Is a concentration on carbon is the most effective way of reducing the carbon emissions from our new and existing buildings? The recent report of the Construction Industry’s Innovation & Growth Team says it brings simplicity and rigour. Is this so, or do we risk ‘green bling’ and other unintended consequences?
Example: Politicians’ home wind turbines and biomass boilers used as a ‘get out of jail free card’ for buildings that are not energy efficient but which could have been.
The debate was chaired by Paul Morrell, Government Chief Construction Advisor.
To speak we had:
Guy Battle, Engineer, Founder of DC8 (De-Carbonate) and Partner at Deloittes
Bill Bordass, Scientist and leading proponent and advocate of building performance assessment at the Usable Buildings Trust
Sunand Prasad, Architect, Founding Partner of Penoyre & Prasad and RIBA Past President
Stephen Hill, Development Surveyor, Director C2O futureplanners, author of RICS Manifesto on Sustainable Infrastructures and Land Use Systems
Bridget Rosewell, Economist, Chairman of Volterra and former advisor to the Treasury’s Select Committee on Monetary Policy
Debate held: 10 June 2010
Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George St, London SW1