APPENDIX 3
Memorandum from BRE
BRE is the UK's leading centre for research
and consultancy on:
— construction quality, process and
productivity;
— environmental impact of construction,
sustainability and whole-life performance;
— energy efficiency of buildings;
— renewable energy in buildings;
— aircraft cabin environments;
— building performance—structures,
materials and systems;
— prevention and control of fire; and
Since the Government's response to the Environmental
Audit Committee's (EAC) Report on Buying Time for Forests:
Timber Trade and Public Procurement in July 2003 the Central
Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) has entered into its Phase
II.
Sustainability is a broad and complex issue
for procurers to understand and the work of DEFRA's Central Point
of Expertise on Timber (CPET) is visibly delivering on the Government's
commitment to sustainable timber procurement. Lack of leadership
is often identified as one of the main barriers to achieving sustainable
public procurement; however, CPET's notable progress with restricted
resources is an example where leadership contributes to streamline
timber procurement in the form of a centralised advice service
that should now reach all public sector professionals involved
in procurement. This consistency is gradually demonstrating the
capacity of the government to change the nature of timber markets
as many suppliers are switching to certified timber sources.
The industry already receives many messages
from Government on priorities for sustainable construction. There
is a need for consistency across all government departments and
initiatives, such as sustainable house building that is linked
to sustainable timber procurement. The audiences for sustainable
construction, environmental issues in procurement and other associated
topics need clear messages from different Government backed campaigns
if the campaigns are to have the desired effect. Joined up thinking
could help to achieve powerful synergies rather than confusion
amongst target audiences.
Within Government there is a fragmented approach
to funding sustainable construction projects since responsibility
has been transferred from the old DETR to various departments
(DTI, construction; ODPM, housing; and DEFRA, sustainability).
Despite various useful initiatives focusing on improving the quality
of construction, often conflicting with or contradicting each
other therefore causing confusion, there are very few dwellings,
particularly in the private sector, being built environmental
standards above the statutory minimum standards required under
Buildings Regulations and there is significant evidence that many
fail to achieve even these.
There is a requirement on all Government departments
to use BREEAM or a similar assessment scheme for new construction
and refurbishment projects. This is the most commonly used standard
dealing with environmental performance in construction has been
developed by the Buildings Research Establishment (BRE). BRE introduced
the EcoHomes standard, the domestic version of the BREEAM, in
2000 as an independent and voluntary measure of the environmental
impacts of housing developments. This assessment looks at energy,
transport, pollution, materials, water, land use and ecology,
health and well being. Weighted scores are given and a rating
of Pass, Good, Very Good or Excellent awarded.
The Housing Corporation for example, requires
all of its developments, currently around 13,000 homes a year,
to achieve an Eco Homes "Good" standard, and will shortly
be changing that to "Very Good", something that English
Partnerships already requires it in all its housing developments.
The EcoHomes standard is widely accepted across the industry and
the Code for Sustainable Buildings proposed by the Sustainable
Buildings Task Force was recommended to be based on this standard.
Defra faces a challenging agenda across a broad
front with competing demands for limited resources. A concrete
long term commitment from the Government to continue CPET's work,
and possibly extend its scope, for example to provide advice to
the supply chain including private sector timber users, is the
only way to ensure continuity and maintain momentum.
Furthermore, CPET's advice should not only reach
all relevant parties, but an effective monitoring system should
be put in place to ensure continuous improvement across the entire
supply chain as well as for individual certification schemes.
Stringent monitoring and reporting requirements should be set
across relevant central government bodies, not only for sustainable
timber, but also for other materials in order to avoid discouraging
some buyers from specifying timber.
Sustainable forest management certification
was initiated on the back of concerns for tropical forests but
the main areas currently under certification schemes are in temperate
regions, and temperate forests are increasingly coming under threat.
Construction in the UK is the chief end-use of timber and most
timber used in construction projects is from temperate regions.
The effectiveness of certification scheme standards on the ground
(in the field conditions) needs to be closely monitored to sustain
their role and credibility to guarantee sustainable forest management
practices.
When choosing products or services, it is necessary
to look at the impacts that products and services bring with them,
the impacts arising while the product is in use and the impacts
when the product is taken out of use (disposal or recycling).
If only one part of the life cycle is examined, it would be possible
to choose a product that causes considerable environmental impacts
in other parts of its whole life. Life cycle thinking avoids shifting
problems from one life cycle stage to another, from one place
to another, and from one part of the environment to another. It
therefore demonstrates that not only the type of product used
is important, but also how it is produced (with clear links to
environmental management systems) and even more importantly how
it is used (and treated when its first life is over).
Ensuring that legal and sustainable timber and
wood product is used in developments is an important part of a
sustainability solution. However, it is important to ensure that
products with comparatively high environmental performance (ie
with low environmental impacts overall) are being consistently
used in construction. A great reduction of the environmental impacts
from construction products will be achieved through synergy with
other sources of environmental sustainability information, such
as Life Cycle Assessment.
September 2005
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