Reinforcing concrete with textiles instead of steel could be game changer for built environment

Reinforcing concrete with textiles instead of steel could be game changer for built environment

by • Architecture, Environment, News

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have now developed a method that makes it easier to scale up and facilitate the construction of more environmentally friendly built environmentBy reinforcing concrete with textiles instead of steel, it is possible to use less material and create slender, lightweight structures with a significantly lower environmental impact. The technology to utilise carbon fibre textiles already exists, but it has been challenging to produce a basis for reliable calculations for complex and vaulted structures. Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have now developed a method that makes it easier to scale up and facilitate the construction of more environmentally friendly bridges, tunnels and buildings. They say the technology has the potential to transform the built environment. More →

Fitwel Announces 2024 Best in Building Health Awards

Fitwel Announces 2024 Best in Building Health Awards

by • Environment, News, Wellbeing

Fitwel, the building health certification system, has announced the winners of the 2024 Best in Building Health Awards.Fitwel, the building health certification system, has announced the winners of the 2024 Best in Building Health Awards. The awards are designed to honour the most innovative real estate companies and individuals ‘setting the standard for health and wellbeing in the built environment across the globe, leveraging the trusted Fitwel Standard to enhance quality of life and drive value through design and operational excellence’. This year’s winners include projects from Canada, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and the United States. More →

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

Architecture must transform to meet the climate challenge, say RIBA

by • Architecture, Environment, News

The most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activismThe Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new horizon-scanning programme with a set of scans that identify the most pertinent environmental issues facing the built environment over the next ten years. Developed by leading academics, The Environmental Challenge themed horizon scans provide foresight into the most significant actions the architecture profession can take to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, adapt buildings to withstand weather extremes, promote biodiversity and scale up engagement and activism. More →

Millions of people are living with poor air quality, placing their health and lives at risk

Millions of people are living with poor air quality, placing their health and lives at risk

by • Environment, News, Wellbeing

IQAir has published its sixth Annual World Air Quality Report, which reveals troubling details of worldwide pollution in 2023IQAir has published its sixth Annual World Air Quality Report, which reveals troubling details of worldwide pollution in 2023. The report is an annual air quality analysis that tracks worldwide exposure to harmful levels of PM2.5 pollution. The report ranks 134 countries, territories, and regions across 7,748 locations using data from over 30,000 air quality monitoring stations around the globe. More →

New issue of Works magazine focuses on sustainable office design

New issue of Works magazine focuses on sustainable office design

by • Environment, Premium Content, Workplace design, Works Magazine

As you’ll see as you make your way through this new issue of Works magazine, we’ve spent even more time than usual discussing and learning about sustainable office designAs you’ll see as you make your way through this new issue of Works magazine, we’ve spent even more time than usual discussing and learning about sustainable office design – and in particular how the interiors industry is determined to keep sustainable products, business practices and processes at the forefront of our thinking. More →

Employees increasingly want to work for firms with a clear sense of purpose

Employees increasingly want to work for firms with a clear sense of purpose

by • Environment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

In the face of climate change, social justice movements, and recession, employees are seeking alternative commitments from employers. A new poll from Sparta Global claims that for job seekers in 2024, a company’s contributions to environmental sustainability, poverty alleviation, and community well-being are of growing importance. More →

UK greenhouse gas emissions fall to lowest level since 1879

UK greenhouse gas emissions fall to lowest level since 1879

by • Environment, News

The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.7 percent in 2023 to their lowest level since 1879, according to a new analysis from Carbon Brief.The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.7 percent in 2023 to their lowest level since 1879, according to a new analysis from Carbon Brief. According to the report from the researchers, the last time UK emissions were this low, Queen Victoria was on the throne, Benjamin Disraeli was prime minister, Mosley Street in Newcastle became the first road in the world with electric lighting and 59 people died in the Tay Bridge disaster in Dundee. More →

No more zero sum games … the Workplace Cocktail Hour with Joe Croft

No more zero sum games … the Workplace Cocktail Hour with Joe Croft

by • Environment, Podcasts, Premium Content, Workplace Cocktail Hour

For the second week running, the football talk takes place off mike. Joe Croft shares a coffee and a chat with Mark Eltringham. Instead of the mixed fortunes of Middlesbrough and Stoke City, they talk about everything to do with sustainability in office fitout and construction. They discuss the limit of accreditations and standards, the need to get beyond box ticking and greenwash and what best practice really looks like. They also discuss what might happen when our favoured recycled materials become scarce, and also how resource hungry the online and digital world is. More →

UK and other countries sign international pledge to cut carbon emissions from buildings

UK and other countries sign international pledge to cut carbon emissions from buildings

by • Environment, News

This declaration aims to facilitate a swift, equitable, and effective transition within the sector to lower carbon emissions from buildings.The inaugural Buildings and Climate Global Forum, organised by the French Government and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded last week.  Representatives from 70 countries adopted the Declaration de Chaillot, a foundational document for international cooperation. This declaration aims to facilitate a swift, equitable, and effective transition within the sector to lower carbon emissions from buildings. More →

People are more charitable if they think their employer is environmentally and socially conscious

People are more charitable if they think their employer is environmentally and socially conscious

by • Business, Environment, News

Employees are more likely to make donations and willingly volunteer outside of work if their employers engage in environmentally-conscious activities, finds new research from Mannheim Business School (MBS). The findings have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics. More →

UKGBC publishes new guidance on embodied carbon emissions reporting for more rigorous carbon reduction strategy

UKGBC publishes new guidance on embodied carbon emissions reporting for more rigorous carbon reduction strategy

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched new guidance on Scope 3 embodied carbon measurement and reporting, for stakeholders across the built environment. Scope 3 represents a proportion of an organisation’s indirect embodied carbon emissions that can constitute up to 80-95 percent of its total value chain footprint. Setting out a way to coherently align embodied carbon assessments, the guidance reframes Scope 3 reporting as a singular methodology rather than siloed efforts. More →

Major built environment institutes renew joint pledge to tackle global instability as cities boom 

Major built environment institutes renew joint pledge to tackle global instability as cities boom 

by • Cities, Company news, Environment

major built environment professional institutes, including architects, planners, structural engineers and landscape practitioners, have renewed their joint pledge to collaborate to tackle urgent global challengesWith almost 70 percent of the world’s population predicted to live in cities by 2050, major built environment professional institutes, including architects, planners, structural engineers and landscape practitioners, have renewed their joint pledge to collaborate to tackle urgent global challenges. Members of the UK Built Environment Advisory Group (UKBEAG), a group first launched in 2016 comprising the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and the Landscape Institute (LI), have committed to work together for at least another 5 years.  More →

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