Blockchain technology to help Liverpool become world’s first climate-positive city
Liverpool City Council is joining forces with a blockchain platform to offset more than 110% of its carbon emissions in a bid to become the world’s climate positive city by the end of 2020. The council is set to conduct a year-long trial with the Poseidon Foundation to use a blockchain platform to offset the […]
UK to publish an Environment Bill
Measures to tackle air quality will be included in a new ‘ambitious’ Environmental Bill to be launched by the UK Government, Theresa May has announced. ‘Clean air will be part of that Environment Bill,” the Prime Minister said. ‘There hasn’t been an Environment Act since 1995, and so we want to bring forward an Environment […]
Majority of UK consumers prefer products made using renewable energy
Most UK consumers prefer to buy products from companies powered by renewable energy over their competitors who don’t, according to a new survey. The research, by offshore wind specialists Ørsted, showed 86% of respondents believed it was worth purchasing goods made using 100% renewable energy with 73% indicating they would choose products from firms powered […]
Brexit White Paper: Everything you need to know about the UK’s environmental aspirations
It’s understandable if large numbers of the UK population have switched off from the whole Brexit debate and the ‘will we, won’t we’ keep any ties at all to our European counterparts after March next year. A few ears seem to prick up when news of another resignation leaks out or former Cabinet members take […]
England’s World Cup success eclipses major built environment announcements
While recent national headlines have, rightly, been dominated by the unexpected (but very welcome) England World Cup journey, a couple of major announcements have gone somewhat under the radar when it comes to energy efficiency in the built environment. First came the news that the Government was launching a £420 million construction sector deal aimed […]
Air pollution – tackling the problem together
Here at Syntegra we’re honest enough to admit we don’t have all the answers to tackling climate change and air pollution and we’re always open to learning from others. As such, like others we often roam around the Internet reading up on our subject and connect with others in our field. And we are always […]
How sustainable is this World Cup?
Now that we can all breathe again following Monday night’s World Cup wobble for England, we thought we’d share with you a great thought-inspiring read from our friends over at Edie.net who have pulled together this excellent look at the sustainability of this great festival of football. With the eyes of the world on Russia […]
Clean Air Day: Let’s all play our part to reduce pollution
The longest day of the year is just around the corner – which means even more time to fill it with activities to celebrate #cleanairday We’re delighted to be promoting the initiative on June 21st to help raise awareness of air pollution which kills tens of thousands of people across the UK every year. And […]
UK Government’s £102m fund for clean energy research
(From Edie.net) The UK Government has launched a £102.5m investment programme in a bid to tackle the challenges the UK faces as the renewables revolution continues, suggesting that the nation’s energy sector could soon be poised to take clean power sources mainstream. Areas of opportunity that could be addressed through the fund, include energy storage, heat […]
Time to take a leaf out of plastic campaigners’ books and fight to change what’s wrong with our built environment
Let’s face it, the rise in prevalence and influence of social media environmental campaigns means there are more bandwagons to jump on than you can shake a stick it. Many are here today, gone tomorrow flashes in the pan, but one which has really taken off, grown legs and is off and running is the […]
Building Project: Colosseum Suite, Nirvana Spa
Project Info Client: Nirvana Spa, Wokingham Completion Year: 2017 Location: Wokingham, Berkshire When people visit a spa, they go there to relax and unwind, admiring the illusion of being far away from the daily grind in n oasis of calm. Much of this illusion, we know, is created by use of light and systems being […]
UK taken to Europe’s highest court over air pollution
The UK is one of six countries being taken to Europe’s highest court for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has the power to impose multimillion euro fines if the problem is not addressed promptly by the UK, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Romania, all of whom […]
London set to be greenest city in the world
The Mayor of London has unveiled his plans to transform the capital into the ‘greenest’ city in the world by 2050. His ambitious scheme includes targets to improve air quality, increase the use of renewables and halve food waste with the overall aim of becoming carbon neutral. The London Environment Strategy (LES), published after extensive research […]
The rise of proptech – why we should embrace it
For those in the know, Proptech is just another jargon expression dropped into everyday business conversations discussing developments in the property sector. For those arriving late to this particular party, we’re simply talking about property technology – how digitalisation that rules much of our daily lives is finally building on its foundations in all things […]
What policies will power post-Brexit Britain?
They say the only certainty in life is change – and within the myriad of discussions around Brexit and what might or might not happen, never a truer word has been spoken. We don’t know what post-Brexit Britain will look and feel like, but we do know it will be different. And that’s certainly the […]
MEES: Act now before you lose out, landlords are told
With the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards now in force, commercial property landlords are being urged to make improvements to their portfolios before their EPC certificates are due for renewal. From April 1st, any business properties receiving an F or G rating can no longer be leased when a tenancy agreement expires or a new […]
ESOS reminder issued
Organisations have been urged to plan ahead and measure their energy use to comply with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). Under ESOS, eligible organisations have to complete their compliance with Phase 2 by December 2019. Total energy use has to be measured over a 12 month period to include the qualification date of December […]
MEES: a wake-up call to commercial landlords
It’s not often that we use these channels to nag our audience, clients or not, and we hate saying: ‘Told you so,’ when things go wrong. So we took no pleasure reading recent reports that almost 20% of commercial buildings have fallen into a lower EPC rating than when previously assessed. From April 1st, all […]
Government unveils fund to tackle air pollution
Local authorities in some of the most polluted parts of the UK will be able to access a multi-million pound fund to boost air quality levels in their area. The government has unveiled a £220m fund to improve air quality plus a £40m support scheme for local authorities to combat air pollution, part of a […]
Wildlife Enhancements in London’s Urban Jungles
By Trish Holden, Ecology Consultant I often get clients and agents questioning the need for ecological enhancements when sites are based in built up urban areas – it’s a common misconception that these urban sprawled ‘concrete jungles’ surely must be dead zones with no value for wildlife. After having many of these questions poised to […]
Why Trump turning his back on Paris proved to be a PR coup for environmental campaigners
When US President Donald Trump signalled his intention to pull his country out of the Paris Agreement on climate change last year, there was international outcry and widespread fear that the deal would fall off the rails and climate change be pushed to the global back burner in terms of importance and effort. How wrong […]
Building Project: OSL Enerj8
Project Info Client: OSL Enerj8 Completion Year: 2017 Acoustic Plant & Noise Impact Assessment Location: Winsford, Cheshire Our acousticians conducted a site assessment for a company specialising in the treatment and disposal of waste to energy which required a permit to operate from the Environment Agency. OSL Enerj8 needed the formal permission for their Thermal […]
Health & Wellbeing benefits of natural lighting design
With the UK’s annual sunshine in short supply, it is common for us to judge the merit of a home or office by the amount of natural light the building receives – and a room with a view is much sought after. But in design and efficiency terms, there are actual scientific facts and standards […]
Launch of Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan
On 11 January, the Prime Minister launched the Government’s long-awaited 25 year plan to improve the environment, setting out ambitious targets for improving air quality, reducing waste, enhancing nature and mitigating and adapting to climate change. The Plan proposes an ‘environmental net gain’ principle for new development, which includes high environmental standards for all new builds, […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.