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BSRIA launches 'Low Carbon Engineering' at Ecobuild

January 2009

Andrew Eastwell, Chief Executive This year BSRIA is pleased to be supporting Ecobuild being held at Earls Court, London on 3-5 March 2009.  As well as supplying speakers to the conference and seminars, we will be exhibiting on two stands using the Low Carbon Engineering flag to bind all our services into one easy to understand theme. This short article seeks to explain why we need to think in terms of Low Carbon Engineering terms and what BSRIA is doing to support its members and clients.

It is very understandable that whilst our industry presently struggles with the economic crocodiles of uncertain forward order books, restricted bank lending for both property purchase and business support and the roller coaster rides of currency movements affecting product prices, that the good intents of draining the carbon swamp takes second place to survival.

Some commentators are suggesting that the target dates for zero carbon building performance of 2016 and 2019 are rapidly becoming more guidelines than targets and this may well be true. However, what is not in doubt is that over the next decade or so, the UK and the rest of the world will be moving into a new low carbon era both as a climate change response and as a hedge against loss of supply. The new USA president has already signaled a new recognition of facts relating to carbon emissions and is implementing enabling measures to embrace the Californian approach. In the UK, all three major parties continue to identify themselves with a low carbon economy. Indeed, like the USA they see investment in this area as one means of defeating the present recession.

This is all the stuff of the newspapers, endless political interviews and Westminster Village gossip but what do we really mean by Low Carbon Engineering?

At BSRIA we recognised some years ago that there is a very strong linkage between understanding how buildings work in practice - the facilities management role - and the input that a designer has to an innovative building. We brought together two of our operational groups under the one "Design & FM Innovation" banner in order to shorten our own loop between learned site experience and theoretical design.

Low Carbon Engineering goes further than this. It brings together all of the very varied services that BSRIA supplies to different market segments and ensures that the knowledge embedded in the people who carry them out is made available to industry. The list is long and covers every section of the business for example:

• publications and training
• product testing
• airtightness testing and consultancy
• market intelligence on renewable products
• site monitoring
• soft landings and post occupancy evaluation
• maintenance strategy
• specialist instrument hire, sales and calibration
• building certification services (such as BREEAM)

Each of these has a contribution to make to move us forward to the target of a zero carbon built environment but it is by integrating our knowledge that we can provide a joined-up service.

The pace of innovation in the construction industry has increased markedly in the past few years with many more clients demanding improved environmental performance, some simply to comply with legislation and some from higher corporate expectations. These expectations are being met by improving the holistic and integrated approach to building design and construction, prompted by tools such as SBEM and SAP, but inevitably not every team has all the new skills that might be needed. By making our services more visible and easier to understand we are aiming to offer a cost effective way of filling the gaps.

Please come to the Ecobuild conference and seminars and see what is happening in the low carbon marketplace. Whilst a lot of the discussion will be aspirational it is almost certain that you will get new insight to the future direction that will follow in the time when we return to a more stable economic situation. BSRIA is represented on two stands - 1940 and 2598 and we would be pleased to see you.

About Ecobuild

Ecobuild is the biggest event in the world dedicated to sustainable design, construction and the built environment.

Delegates will be entitled to attend any number of more than 100 seminars free of charge, covering many of the key issues:

• Making Micro Renewables Work 
• Water Wise 
• Regulations Revealed 
• Road to Zero Carbon 
• Refurbishing Britain 
• Urban Planning & Public Realm 
• Performance Matters 
• Innovation and Efficiency

Registration also gives access to over 800 suppliers in the Ecobuild exhibition - the biggest showcase of sustainable construction products in the world - and all the attractions and conference sessions, including the inaugural UK Green Building Council conference which takes place at Ecobuild. Click here for more information and to register.