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Good Homes Alliance say 'keep sustainability simple'

Posted: 29/02/2008

A complete culture change is needed if we are to achieve sustainability in the long term according to the panellists at the Good Homes Alliance(GHA) debate at EcoBuild this week, entitled 'Low carbon homes - a reality check'.

The sustainability experts agreed that while reducing the environmental impact of our new homes is important, the zero carbon goal is unrealistic and unhelpful and the Code for Sustainable Homes contains flaws that in some cases will encourage an increase rather than a reduction in carbon emissions.

A significant change in the way the construction industry operates in terms of design, contracting and financing will be necessary to achieve even a 50% reduction in energy use of buildings. This change must be part of a wider cultural change in general understanding of environmental issues.

Neil May, Chairman of the Good Homes Alliance, a group of developers committed to building and promoting sustainable homes and communities in the UK, opened the debate. He commented: "We need to look at the wider picture of sustainbility, which is about the interaction between people and the built environment. Reducing the carbon emissions in our new housing is a good starting point but we need to be realistic and set targets that are achievable by the housebuilding industry in reality and not just on paper. This is not a tick-box exercise.

"If, as a nation, we focus on simple, sound and sustainable solutions for new buildings which are affordable and deliverable in reality, then we will be able to focus the majority of our resources on the main tasks of upgrading our existing housing stock and looking for solutions for not only sustainable homes but sustainable communities as well."

The panellists also called for the measurement of carbon emissions and other environmental impacts through post occupation monitoring to enable the industry to learn where improvements can be made.

The Good Homes Alliance also launched its own build standard: the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3++.

The new Code Level, a requirement standard for GHA members, is equivalent to Level 3 of the Code, but with two additional requirements. Firstly a fixed maximum carbon and energy target per square metre of floor space per year has been set according to building type to ensure absolute energy and carbon reductions in new dwellings, equivalent to a 70% reduction from average building stock.

Secondly post occupation monitoring of new homes will be required for at least two years to compare the design objectives with the actual performance of the properties.

Monitoring is intended to provide a permanent feedback loop and aid with fuller understanding of design, quality and customer satisfaction, in order to promote improvements. The Good Homes Alliance believes that Level 3++ could usefully be adopted across the whole industry and is lobbying the Government to bring in this legislation.

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