BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

From Terry Wyatt's*, President CIBSE, opening address to the CIBSE/ASHRAE Worldwide Gathering, Edinburgh 2003

Sustainable development as a term and approach is now well into its second decade. For many it's just become part of the scenery when developing projects and organising their PR. For me, however, this summer has proved a time when the deeper meaning of sustainability in the construction industry has hit home.

This summer wasn't just about the highest ever temperatures we've had in the UK. All across Europe, extreme temperatures were experienced: food production fell 20 per cent and 15,000 died in France alone through heat exhaustion. Yet it is barely a year since floods devastated many parts of Europe. And these extreme events can be tracked across the globe.

Now I know that you can't base major policy strategies on strange weather events in a single year, or on feelings that 'things don't seem right'. I don't. You take a look at long-term trends, listen to the best advice that you can get and open your eyes and observe.

John Houghton, former Head of the UK Meteorological Office and Co-chair of the IPCC, the international group of scientists advising the world's governments on climate change, concluded this year that: "I have no hesitation in describing (climate change) as a 'weapon of mass destruction'. He went on to say that: "Like terrorism, this weapon knows no boundaries. It can strike anywhere, in any form - a heat wave in one place, a drought or a flood or a storm-surge in another. Nor is this just a problem for the future. The 1990s were probably the warmest decade in the last 1000 years - global warming is already upon us."

That's why sustainability isn't just a 'tick box' issue. Fundamentally it is about acting for our survival as a human race. Yet as far as our political leadership and the general public are concerned, we seem to be in denial, enjoying the calm before the storm to come and simply not facing up to the changes we have to make.

I fully acknowledge the vision of our prime minister in adopting a 60 per cent CO2 reduction target for the UK. The Energy White Paper was a reflection of that. And yet, knowing what is facing us, the response so far has been tentative and limited. We can and need to do a lot more, and fast.
To meet the targets of the 'White Paper' is an immense task. Sixty per cent carbon reductions by 2050 and a 20 per cent 'aspirational' renewables target by 2020 needs more than just tinkering.

These are big challenges. Where is the policy to enable them?

Unless we can influence financial and investment flows so that every £ spent is done so in a low-carbon way, we will fail. Yet, right now throughout the UK, millions of everyday decisions are taking place which affect the climate. Which car to buy? Should I specify this building to run on gas or oil, like I've always done, or do I widen this to include modern biofuels such as forest residues? How much efficiency and zero carbon energy are we going to factor into this housing development?

Far too many wrong decisions are being made for reasons of inertia, short-term economics, lack of awareness, fear of change and an attitude to make quick profits today at the expense of tomorrow.

That's the opposite of sustainability.

If government is to make its undertakings real, it must pick up the pace and take some hard decisions.

Let me be specific on just a few things that could make a difference: 

.  Make the current 'aspirational' 20 per cent renewables target legal, and give a clear signal that the renewable growth doesn't stop in 2010. Do that and watch the UK renewables capacity rise rapidly.
.  Recognise that the mantra of cheap energy is all but over. Prices are already rising. The current low electricity prices are simply unsustainable. Pressure on gas prices is relentless and don't expect the Russian gas companies to offer cheap fuel.
.  Governments have to own up about this and embrace higher prices, with support of course for the fuel poor, as the vehicle for higher efficiency and more attractive renewable economics. Or bring in carbon taxes across the economy to reflect the serious damage caused by cheap fossil fuels.
.  The PFI strategy is an area of government policy with strong Treasury support. Yet it is sadly lacking with regard to the low-carbon aspirations of its clients. I know of one case where a health trust had strong carbon reduction targets and were keen on using local wood for a large modern wood-heating system. The PFI winner had no obligations to respond to this and simply specified an oil boiler as usual. What a missed opportunity! With hundreds of schools, hospitals and other buildings coming via PFI it is essential to incentivise and regulate high efficiency and carbon standards and end a long legacy of polluting, minimum standard buildings.
.  Get a move on with the introduction of the EU Buildings Performance Directive. We are running perilously close to the introduction of this legislation in 2005, and yet internal vacillation is delaying agreements on the scope of the Directive so that building owners and users don't know what they have to do and when.

Let me conclude with a final thought.

In the calm before the storm you have time and money to do things that can help a great deal later. When the storm is about you, it is too late to lament that you didn't adopt better building standards or develop the enormous local renewable resources more quickly. It's like trying to batten down the hatches in the middle of a tornado.

Sustainability means acting now, not later. In the construction industry we accept responsibility for 50 per cent of global carbon emissions and we know what we have to do to cut that in half before we even get onto more radical design and operational solutions. No more warnings are needed. No excuses are acceptable. Let's get on with it today.

*Terry Wyatt is R&D Partner with Hoare Lea Consulting Engineers