Sustainability

Question 1

What does BREEAM stand for?

Answer 1

Building Research Establishment, Environmental Assessment Method

Question 2

What are the levels of BREEAM?

Answer 2

Outstanding
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Pass
Unclassified

Question 3

What are the BREEAM headline assessment categories?

Answer 3

• Management
• Health & Wellbeing
• Energy
• Transport
• Water
• Materials
• Waste
• Land Use and Ecology
• Pollution
• Innovation

Question 4

What are the key principles of sustainability?

Answer 4

• Social - Building healthy communities with sufficient numbers and range of buildings
• Economical - Build strong, responsive, competitive economies ensuring sufficient land and right types
  Environmental - Contributing towards the protection and enhancement of our natural, built and historic environment.

Question 5

What are the most common environmental issues experienced on construction sites?

Answer 5

• Risks of water pollution
• air and noise pollution
• High energy consumption and carbon emmissions
• risk of land contamination
• damage to wild habitats
• high wastage production into landfill
• release of dangerous gases and chemicals

Question 6

What are the key pieces of legislation that affect sustainability in construction?

Answer 6

• Agricultural Land Act - Enables land to be acquired for a particular purpose for example to control pests and weeds, for use as woodlands or to support agricultural activities.
• Building Act - This is the primary piece of UK legislation that enables the Building Regulations to be enforced. This is to assist in the conservation of fuel and power, to prevent waste, misuse or contamination of water and to ensure those in and around buildings are kept safe.
• Clean Air Act - This legislation provides local authorities within England to introduce measures in order to control air pollution.
• Climate Change Act - This is a legally binding framework to tackle climate change. It imposed targets to cut greenhouse emissions compared with 1990 levels 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

Question 7

What is the agricultural land act?

Answer 7

Agricultural Land Act - Enables land to be acquired for a particular purpose for example to control pests and weeds, for use as woodlands or to support agricultural activities.

Question 8

what is the Building Act?

Answer 8

• Building Act - This is the primary piece of UK legislation that enables the Building Regulations to be enforced. This is to assist in the conservation of fuel and power, to prevent waste, misuse or contamination of water and to ensure those in and around buildings are kept safe.

Question 9

What is the clean air act?

Answer 9

• Clean Air Act - This legislation provides local authorities within England to introduce measures in order to control air pollution.
  Climate Change Act - This is a legally binding framework to tackle climate change. It imposed targets to cut greenhouse emissions compared with 1990 levels 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

Question 10

What is the Climate Change Act?

Answer 10

• Climate Change Act - This is a legally binding framework to tackle climate change. It imposed targets to cut greenhouse emissions compared with 1990 levels 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

Question 11

What are the different forms of taxation relating to sustainability?

Answer 11

• Landfill tax which is an environmental tax payable in addition to landfill rates charged by private disposal companies.
• The tax was introduced as a means to encourage alternative methods of disposal such as recycling.
• the tax is charged by weight at varying rates depending on whether waste is inert or active.

Question 12

What different code of practice are you aware of for measuring sustainability?

Answer 12

• BREEAM (Life Cycle Assessment)
• Sets best practice standards for the environmental performance of buildings through specification design construction and operation.
• BREAAM stands for the Building Research Environmental Assessment Method
• The assessment is undertaken by a licensed assessor based on energy, land & ecology, water, health & wellbeing, pollution, materials and waste management.
• BREEAM applies to new and refurbishment projects, domestic and non-domestic.
• Ratings:
  Outstanding
  Excellent
  Very Good
  Good
  Pass
  Unclassified

Question 13

How do SKA ratings in relation to sustainability assessment?

Answer 13

SKA Ratings
- an RICS environmental assessment method for non-domestic fit outs such as office refurbishments.
- the scheme assesses fit out projects against a set of sustainability good practice criteria known as Good Practice Measures (GPM)
- SKA can act as an alternative to BREEAM which have higher costs in comparison.

Question 14

What is LEED?

Answer 14

• LEED - Life Cycle Assessment
• LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• Is is a USA equivalent of BREEAM
  Ratings are:
• LEED certified
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• This method reviews embodied aspects of carbon emissions as well as life cycle assessment during construction and operation.

Question 15

Name some sustainable building methods?

Answer 15

• Use of recycled materials such as reclaimed timber, recycled tiles and plastics
• Ground Source Heat Pumps
  _ Air Source Heat Pumps
• Solar Panels
• Wind Turbines
• solar Shading
• Rain water harvesting
• Green Roofs
• Automated Building Systems (lighting sensors)

Question 16

What is your understanding of the term Green Roofs?

Answer 16

• A green roof is a covering that is partially or completely covered with vegetation that is placed over a waterproof membrane
• Advantages of green roofs are that they absorb rainwater, provide extra insulation, increase biodiversity by providing habitats for wildlife, are aesthetically pleasing and lower urban air temperatures.