More Imports Increases UK Carbon Footprint

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment


The growing importance of embodied carbon has been highlighted by a recent report undertaken by the committee on climate change (CCC).

This report has revealed that the UK’s carbon footprint has seen growth of at least 10% despite domestic savings, in no small part due to rising levels of imports and associated embodied carbon. It it is reported that greenhouse gas emissions produced in the UK have fallen by 19% since 1993, however, the increased consumption of imported products and services and the associated emissions of their production is estimated to be approximately 40%.

The CCC has concluded that action is ‘essential’ on imported emissions if the Government is to meet its overall carbon emissions. It is clear that businesses and government alike should be reviewing their strategy in relation to imported carbon emissions; this could be challenging supply chains, making better and more efficient use of resources, or changing customer habits. For example, in construction we challenge companies to reduce carbon emissions in the first instance from refining procurement and estimating and secondly by ensuring any unused resources can be utilised on other charity and local community projects.

Filed Under: environment, general, in the news, Mike Close Tagged With: , , , ,

The Travis Perkins Group saves North West community projects more than £20,000 in 2012

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
ReciproCity Wirral

ReciproCity Wirral

In 2012, the Travis Perkins Group worked with Recipro to save North West based community projects in excess of £22,000.  By donating end of line, no longer required stock into the Recipro Community Reuse Scheme, these materials were sold onto community and charity projects in need for a fraction of their original cost.

A number of schemes benefited from the service, including sports clubs, youth groups, colleges and community allotments.  One organisation, Helping Young People Excel (HYPE) managed to save over £1000 using Recipro.  Matthew Houghton from Hype said “HYPE would like to thank Recipro for helping our budget stretch further by providing us with top quality ma­terials at extremely low prices. HYPE targets the most deprived communi­ties across Merseyside focusing on problems and barriers affecting young people. Thanks to Recipro and Travis Perkins we were able to set up 3 new centres within the Merseyside area, which will allow us to help many more young people. We would recommend the Recipro service to any organisation – helps to save money and does some good for the environment too!”

Music station upcycled from kitchen units

 HYPE purchased a variety of materials from Recipro, but one innovative use stands out.  HYPE were able to purchase surplus kitchen units, which had been donated by the Travis Perkins Group, and ‘upcycle’ these into a music station for their youth project (photo attached).

Using Recipro to repatriate surplus building materials rather than disposing of them not only creates benefits for the local community, but also from an environmental point of view.  The Travis Perkins Group donated almost 26 tonnes of materials into the scheme.  This meant that over 26 tonnes of carbon was saved (the same energy would be used to brew 1.48 million cups of tea!).  The Travis Perkins Group have used Recipro in the North West and South Wales regions, and will be working with Recipro as it continues to expand around the country.

Travis Perkins Delivering to ReciproCity Wirral

John Leader, Group Environment Manager for the Travis Perkins Group, said, “The relationship with Recipro is a great example of how the Travis Perkins Group is putting sustainability to work in our business. There are clear environmental, social and financial benefits for all parties involved, and those align perfectly with our strategy of creating a sustainable competitive advantage for our businesses.”

Recipro accept materials from construction companies and suppliers into their localised ReciproCity Reuse Centres (there are currently three – Wirral, Cardiff and East London), from where they are sold into the community sector for a fraction of their original price.  They accept materials which can be reused for their original purpose, and can receive anything from bricks, kitchen units and timber to door handles, window frames and paint.

Filed Under: community, environment, general, in the news, industry, Our News, Press Releases Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Lack of Green Deal Installers raises FMB Concerns

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Brian Berry - Chief Executive of FMB

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), which represents SME building contractors within the UK construction industry, is concerned about the lack of Green Deal installers at present with the number of green deal assessments growing daily.

The Green Deal scheme, set up by the government, allows homeowners and businesses to pay for energy efficient home improvements. The improvements are made to help save money on energy bills, with the ‘golden rule’ stating that the savings must be greater than the cost of the improvements for a home or business to be eligible.

According the latest statistics from the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), there has been approximately 19,000 Green Deal assessments carried out since it began in January to the end of April 2013. However even with that number growing all the time there are still just 942 Green Deal installer companies approved to carry out this work, which clearly wont suffice.

Chief Executive Brian Berry said: “There are more than 240,000 companies in the construction industry that employ fewer than 14 people. These companies are often best placed to carry out Green Deal work, but because it is difficult to access the market, they are reluctant to train the number of approved installers needed to retrofit Britain’s building stock. To help address this, the FMB has launched its ‘Strategy for the Low Carbon Building and Refurbishment Market’ to encourage its members to participate in this rapidly growing market.”

Mr Berry continued: “The Green Deal has now been open for business for almost four months and demand for work under the initiative appears to be growing, but it still feels like a missed opportunity to the majority of SMEs in the industry who haven’t seen any sign of transformation in the energy-efficiency market.”

“As part of our strategy, the FMB will not only continue to call for the incentives needed to create consumer demand for energy-efficiency work, but will also ensure that FMB members have timely access to relevant high-quality training and certification services to enable them to develop their businesses to be able to respond to low-carbon work opportunities.”

Recipro sourced this article from Construction Line.

Filed Under: environment, general, in the news, industry Tagged With: , , , ,

Are you Compliant with the Building Regulations Part L?

May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The construction industry training board (CITB) is urging SME contractors to ensure they are up to date regarding changes to Building Regulations Part L requirements.

Since the 6 April the 2013 revision to part L has been in operation, with more emphasis being put on whole life costing, air tightness and thermal bridging. The government’s response later this month is expected to lead to further tweaks to the regulations.

The Business Development Manager for CITB, Tony Howard said: “The changes to Building Regulations Part L are an important development for construction SMEs. They need to understand what is required to meet the new regulations for air tightness, new insulation materials and changing technologies, and have the skills to deliver to required standards. Those who are not fully aware of the changes risk non-compliance.”

There are set to be further consultations on Part L in October as well as the Government’s May response, with more changes anticipated. All of these changes are thought to show the increasing importance being put on energy efficiency and low carbon construction techniques.

Recipro sourced this article from Construction Line, for more information on the legislative changes visit – www.cutcarbon.info

Filed Under: environment, industry, legislation Tagged With: , ,

Top 20 Tips to Make Construction Inudustry more Sustainable

April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Green Construction Board is a government and industry partnership that actively promotes the business case for sustainable construction. They’re committed to ensuring that the UK construction industry secures sustained growth in the ever-expanding market for green goods and services.

They have came up with 20 top tips for helping to make the Construction industry more sustainable, it’s a great resource for the industry with guidance to help you on;

  • Waste
  • Water
  • Carbon
  • Building Materials
  • Biodiversity

If you would like to see the top tips for green construction simply click the link below:
http://www.greenconstructionboard.org/index.php/resources/top-tips

Recipro supports any initiative that tries to make the construction industry more sustainable and resource efficient. There’s so much great advice on how to help make your projects more environmentally and economically sound, so be sure to give it a read!

Don’t forget that any surplus building materials you have leftover from a project can be added to Recipro for free and could go towards helping out a local community projects!

Filed Under: environment, general, industry, Paul Jones, resources Tagged With: , , , , ,

Welsh Government Proposed Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) Regulations

February 14, 2013 By 2 Comments

Many thanks to our colleagues at RSK Group for sharing this briefing document regarding the proposed SWMPs in Wales. The implementation of SWMPs will affect the Welsh construction industry and how they deal with and manage construction waste.

Introduction

The Welsh Government has proposed (and is currently consulting on) the introduction of Site Waste Management Plans to address the fact that:

  • Over a third of waste to landfill in Wales is composed of construction and demolition waste;
  • Construction and demolition waste is the second most commonly fly-tipped waste; and
  • Construction and demolition waste makes up the largest number of illegal waste sites known in Wales.

The proposed regulations take their base from the English SWMP Regulations issued in 2008 (which are currently subject to potential revocation in October 2013 as part of the Government’s Red Tape Challenge), however there are a number of additional duties placed on Principal Contractors, and further monitoring requirements to be considered such as aggregating volumes and recording the types of waste generated on the project every quarter. The proposed Regulations are suggested to be in force in 2014.

SWMPs will also be required to be submitted to the Regulator prior to starting works on site, and a completed version to be provided within 3 months of practical completion.

Offences mirror those within the current English SWMP Regulations, with fines of up to £50,000. Interestingly the Welsh government have proposed a further clarification on matters relating to offences by the ‘body corporate’ and identify any director, manager, secretary or other similar person of the body corporate of companies (if found guilty of an offence through connivance, consent or neglect) as jointly punishable. Further fines may also be attracted through a coordinated link to the Civil Sanctions Order which introduced a concept of variable monetary penalties back in 2010.

When a SWMP will be required

A SWMP is likely to be required where a project falls within the following (to be read in line with the table below on project scores):

  • The Building Regulations regime; or
  • The Planning system.

Type of SWMPs Required

The local authority is the nominated enforcement authority for the regulations, and will require an ‘initial’ SWMP to be submitted, together with the fee, prior to the project work commencing. Following this a ‘main’ type of SWMP will have to be drafted for the project.

There are three proposed ‘main’ types of SWMPs:

  • Simple;
  • Standard; and
  • Extended

The type of SWMP will depend on the nature of the project and the relevant score in the SWMP Matrix (see Table). Extended SWMPs apply only in very specific circumstances. As with the English Regulations, the Welsh Government has specified the details which must be included in each type of SWMP.

Table: Details of the metrics to be used to score a project and determine the type of SWMP required.

Metric Score 1 Score 2 Score 3 Score 4
Anticipated duration of the construction phase < 3 months > 3 – < 12 months > 12 months N/A
Expected volume of waste < 20 m3 > 20 – < 100 m3 > 100 -< 500 m3 > 500 m3
Area of the construction site < 100 m2 >100 m2 - < 500 m2 > 500m2 N/A
Cost of the project < £200,000 > £200,000 –

< £1,000,000

 > £1,000,000 N/A

The Client and Principal Contractor are required to self-score their project, using the SWMP Matrix shown. The scoring should take place prior to the Initial SWMP being submitted to the local authority. For projects that score either 4 or 5, then a Simple SWMP format can be used. For any project scoring a 6 or above, a Standard SWMP format should be used.

SWMP Fee & Charges

The Welsh Government has indicated that payment of a fee would be required alongside the SWMP to cover the local authority’s costs in checking SWMPs and monitoring compliance under the Regulations. The fees are yet to be determined but they shall be set so as to meet the costs of the SWMP scheme. The intention is, so far as is practicable, for the fee to be proportionate to the scale of the project and the level of work it may entail for the local authority. The project’s score on the Matrix would also determine the fee.

Alongside the fees for the SWMPs the enforcement authority shall be able to levy charges for any advice and assistance given by it in relation to the presentation or updating of a SWMP; and entry to a premises.

How can RSK help?

RSK has a long and successful history of working with the construction sector on a range of environmental, health and safety (EHS) issues including waste management. Our waste experts and compliance teams across the UK can support you and your organisation in:

• Development and implementation of waste minimisation strategies, SWMPs and monitoring;

• Legal compliance and management system auditing of sites and contractors;

• Development and implementation of Materials management Plans (MMPs) as per the CL:AIRE Code of Practice;

• Assistance with environmental permit (standard and bespoke) and Schedule 3 exemptions applications; and

• Training and awareness programmes for site and management teams.

For further information, visit us at www.rsk.co.uk or contact:

Warren Percival: wpercival@rsk.co.uk (Tel: +44 (0)1928 726006 / Mob: +44(0)7793365862)

Filed Under: Business Help, environment, in the news, industry, legislation, RSK Legal Update Tagged With: , , ,

Cheap Building Materials available to Third Sector and Community Projects

February 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Since the opening of our ReciproCity Wirral we’ve been able to divert well over 100 tonnes of building materials from waste streams and instead selling them with huge discounts to third sector and community projects.

We get so much variety of building supplies from our different contractors and builder merchants we work with that we just want to promote some of the newest materials we have available!

*Remember to source materials from ReciproCity, you have to be a registered charity or community project on the Recipro website – which is absolutely free to do!

If you’d like to visit our ReciproCity Wirral, you can either pop down on our open day – every Thursday 8.00am – 4.30pm or to arrange to meet any other day call 0844 225 3000 or email Lawrence@recipro-uk.com.

If you’re interested in viewing a copy of the ReciproCity Wirral catalogue please email communities@recipro-uk.com.

Filed Under: community, environment, general, Our News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Construction SMEs Not Signing up to The Green Deal

January 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The UK construction industry may not get any great benefit from the green deal unless the Government do more to encourage SMEs to be involved according to the Federation of Master Builders.

The Green deal is a Government scheme with the aim of improving the energy efficiency of UK homes with funding for insulation, boiler improvements and other energy-saving upgrades.

A survey of FMB members showed that only 27% of SMEs had any intention of being involved in the green deal. Many expressed their annoyance at the overly complicated procedure to register.

FMB Chief Executive Brian Berry thinks more needs to be done to educate home owners and help SMEs to get involved in the Green Deal, Mr. Berry said “Trusted local trades are ready and willing to help homeowners fit energy-saving measures such as double-glazing and insulation. However, many have expressed frustration that it is not easy for smaller firms to get involved in Green Deal work, and that there hasn’t been a marketing campaign to explain to householders what the Green Deal is all about.”

Mr Berry went on to say “People want to use their local builder to have energy-efficient improvement work carried out, because they know them and have used them before. But the scheme has been designed so large numbers of small firms are excluded because of the significant costs involved in offering Green Deal finance directly to homeowners. Instead local firms will have to find a large finance provider to work with, rather than getting started on work which would boost the economy and help home-owners save money on their fuel bills.”

Recipro sourced this article from

 

Filed Under: environment, general, in the news, industry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Upcycling and Recycling Ideas for Building Materials

January 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This blog article has come about from my recently found obsession with Pinterest.  For any one who hasn’t yet ‘pinned’, Pinterest is a fabulous new social tool, which allows members to pin, store and share images, links and ideas on different boards.  These can be anything (for example, my personal boards vary from recipes to infographics to craft projects marketing tips to clothes I want but could never afford).  It has also proven a fantastic source of inspiration and ideas for Recipro.  I’ve found a lot of really interesting upcycling and reuse ideas, for surplus and used building materials, household items and other random products.

As you know, Recipro love to see building materials being reused wherever possible rather than being disposed of, and we love hearing about all of the wonderful ideas and uses our members find for building materials.  We have a dedicated board for upcycling and reuse ideas, which can be found here.  If you’d like to contribute to the board, then just follow us and request to be allowed to pin (email me at rebecca@recipro-uk.com if you need to).  We’ve also got boards on our news, items on the website, green news, construction news and  some rather random stuff!

Here are some of my personal favourites:


View these, our other upcycling ideas and all of our boards at www.pinterest.com/recipro 

Filed Under: Beckie Owens, environment, funnies, recycling, resources Tagged With: , , , ,

UK SMEs Becoming Sustainable to Attract New Business

January 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

According to new research the main reason for UK SMEs introducing new sustainable practices within their company is the new work and opportunities it brings.

The research was carried out by Lloyds TSB commercial. The research discovered that 70% of SMEs are starting to incorporate some form of sustainability practices to secure new business, while a further 54% are becoming sustainable in order to lower their operating costs. The research also showed that 52% are using sustainability practices in order to increase team morale with a further  22% using it to fulfil personal interests in preserving the environment.

The research also showed that corporate responsibility is a huge driver towards sustainability practices, with 60% citing corporate responsibility as one of the main reasons and 48% admitting that they could do more.

The big problem is that, even though many companies are starting to incorporate or look at sustainable practices, a staggering 42% of companies surveyed had little or no understanding of sustainability. When asked who was responsible for sustainability within their company, the highest proportion (35%) believed that everyone in the business should be involved to some extent.

Karen Cook, Senior Manager for Sustainable Development at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “This new research highlights that many firms throughout the UK are already adopting a sustainable approach and enjoying the benefits that this provides, such as the chance to secure cost savings and new business opportunities. However there is clearly more work to be done to both educate small businesses on what sustainability is and how it can benefit them, and also to provide them with guidance and support in taking a more sustainable approach,” she added.

Recipro has developed its service with the aim to help contractors and construction workers within the UK construction industry to become sustainable, save themselves money and improve their corporate image.

If you would like to receive some information regarding our services please email info@recipro-uk.com.

 

Filed Under: environment, general, industry, Paul Jones Tagged With: , , ,
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