Industry News

A new study shows that around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity. “Even without major policy shift we will continue to see coal retire pretty rapidly,” said Mike O’Boyle, the co-author of the report for Energy Innovation, a renewables analysis firm. “Our analysis shows that […]

Houses and buildings need to keep up with today’s demands. Most of our homes were built in the 1980s, using outdated methods. This causes a number of issues today, such as energy inefficiency. How can we solve these and make our buildings fit for the future? The UK Government is investing in the development of […]

To slow the effects of climate change, it is essential that the potential impact of infrastructure schemes is considered right from the start. Failure to address carbon emissions at the earliest project design stages can significantly hamper efforts to reduce their environmental impact, as the choices available to the delivery team diminish as the project […]

Cutting energy use in buildings, ramping up renewable electricity and developing large-scale storage with hydrogen are key tracks to bring energy emissions down to zero by 2050, according to a new study. Buildings renovation, for instance, can bring up to €23 billion worth of savings on energy bills for households. “The debate is no longer […]

Extractive industries are responsible for half of the world’s carbon emissions and more than 80% of biodiversity loss, according to the most comprehensive environmental tally undertaken of mining and farming. A study by UN Environment warns the increasing material weight of the world’s economies is putting a more dangerous level of stress on the climate […]

Since the 2007 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, some progress has been made in the past 12 years. New buildings have become more energy-efficient and pioneering architects are exploring radical new ways of using materials. Yet the focus on eco-design we saw over a decade ago has dissipated. While the UK government […]

The ABB factory in Johannesburg, South Africa, is powered by an innovative ‘microgrid’ solution, which ensures a continuous local power supply as well as a reduced reliance on fossil fuels. It provides resilient power to ensure a reliable, 24/7 supply of electricity to the 96,000 square meter Longmeadow facility, which is home to around 1,000 […]

Sustainability is becoming increasingly embedded within the construction sector, but the truth remains that there is still a huge amount of work to do to place the industry on a resource efficient, low-carbon pathway, says a new sector report. The report investigates what must happen next to accelerate this transition and looks at the five […]

The construction firm Multiplex Europe which has an ambition to reduce direct emissions by 30% by 2030 has found positive benefits from implementing carbon targets across its supply chain. Indeed target setting can strengthen relations with the supply chain, asserts the firm’s sustainability manager Pavan Juttla. Setting targets that have the potential to spark large-scale […]

In 2017, the European Commission introduced Level(s) – a new framework of indicators to report on the sustainability performance of buildings. The new reporting system is currently being tested in 136 building projects across 21 countries and the EU has published a progress report. Of the projects testing Level(s), 74 are residential and 62 are […]

A new approach to the funding and public procurement of renovation work for council housing renovation is being trialled under the EU-funded Remourban programme. The model uses an innovative, whole-life approach to finance; the cost of the works is designed to be equal to the expected savings in maintenance and energy over a 30-year period. […]

Some 160,000 m2 of solar roofing is being installed on two logistic centres in in Győr/Hungary by Audi together with Eon Audi. The roofs will comprise 35,000 solar modules and will have an output of Annual output of more than 9.5 gigawatt hours. The goal of the 12 MW PV rooftop installation is to make […]