

A

Sets out information about:
- limiting heat gains and losses
- air permeability and pressure testing
- insulation regulations

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10
Q

What sustainable design solutions are available to implement on buildings?

A
  • PV panels
  • Ground Source Heat Pumps
  • Insulation
  • SUDS
  • Attenuation
  • Green roofs
  • Using sustainably resourced materials
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11
Q

What are SUDS?

A

Drainage systems that help control and manage the drainage of surface water

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12
Q

Can you provide some examples of SUDS?

A
  • Permeable surfaces
  • Attenuation basins or crates
  • Rainwater gardens
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13
Q

What is a rainwater garden?

A

Managed the flow of surface water by planting in and around buildings

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14
Q

What is a U Value?

A
  • Measures how effective a material is as an insulator
  • Lower = better
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15
Q

How do photovoltaics work?

A
  • Sunlight strikes PV panels and knocks loose the electrons from the atoms
  • Positive and negative conductors capture electrons in the form of current
  • Energy stored in batteries or immediately used
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16
Q

How does attenuation work?

A
  • Water received from rainfall works through the attenuation crate that then slowly moves through a pipe to reduce the risk of flooding
17
Q

How do ground source heat pumps work?

A
  • Ground loop buried underground
  • Fluid pumped around loop which naturally absorbs earths heat
  • Liquid is compressed and goes through heat exchange
  • Heat then extracted and transferred to heat pump
  • Distributed round building
18
Q

What is solar gain? And how can it be prevented in buildings?

A

Solar gain is the increase in temperature of a building due to solar radiation

It can be prevented by:
- Horizontal shading to glazing
- Limiting glazed areas
- Orientating glazing away from south
- use of reflective glazing panels

19
Q

Can you name some sustainable design solutions assist with increased building efficiency?

A
  • Solar panels: enables a building to generate their own electricity
  • Green roof: looking after wildlife, and acts as an insulator to preserve energy
  • SUDS: effectively manages surface water to reduce risk of flooding
  • Rainwater harvesting: for reuse in toilets or landscape maintenance
20
Q

How can a project design be influenced to be more sustainable?

A

Economic:
- use MMC or lean construction methods to reduce waste
- Tender through a framework which offers maximum OH&P and VFM through open book tendering

Environmental:
- Provide provisions for PV panels, green roofs and attenuation

Social:
- employ local people
- ensure everyone can access and use the building

21
Q

How can considering various sites increase project sustainability?

A
  • Use brownfield sites to avoid constructing on green field sites
  • Construct with the provisions of providing public transport for access
22
Q

How can considering a projects location contribute to being more sustainable?

A
  • ensuring there is public transport access
  • is it socially sustainable for the local community
23
Q

How can considering materials help improve a buildings sustainability?

A
  • MMC can reduce waste on site, eg bathroom pods
  • Ensure materials are ethically sourced
  • Source local materials to support the economy and reduce carbon emissions from transport
24
Q

What measures does your company take to be sustainable?

A
  • energy saving light bulbs and time sensors
  • recycling bins
  • promotes cycle to work scheme
  • WFH opportunities to reduce travel
25
Q

What methods of measuring sustainability in construction are you aware of?

A
  • BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method)
  • LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
  • SKA (developed by RICS, now transferred to SKA Ltd, for rating sustainable fitouts)
26
Q

What is BREEAM?

A
  • International scheme that provides independent third party certification for the sustainability performance of individual buildings
  • Assessments take place at several stages of the RIBA POW, from design to completion and operation
  • The system uses ‘credits’ to see how sustainable the building is
27
Q

What kind of categories of construction would BREEAM assess?

A
  • Energy
  • Transport
  • Water
  • Materials
  • Waste
  • Land Use and Ecology
  • Pollution
28
Q

What are the key advantages of a BREEAM accreditation?

A
  • Demonstrates building is sustainable
  • Improved marketability for potential occupiers or owners
  • Can demonstrate a reduction in operating costs
29
Q

What are the BREEAM ratings?

A
  • Outstanding (>85%)
  • Excellent (>70%)
  • Very good (>55%)
  • Good (>45%)
  • Pass (>30%)
  • Unclassified (<30%)
30
Q

What is Passivhaus?

A
  • Performance based set of design criteria for very low energy buildings
  • Basically, designed to keep buildings at a constant temperature to eliminate the need for heating and cooling
31
Q

What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?

A
  • Used to see how a proposed project or development would impact its surrounding environment
  • The assessment would consider social, economic and human-health impacts of the proposed development
32
Q

What is the SBEM tool?

A
  • Simplified Building Energy Model
  • it’s a government process that harmonises with Part L to calculate the energy performance of new buildings
  • it can also be used to calculate EPC for building sale or rent
33
Q

What does EPC stand for?

A
  • Energy Performance Certificate
34
Q

What does an EPC contain?

A
  • Sets out the energy efficiency of a building using a traffic light system A-G (A being most efficient)
  • Can provide an indication as to how much it will cost to heat and power the building
35
Q

What is a display energy certificate?

A

Designed to show energy efficiency of public buildings

Public authorities must display a DEC if:
- a building is partially occupied by a public authority
- it has a floor area higher than 250m2
- it is frequently visited by the public

RICS APC (19 decks)

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