Where is climate change on your agenda?

The Climate Change Commission for Wales (CCCW) and the Wales Low/Zero Carbon Hub (WLZCH) are arguing strongly that Climate Change must be high on the political agenda. In the Climate Change and Built Environment Position Paper CCCW and WLZCH sets out recommendations and priority actions following an assessment of the trends and progress made up until now.

Sustainability is now a crucial element of Welsh Government policy and since the Government assumed full policy control for the built environment in 2012, it can now turn it's aspirations into solid results whilst reinforcing it's position at the forefront of the UK in tackling climate change. The former Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, John Griffiths stated in March 2012 that it was critical to identify and remove obstacles in delivering the climate change agenda in Wales. However, a clear and sustainable series of actions and interventions must be set in place and reported on if the Welsh Governments targets of 3% annual reduction are to be realised. That is exactly what the CCCW and WLZCH Built Environment Position Paper sets out.

Wales faces significant challenges to achieve it's targets on low carbon and sustainability. Current data provides a clear picture with buildings directly contributing around 30% of total emissions with the greatest down turn in emissions from both the residential and business sectors. There are around 700,000 non-traditional or ‘hard to treat’ properties in Wales that pose the biggest challenge. However, the process required to make Welsh homes energy efficient will benefit the country and industry as it can build Wales out of recession and be good for the environment.

The recommendations and actions put forward by the CCCW and the WLZCH in it's Climate Change and Built Environment Position Paper prioritise and advance the work of the CCCW and Welsh Government and also advise stakeholders and the public on climate change and the built environment.

Download: Built Environment Position Paper - English
Download: Built Environment Position Paper - Welsh

Check out the WLZCH and the CCCW.

Download the CCCW Annual Report.

To find out more email Emma Thomas or call 02920 493322.

Follow our twitter page @wlzch or email WLZCH for updates on current news.

Our Exemplar Programme continues to go from strength to strength. In it's first year we had 15 projects signed up for the programme and as we move through the second year that figure has risen to 20. We’ve already produced 10 case studies and held 8 events to describe the best practices that are being identified across the programme.

So what’s it all about? The programme was launched in 2011 by Jane Davidson, the Minister for Sustainability and Housing at that time. The aim of the programme was to capture the key actions which project teams take at key stages of a project which lead to successful and sustainable outcomes. These are not iconic projects. Quite the opposite in fact! These are mainstream projects exhibiting good practices which others can learn from. What is important is that they are rounded and balanced projects which deliver sustainable outcomes – social wellbeing, good economic performance and environmental benefits. We monitor these projects and develop case studies at 3 key stages – design stage to describe what actions the team take, construction stage to highlight what was achieved and post-occupation stage to demonstrate whether or not the project actually delivered it's intended outcomes. These studies when combined with specific events and presentations offer valuable lessons for others to learn from and improve their own practices.

In March, the Gateway to the Valleys (G2V) team hosted a breakfast event at Bryngarw House, Tondu, to describe the actions they took to deliver successful social, economic and environmental outcomes at Ysgol Gymunedol y Dderwen near Bridgend. If you want to know what they set out to do then view our design stage Exemplar case study. We will follow this up in late summer with a construction stage case study once the project has been completed.

In mid-April the team at Newport High School hosted a post-occupation event at the school to show, 24 months after occupation, how the building is performing and how the end users, the pupils, teachers and local community, are responding to the new facility. This is an important part of the Exemplar process as it “closes the loop” and proves whether or not the actions taken at the start of the project actually delivered positive and sustainable outcomes. Check out the Newport High post-occupation case study.

We also have two more events programmed for June to explain why the refurbishment and re-modelling of Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall and the construction of a new highway section of the A477 between St Clears and Red Roses in West Wales are part of the Exemplar Programme. The project at Merthyr is an exceptional example of how a historic listed building, of which there are many in Wales, can be sensitively regenerated with a reduced carbon footprint and social benefits for the local community as well as delivering collaboratively to time and budget. The event will be held on June 17th and the design stage Exemplar case study will give you an early taster. The Welsh Government’s project at Red Roses will be showcased on June 12th. Construction of this major civil engineering project is still underway but attending the event will give you an insight into how early contractor involvement has enabled a proactive approach to risk management, significant community engagement and a commitment to high environmental standards.

The benefits of continuous improvement through lessons learnt from live projects are proven time and time again and that’s why our Exemplar Programme is such an important part of the work we do at CEWales. If you feel you have a project worthy of sharing through our Exemplar Programme contact Ed Evans.

Kick start your Welsh construction career with G4C Wales.

Construction is the lifeblood of the Welsh and UK economy. But like any vibrant, innovative industry it needs new ideas and new people, which is why G4C Wales is such an important part of the CEW Clubs. G4C Wales is all about promoting and developing young people in the Welsh built environment. It is a networking group that supports emerging professionals, fostering their ideas and promoting their ability to benefit the wider industry.

G4C Wales is part of the national G4C network that offers it's members’ access to innovative industry thinking, enables networking with a broad cross section of industry professionals and provides opportunities to grow and learn through our initiatives and events which are free to attend. The club has been a huge success since it began a few years ago, but it is always seeking new people to join and attend it's events. These range from debates and discussions hosted and coordinated by industry leaders and facilitators to fun nights raising money for charity. But at the heart of the club is the theme of championing best practice, developing talent and sharing ideas.

The G4C Wales team are looking forward to some events in the spring/summer with the aim of interacting with Government and other key decision makers in the Welsh built environment. Watch out for a calendar of events going live on CEWales Events once our ideas and events are confirmed.

Constructing Excellence in Wales is looking for a project manager to join the WLZCH team.

CEW receives specific funding to administer the Wales Low/Zero Carbon Hub (WLZCH).  Created in 2009, the WLZCH was developed to act as a dissemination mechanism to stakeholders and a source of advice to Welsh Ministers over activities and actions needed to achieve the aspiration of zero carbon new build and the contribution to be made by buildings that will help to deliver the 3% annual target to cut greenhouse gas emissions. To ensure that the Climate Change Strategy is delivered across the devolved areas of competence, the WLZCH has been identified as the built environment sub group to the Climate Change Commission for Wales (CCCW).

If you are interested in the role, please download the Project Manager job specification and forward your CV together with a covering letter outlining what you would bring to the position to Susan Selkirk by Friday 17th May 2013.

Welsh Government is seeking to make sprinkler systems compulsory in domestic buildings. What’s your view?

The number of people who die in their home as a result of fire is still too high. In 2011 the Government passed the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011. This Measure enables Government to introduce regulations to make automatic fire suppression systems compulsory in all new and converted homes and right now it is seeking to make changes to the Building Regulations to make sprinklers and fire suppression systems compulsory in new and converted homes.

Because of the nature of recommendations the change must go to public consultation and we need the input and ideas of the industry to ensure the ideas are worked out and can be implemented easily and to everyone’s benefit.

So, the Welsh Government, Department for Housing & Regeneration would like to invite you to meet with policy makers and consultants to discuss the proposed regulations to implement the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 (the Measure).The changes being discussed affect Part B of the Building Regulations and the required technical standards in a revision to Building Regulations Approved Document Part B Volumes 1 and 2.

Click here for details of the consultation and you can find information of the CEW events at the CEW website. This event is free of charge but you must register in advance. To reserve your place please email CEWales Events stating your full contact details and the names of all delegates wishing to attend.

The Welsh National Procurement Awards 2013 were recently held at Deganwy, North Wales. Despite the best efforts of Mother Nature to spoil proceeding, thankfully the snow did not cause too much bother in the end. The evening was a celebration of good procurement practices across the whole of the Welsh public sector and the Finance Minister, Jane Hutt addressed the audience through a video link. Below you will find the list of Award Winners and over the coming weeks more information about the event will be made available on the Bangor University website and the Welsh Procurement Awards website.

All the awards were highly contested and feedback received from the judging panel confirmed that in a public procurement context, Wales' buyers and suppliers are innovative, drive progress and have influenced positive changes all in a way that delivers real environmental, social and economic benefits for Wales. What has been particularly pleasing is the high number of applicants and winners representing the built environment in Wales many of whom have already been recognised at the CEW Annual Awards. These include:

• Torfaen County Borough Council's Construction Team

• Carmarthenshire Council's Construction Framework

• Martin Nichols, City and Council of Swansea

The Award Winners for the Welsh National Procurement Awards are:

Sustainable Procurement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award

• City and County of Swansea (Award winner)

• NHS Wales Shared Partnership – Procurement Services

Welsh Buyer and Supplier Award

• Nia Davies – HWB Cymru

• Torfaen County Borough Council (Award winner)

• NHS Wales Shared Partnership – Procurement Services

Outstanding Procurement Leadership Award

• NHS Wales Shared Partnership – Procurement Services (Award winner)

• Nia Davies – HWB Cymru

Innovation Champion Award

• Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd

• Cardiff Council Barnardo's Cymru (Award winner)

• Powys County Council

Procurement Student of the Year Award

• Christopher Edwards (Award winner)

• Christian Clee

E-Procurement Award

• Denbighshire County Council in collaboration with Flintshire County Council

• NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership – Procurement Services

• North Wales Procurement Partnership (Award winner)

Most Improved Supplier Award

• Workplace Worksafe

• Dynamix Ltd (Award winner)

• Advent Project Management

Procurement Collaboration Award

• The Carmarthenshire Construction Framework (Award winner)

• Denbighshire County Council in conjunction with the Welsh Purchasing Consortium and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities

• South East Wales Schools Capital Collaborative

Community Benefit Award

• Ian F Mowatt – North Wales Procurement Partnership

• Martin Nichols – City and County of Swansea ( Award winner)

Does BIM get you all wound up? Let us know by taking part in the NFB survey.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) remains one of the hottest topics in construction. You cannot go far online or in the trade media without finding an article, event or promotion about BIM.

But, is it all talk and no action? At CEW we firmly believe that Welsh construction needs to embrace BIM and that right through the supply chain we need to know enough about it to react to the demands of clients and use the process where appropriate. That’s why we’re backing a survey by the National Federation of Builders in response to the National Contractors Survey of 2012 that seeks to find out what clients really think of BIM.

The survey is live now, it takes three minutes and if you are a client with firm opinions on BIM we urge you take part. If you’re not a client, but know of some that have expressed views on BIM then please share the link.

It is pitched at construction sector clients who are utilising BIM in the procurement, design and construction of large scale building and infrastructure projects.

Opinionated client? - tell us where you are with BIM - three minutes to complete...you know you want to! Click here to take the survey.

If you want to find out more then call one of our team on 02920 493322.

During the Autumn, Tom McClean joined us on a technical exchange from Welsh Government and became involved in and extremely interested in our Recycled Aggregate for Minor Schemes (RAMS) project. Tom is now conducting a survey of the construction industry in order to gauge attitudes towards RAMS.

We developed the RAMS specification following the recognition that high quality virgin aggregates were being specified as the unbound sub-base materials for minor schemes such as car parks, cycle paths, estate roads, footpaths etc where very low traffic load is imposed.

He is looking to contact professionals within all sectors of the construction industry, such as civil engineering contractors, local authorities, local government, highway authorities etc, in order to gain insight into any perceived benefits / concerns regarding the use of RAMS materials. All contributions are gratefully received.

To complete the survey use this link.

Independent inspection is an integral part of the CEW Green Compass Accreditation process. In order to maintain standards the independent inspection organisation is, in turn, “inspected”  by UKAS every year. To do this the independent inspection body is required to undertake a witnessed inspection under the watchful eye of UKAS. For the company being inspected this can be quite an unnerving process – two inspection bodies in one visit can seem a bit scary. This year Derwen kindly agreed to help us and offered their annual inspection as the opportunity for UKAS to witness the inspecting body, Tarian, carrying out it's duties.

The outcome was entirely successful – Tarian maintained their accreditation and Derwen passed with flying colours. In fact at the closing meeting the UKAS representative speculated that Derwen were almost certainly in the top 2 – 3% of companies that UKAS had seen. This is an amazing performance from a waste company whose massively enthusiastic support for the Green Compass has repeatedly reassured us that our motives in setting up a quality scheme for waste management companies were not as crazy as some people thought. 

Well done Derwen!  And thank you for your help and cooperation.

Title: Blue Innovation Futures
Date: Wednesday 15th May 2013
Location: Cardiff

Download: Flyer

Costain is calling on innovators, entrepreneurs, businesses and members of the general public to come and present new and exciting ideas at a series of nationwide events due to take place in May.

The initiative is called Blue Innovation Futures and has been set up to support Costain’s Engineering Tomorrow, the Group’s commitment to identifying, developing and implementing innovative solutions to major national needs.

Costain’s innovation leadership team will be hosting events in Sheffield (May 13th), Cardiff (15th) and London (May 17th) to try and identify new products and services that will help to meet the needs of its customers.

“These events further strengthen Costain’s commitment to innovation and technology within our industry, which is essential if we are to remain as one of the UK’s leading engineering solutions providers,” said Tim Embley, Costain’s Group Innovation and Knowledge Manager.

The Blue Innovation Futures events are open to its supply chain and members of the public and follows on from the success of Costain Start-Ups which was launched last year. Employees were invited to submit their innovative business ideas for consideration and, if chosen, the Company invested and provided the necessary resources for it to succeed. As a result there are now successful ideas being used for the benefit of Costain’s customers.

“We are looking to harness the knowledge and experience of our business partners, entrepreneurs and members of the general public to help build a more sustainable business and meet the growing demands of our customers,” said Tim.

Alan Kay, Costain’s Group Technical & Operations Director sponsoring the initiative, said: “We see this as an opportunity to identify new innovation, to solve our customers’ challenges and to meet the national need for strategic infrastructure. We are looking forward to identifying and developing new business ventures generated by Blue Innovation Futures.”

For more information or to register for the event, please click on the following links:

www.engineeringtomorrow.co.uk/BIF

You can also follow the Blue Innovation team on Twitter: @Engineering2mo