Achieving More Using Less in Public Sector Construction

Janice PauwelsManager Sustainable Development Unit

Department of Corporate Services

SSN Conference October 2005

Construction Industry

MAJOR sector of the national economy

8% of the UK GDP

Annual Output of £58 billion

But in environmental terms the…

Largest consumer of ALL resources of all

UK industries both directly and from its

supply chain of materials, producers,

fabricators and stockists.

Environmental Impacts

Approx 300 million tonnes of materials

extracted and quarried

72 million tonnes of construction/demolition

waste ( 17% of UK total)

40-50% of total UK emissions of CO2

Major consumer of energy ( buildings consume 49% of all energy in UK)

16% of water withdrawals

Approx 60% of all UK timber use – 25% virgin wood use – 90% of the 60% imported

20% of all commercial and industrial noise complaints

Greatest number of water pollution incidents

Construction transport accounts for 13% of total UK fuel use and uses 4% of total energy

Transport accounts for between 10-20% of total construction costsSource BRE – Construction Statistics Data Report 2002

Drivers For Change

Energy Performance of Buildings

Directive(Implementation by 2006)

New UK Strategy on Sustainable

Development (Initiated 2004)

Egan Review of Skills for

Sustainable Communities (2004)

Building (Scotland) Act (2003)

Secure and Sustainable Buildings

Bill (2004)

Revision of Building Regulations

(Proposed 2005/6)

Better Buildings – Better Lives:

Report of the Sustainable Buildings

Task Group (2004)– Code of Sustainable Building

Practices based on BREEAM

– The new code will establish higher standards for energy and water efficiency, as well as

waste and use of materials. – Complete by the end of 2005, in

order to take action on a national

rollout by early 2006.

Edinburgh Context

Council Vision

New Council Policies

Publications - Sustainable Design Guide

Edinburgh Standards for Sustainable

Buildings

Edinburgh Vision- “to lead the most successful and sustainable city region in northern Europe by 2015 and sustain the highest quality of life of any UK city”

CEC Policy Drivers

Standards for Urban Design in 2003

Policy on the Procurement of Sustainable Assets

(Jan 2004)

Policy on Sustainable Design and Construction

(Dec 2004)

Sustainable Design Guide

Sustainable Design and Construction Policy Aim

The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to leading the most

sustainable northern-European city region by 2015. The

Council aims to integrate all the policy objectives into our

design and construction activities for all facilities and buildings

including refurbishment, new build, maintenance, and

decommissioning, irrespective of size. It shall be the policy of

the Council to aim to reduce the environmental impacts from

our buildings and ensure that natural resources are used

efficiently.

CEC Sustainable Design Guide

Launched 22 March 2005

Assist in the implementation of the policy

Training being developed for Council staff and

external consultants/companies - modules to

be developed

Roll out of the policy across Council

departments

Council Contracts for Construction

Incorporation of new clause in Council contracts (May

2005) that states:

The Council will expect the consultant appointed under this

contract to fully adopt the sustainable development aspirations of

the Council described in the Council documents “Towards a

Sustainable Council” , “The Sustainable Design and Construction

Policy” and the “Sustainable Design Guide”.

Some Current Examples within Edinburgh

New HQ

Schools PPP2

New Care Homes

Refurbishment of the Council Civic Centre

Wester Hailes Canal House

CASE STUDIES

New Council Headquarters

New CEC HQ

Five floor open plan office space

Gross floor area of 17,362m2

Staff Restaurant

Fitness suite

Nearly 1,800 staff

All departments represented

Council is the tenant - 20 year lease

Agreement for Lease signed in October 2003

Halfway through construction

New CEC HQ

What was required from the developers?

“The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to sustainable development in all new city centre building projects. The Office Rationalisation Strategy provides an opportunity for the Council to demonstrate this commitment and encourage the adoption of sustainable development principles in the design of this project. The selection board will be looking for evidence of a thorough understanding of the issues with particular respect to the environmental performance of the building, transport needs, the working environment, maintenance and life cycle costs of the building”

Taken from the Client Specification

Process

Unique approach involving developers, Council officers, design

team and sustainability consultants

Establishment of a Sustainability Working Group

Agreement of a set of sustainability criteria covering issues such as

energy, waste, water

Development of a series of targets to be met if appropriate or

feasible (exemplars)

Understanding the constraints in sustainability terms

PROCUREMENT PROCESS - absolutely crucial - also VERY problemmatic

New CEC HQ Sustainability Key Performance Indicators

There are 74 Sustainability KPI’s applying to ALL the stages of the project: Design, Construction, Fit out and Operation.

These are incorporated into the Agreement for Lease

There are 14 categories of KPI’s:

Biodiversity Management

Maintenance Safety

Waste Transport

Water Materials

Pollution Health and well being

Energy and C. Change General

Social and Economic Indoor Air Quality

Energy Efficiency & Climate Change KPI’s

Examples of targets in the new HQ KPI 1.06 Total Operational Energy Consumption

KPI 1.07 Installed Lighting Energy Consumption

KPI 1.08 Embodied Energy Rating

KPI 1.24 Resilience to Climate Change

KPI 2.12 Compliance with CEC Energy Policy

Solar Panels

Entrance

Third Floor

Second Floor

First Floor

Entrance Floor

Design proposal Sample now on site

Opening Window behind

shading louvres

KPI 1.21 Waste Minimisation Plan

Plan requirements:To produce

a Waste Minimisation Plan

The plan sets in place a minimum

diversion from landfill of 25% of

construction waste that would

normally be expected for a project

of this size. Working with the

Council, the Construction Phase

Plan has now been underway for

11 months.

In practice A number of items were reused from

existing buildings including metal racking

and shelving used by a bike company,

desks and chairs reused in a new office.

Even old fire extinguishers were serviced

and reused. All hardcore from existing

buildings including old Victorian stone setts

and bricks have been re-used to make new

access roads on site, or in other land

reclamation projects

WASTE MINIMISATION : Latest figures from 19 September 2005

Paper 5.12 tonnes diverted from landfill

Cardboard 4.52 tonnes diverted from landfill

Wood 97.28 tonnes diverted from landfill

Metal 58.9 tonnes diverted from landfill

Aluminium 43 kg diverted from landfill

General Waste 354.9 tonnes diverted from landfill

Hardcore/Demolition 34,739 tonnes diverted from landfill

Plastic 125 kg diverted from landfill

Totals

106.43 tonnes to landfill

35,260 tonnes diverted from landfill

Regular Waste Uplifts

KPI 2.16 Rainwater Harvesting 11,000 litres water capacity available for street cleaning, plus a tank for storm water attenuation

Storage Tank being installed

Storage Tank installed

Materials KPI’s - some examples

•KPI 1.15 Timber - only use from certified sustainable sources - preferably FSC

•KPI 1.16 PVC - use to be minimised

•KPI 1.24 Supply Chain Management Plan

•KPI 2.21 Use of recyclable materials

In practice - this is a very difficult area in construction to address

KPI 1.15 - TIMBER•Monitored in the construction phase - mixture to date of FSC and PEFC timber

•Also applies to the fit out phase. Council contract went out in Dec 2004 for its HQ furniture stipulated that :

•“companies have to have ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification and Forest Stewardship Council accreditation certificates (or equivalent) and chain of custody certificates for all products. They had to provide documentary evidence (that has been or can be independently verified) to show that the wood/wood product has originated from sustainably managed resources.”

•TENDERS RETURNED WITHOUT THIS INFORMATION (OR EQUIVALENT ) WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED

Recycled material for pipework installed at Car Park

CASE STUDIES

Schools PPP2 ( 6) - set targets in the bidders specification e.g

carbon targets - kg/carbon (worked with BRE), held meetings with

potential bidders, worked up sustainability requirements for insertion

into contract spec

New Care Homes (4) - working with contractors - feasibility

studies for Biomass

New Civic Centre - set targets and use of workbook

THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCILSUSTAINABILITY WORKBOOK

SUSTAINABILITY TOPIC 1. MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECTCEC MinimumRequirements

To produce an overall sustainability management plan outlining howthe agreed KPI’s will be monitored throughout the project. Overallresponsibility will be with the Project Manager ( T&A?)

AGREED Key Performance Indicators

Agreed between CEC and Design Team and designed to meet (or exceed) CECminimum requirements or client specification.

KPI 1.1 Create a Sustainability Management PlanKPI 1.2 etc

Sign OffDate_______________________________________Approved by (Client) __________________________Approved by (Design Team) ____________________

SECTION 1 DESIGN PHASE

KPIKPI

Has Performance Indicator been met at design stage?

YesNo

If “yes” provide details

<date>

ISSUES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROJECT

THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL

SUSTAINABILITY WORKBOOK

PROJECTRefurbishment of CEC Midlothian Chambersand creation of new Civic Centre.

CLIENTCEC Registration Services

DESIGN TEAM (s)

CONTRACTOR

DATE WORKBOOKCOMMENCED

DATE FORPROJECTCOMPLETION

BARRIERS

Procurement processes of the contractors particularly for

major projects but also smaller ones

Lack of knowledge of designers and contractors

Being too specific in setting KPI’s at the outset

Being too general in setting KPI’s at the outset

Difficulty in specifying local suppliers and contractors

Perception of cost vs sustainability options

Capital costs of some sustainability options - e.g New Care

Homes

LESSONS LEARNED

Devil is in the detail - need to have sustainability criteria in

contracts!!

Having a policy in place and ensuring that all relevant Council

officers are aware of it -

Importance of setting KPI’s (if that is the way a LA wants to proceed)

and having a process in place to allow this to happen (or alternative) Have expertise in house or seek it externally - from consultants or

other LA’s

Sustainability can save money!