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Zero Waste Goal and CO2 Savings for SFS intec in Latest Sustainability Boost

Leading fastener manufacturer, SFS intec, has strengthened its position as one of the sustainability innovators in the roofing and cladding sector by implementing two new initiatives that significantly reduce the environmental impact of its Leeds HQ and production site.

The company, which is one of the world’s largest producers of fastening systems for the built environment, has just made a major investment to reduce energy consumption within its premises located close to Leeds city centre. Working in conjunction with its OEM customer Kingspan, SFS intec has installed a new ultra-low energy LED lighting system that will save 65 tonnes of CO2 per annum, in addition to providing a much brighter and more comfortable working environment for SFS personnel.

By removing the 349 original light fittings and replacing them with 155 low-energy LED lights, SFS intec is cutting its annual electricity consumption for lighting by nearly three quarters. The new LED lights allow for customised lighting levels which adapt to the amount of natural light entering the building through rooflights and windows.

In a separate programme to reduce its carbon footprint, SFS intec has also appointed a new partner to help it maximise recycling and eliminate landfill waste. Working with waste management specialist ACM Environmental PLC, new processes implemented right across the site will ensure all the company’s cardboard, dry mixed recyclables, wood, scrap metal and general waste is separated and sent to recycling plants, with none sent to landfill.

Luke Wood, QES Manager at SFS intec, who led both sustainability programmes, said “We’re always looking at utilising new technology, services and processes to ensure we’re operating in a sustainable way, guided by the three ‘P’s of sustainability – People, Planet and Profit.

“Cutting our energy consumption and waste help us to minimise our carbon footprint and maintain our position as an environmentally sustainable supply chain partner for all our built environment customers. Our next programme is looking at our consumption of gas for heating and to power our air-handling systems and, when implemented, could deliver even further CO2 savings.

“The fastening systems we manufacture and supply are often used in low and zero carbon buildings, so it is important for our customers to have confidence that each SFS intec product used is manufactured sustainably. That’s where we add value and give the industry a ‘greener’ choice.”

SFS intec manufactures a wide range of fastening systems for all types of roofing and cladding applications. The company is part of the Swiss-based SFS Group which has annual sales in excess of £1.1bn and a history dating back to the 1950s serving customers in the construction, automotive, electronics, industrial and medical products markets.

Full details about SFS intec are available at www.sfsintec.co.uk.
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UK timber shortage risk – industry response

Window Solutions response to an article we published last month entitled “Industry risks running out of timber soon if we don’t become more sustainable” posing the question: is PVC-U a more natural choice for windows as the sustainability of timber is called into question, or can the industry rebound?

Dear Editor,

On 11 July, you ran an article entitled ‘Industry risks running out of timber soon if we don’t become more sustainable’, which talked about the findings of a report from the WWF and the need for businesses to commit to sustainable timber sourcing to guarantee supplies for the future and keep timber prices stable. For the windows industry – and those specialising in wooden doors and frames – the report heralds an important warning which must not be ignored.

The world’s raw materials supply is being outstripped by growing global demand, and businesses everywhere must commit to using less. In the past, PVC too has faced similar challenges in supply and demand and we had to adapt quickly to survive.

We started small, recycling trade off-cuts more than 15 years ago. It’s relatively simple to recycle PVC and when used with new polymer, it can be given a new lease of life. Some reports suggest that PVC can be recycled up to 10 times in its lifetime, so future new polymer use could be significantly less if we recycle and reuse it more.

Our commitment to sustainability and using our resources more carefully has since expanded over the years – not because of the threat of another material supply crisis but because we needed to futureproof our business. We have invested more than €50m in new technology and facilities to ensure that more than half of our products will be made using recycled materials by 2020. Our ultimate goal is to use up to 100 per cent post-consumer waste in the core of our profiles.

At this year’s Fit Show, we launched our new co-extrusion profile, which uses new and recycled PVC together. For the replacement of first generation PVC-U windows, co-extruded profiles offer a closed loop process as the windows being taken out of a property can be recycled and reincarnated as new windows.

Our past resource crisis actually made us a better business committed to sustainability, and I hope that our timber counterparts in the windows industry will react and rebound in a similar way. After all, necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps in the future we will see new wooden frame designs, which use less raw materials or take advantage of recycled material. This will be good for the progression of the market, new product development and this all benefits our customers.

The windows industry may yet come out of this timber crisis stronger, leaner and greener.

Yours sincerely,

Gareth Jones,
Marketing & Technical Director – Window Solutions at REHAU

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Asia’s first vertical forest will be completed in 2018

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Nanjing Green Towers, promoted by Nanjing Yang Zi State-owned National Investment Group Co.ltd, will be the first Vertical Forest built in Asia.

Located in the Nanjing Pukou District (an area destined to lead the modernization of southern Jiangsu and the development of the Yangtze River economic area), the two towers are characterized by the interchange of green tanks and balconies, following the prototype of Milan’s Vertical Forest.

Along the facades, 600 tall trees, 500 medium-sized trees (for a total amount of 1,100 trees from 23 local species) and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs will cover a 6,000 Sqm area. A real vertical forest, contributing to regenerate local biodiversity, that will provide a 25 tons of CO2 absorption each year and will produce about 60 kg of Oxygen per day.

The taller tower, 200 metres high, crowned on the top by a green lantern, will host offices – from the 8th floor to the 35th – and it will include a museum, a green architecture school and a private club on the rooftop. The second tower, 108 metres high, will provide a Hyatt hotel with 247 room of different sizes (from 35 sqm to 150 sqm) and a swimming pool on the rooftop. The 20 metres high podium, will  host commercial, recreational and educative functions, including multi-brands shops,a food market, restaurants, conference hall and exhibition spaces.

Nanjiing Vertical Forest project, which is scheduled to be finished in 2018, is the third prototype, after Milan and Lausanne, of a project about urban forestation and demineralisation that Stefano Boeri Architects will develop all over the world and in particular in other Chinese cities such as Shijiazhuang, Liuzhou, Guizhou, Shanghai and Chongqing.

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Rinnai training courses for 2017

Rinnai UK’s 2017 training programme has been designed to cater for the growing number of engineers and specifiers looking to utilise the energy saving benefits of gas fired continuous flow water heaters.

Since the introduction of ErP last year, Rinnai has seen a massive increase in interest for its complete and comprehensive range of highly efficient A-rated continuous flow water heaters, and a commensurate surge in demand for training on the units. The company supplies models from the small domestic multi-point units to bespoke industrial hot water solutions.

The Rinnai training department has trained 66% more engineers than in the year preceding implementation. These have included bespoke courses designed to fit in with the modern time demands for professionals and the company has also seen a large increase in CPD modules all over the UK.

Rinnai’s series of tailor-made, flexible courses allow engineers the opportunity to obtain hands-on experience of the practical and energy saving benefits of continuous flow gas fired water heater technology.

The most popular course modules are ‘Understanding ACOP L8 and hot water system design’ and ‘System design incorporating continuous flow and renewables’.

Engineers courses have already been booked through until the first week of February at Rinnai’s dedicated Runcorn training facility and at various venues in the South of the country. Additional courses have been added that will take place on 9 and 23 February and 9 and 23 March at Runcorn, with more courses in the process of being added.

According to Rinnai training specialist Ian Jenkins: “The sizing course is extremely popular, certainly with the specifiers, and the L8 module is also proving to be in demand. We trained 22 British Gas engineers in August alone last year – this is the third time we have trained groups of their engineers.”

The hands-on training events are aimed primarily at engineers and facilities managers, covering both traditional and new technologies for commercial water heating, highlighting the considerable energy and monetary savings that can be achieved by the installation of a continuous flow hot water system.

Courses can be arranged to suit individual requirements either at Rinnai’s dedicated training facility at their Runcorn, Cheshire HQ or if preferred, Rinnai will take training to a customer’s workplace or other convenient venue.

The engineer training course line-up for 2017 includes nine modules: Rinnai product overview; Continuous flow and the future of water heating; Intermediate water heater; Continuous flow – Excellence in design; Service and fault diagnostics (Water heaters); Service and fault diagnostics (Energy saver warm air units); Understanding ACOP L8 and hot water system design; Maximising renewable gain in hot water design; and, Continuous flow as an innovative method of satisfying energy and regulatory demands.

CPD Roadshow courses are also available, designed by Jenkins for M&E consultants and specifiers, design and build engineers, facilities managers and gas contractors. These courses have already attracted praise from CIBSE. For example, it says of the CONTINUOUS FLOW WATER HEATING SYSTEM SIZING AND DESIGN course: “The course delivers what it outlines and is well constructed.”

For more information contact Ian Jenkins on +44 (0)1928 531 870 or email training@rinnaiuk.com.
For more details on RINNAI products visit www.rinnaiuk.com.
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New report finds local planning is failing the climate change test

Research carried out by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found that the majority of new local plans in England are failing to cut carbon emissions and to plan for the scale of severe weather predicted over future years.

The study, which examined the most recently prepared plans in England, found that 70% had no carbon reduction targets or any way of monitoring their progress with carbon reduction. While plans did reflect current flood risk, they were generally poor at dealing with future climate impacts such as sea level rise and increased surface water flooding. Only a fraction of plans had recognised the impacts of heat stress or linked climate change with human health. This is despite national policy having firm commitments on climate change.

The full report, Planning for the Climate Challenge? Understanding the performance of English Local Plans, will be launched today at a TCPA event.

Dr Hugh Ellis, Interim Chief Executive at the TCPA, emphasised that there has been a missed opportunity within local plan policy to build in long term adaptation to future climate change impacts for local communities, and to integrate mitigation measures that reduce carbon emissions. He said “In practice a clear political signal has been sent to local authorities to deprioritise climate change and instead to focus solely on the allocation of housing land. Housing growth is vital, but it must be in the right place and to the right standards to deal with the future impacts of climatic change. Local planning can do a great deal to cut emissions and to design places resilient to flooding and overheating, but, the fact remains that many places remain critically unprepared for climate change. Government must act to refocus the system to look at outcomes that will result in secure, resilient and low carbon places.”

The study concluded that significant policy change and new resources were required if the system was going to deliver on is potential in tackling climate change. Sir Graham Wynne, Member of the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change, commented that: “TCPA’s work is particularly relevant in the context of climate change and local planning has a strong impact on the resilience, well-being and sustainability of our communities. As climate change brings more frequent heatwaves and extreme rainfall, local planning decisions can do much to create safer, healthier communities with lower greenhouse gas emissions. This report worryingly finds that too often local plans fail to promote energy efficiency, low-carbon transport, and the sustainable management of water and flooding.”

Katharine Knox JRF Policy and research manager added “This report provides worrying reading for vulnerable communities at the sharp end of climate change impacts. Without better spatial planning, we risk increasing disadvantage among communities at greatest risk. Efforts need to be made at national and local level to respond to these challenges urgently.”

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MEDITE SMARTPLY highly commended in Energy Awards 2016

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Names from left to right: Pat Beardmore, Operations Director at MEDITE, Pat Breen, Engineering Manager at MEDITE, James Ryan, Maintenance Supervisor at MEDITE

MEDITE SMARTPLY has been highly commended at the Sustainable Energy Awards 2016 in the large energy category.

The event, which took place on the 3rd November 2016, brings together leading innovators and companies that demonstrate a proven track record of going beyond best practice in integrated energy management.

This award, in part, is a result of the MEDITE SMARTPLY Operation Excellence programme that began in 2014.

The programme initiatives consisted of product and process flow optimisation, variable speed drive monitoring, controls, lighting, ISO 50001 certification, electric transport, and a steam turbine generating onsite electricity driven by their own biomass steam boiler.

The company has also undertaken employee awareness initiatives including displaying energy targets in real time at operator stations, children’s Energy Calendar competition and an Energy Fun Day.

The company has systematically and effectively focused resources on opportunities for energy reduction saving the company in excess of €250,000/per annum in energy costs.

“This award is an independent external acknowledgement of the hard work and efforts that all of our teams across Europe have put in from day one. From our new technologies, such as our Mat Preheater, compressed air energy reduction and process pumps upgrades, to our engineering works on LED lighting and airflow optimisation, everyone has had a part to play,” comments Pat Beardmore, Operations Director.

“The innovation and passion shown by all members of MEDITE SMARTPLY reflects what a truly energetic place it is to work and grow. We will continue our work and chase the top award next year.”

The company has set its sights on achieving an energy reduction in excess of 10% in the coming years. With five projects already in planning in order to achieve these ambitious goals MEDITE SMARTPLY will continue to lead the way in energy management in its sector.

For more information please visit www.smartply.com.
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Building to Passive House standards with PU insulation

A house built using polyurethane materials consumes 85% less energy than a home built from conventional materials. They can provide very high levels of insulation with minimal thickness which in turn allows architects and designers to maximise the use of interior spaces. It is perhaps no surprise then that when it came to the construction of a passive house in Belgium, polyurethane insulation materials were used to create a highly insulating building fabric. Three years on, has the Polyurethanes Passive House in Brussels and its very well insulated and sealed envelope provided a comfortable and healthy environment throughout the year?

The end-of-terrace four-storey family house developed by ISOPA, the European trade body for diisocyanate and polyol producers, was completed in Evere near Brussels in 2013. It is now occupied and working as a low energy test bed, its running costs and energy use closely measured to show the savings possible for homeowners.

While there are over 12,000 new build Passive House certified buildings across Europe, the ISOPA house is unusual in using a high proportion of PU to achieve its highly insulating fabric first design which reduces the need for heating and saves around 80% of the energy used by a normal house. PU insulation has been used wherever possible from wall cavities to the floor, and windows to the roof.

The house has been designed so that all of the construction elements work together in an integrated way, from the solar panels on the roof to the geothermal heat pump and MVHR system which ensures that warm fresh air circulates internally despite the high air tightness levels. The University of Leuven has been evaluating the home’s overall performance, energy use and indoor comfort levels which would verify whether the PU products as installed were really achieving the calculated performance levels.

The analysis of the data yielded an estimated heat loss coefficient of 60.0 W/K, with a standard deviation of 3.0 W/K. This indicates that the thermal performance of the building fabric meets the very high standards expected, which was instrumental to the project reaching the performance levels required for Passive House certification.

Known for the comfort they provide, polyurethanes are ideal for Passive House construction because they provide very high levels of insulation thanks to low thermal conductivity, meaning they provide reduced thickness increasing their affordability and reducing the impact on building footprints. As well as requiring fewer adjustments to be made to the design of buildings and less aesthetic compromises such as with deep window reveals, further cost savings on depth of eaves, joists, rafters or studs, lengths of fixings can be achieved. In short, the extremely low U-values required for Passive House projects can be much more easily achieved with PU than with other materials as far fewer changes to design detailing are required.

Rigid PIR insulation boards are also light but strong, moisture-resistant and easy to install, and they, as well as spray foam PUR insulation, retain their insulating properties for the life of the building. Last but not least, PU materials contribute to preservation of natural resources by reducing the need for energy which assists their sustainability credentials in Passive House projects.

With a daunting 80% reduction in carbon emissions on 1990 levels called for globally by 2050, such efforts to create practical ‘near zero energy’ houses are essential. With houses accounting for 40% of energy consumed across Europe, achieving the means of constructing new Passive Houses affordably using PU which can deliver the results while saving homeowners money is the realistic way forward, as demonstrated at the Polyurethanes Passive House.

by Marleen Baes, BRUFMA Technical Committee Member

For more information about BRUFMA visit www.brufma.co.uk.
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Focus on sustainability, energy and the future of housing at the Build Show

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The Build Show, part of the UK’s largest construction trade event UK Construction Week, has released the details of its seminar programme taking place in The Home Building Theatre.

Day one focuses on challenges and opportunities for house builders covering funding, exciting new and innovative approaches such as 3D printing and offsite construction with insight from the likes of John O’Brien, Associate Director – Construction Innovation at BRE.

The spotlight in the afternoon will be on energy and sustainability. THE BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE GAP will look at closing the gap between design and built performance with confirmed speakers to include Anthony Briden, Senior Energy Consultant at PRP Architects; Alasdair Donn, Principal Energy Solutions Engineer at Willmott Dixon; Andrew Dainty, Professor of Construction Sociology at Loughborough University; Douglas Drewniak, BEPIT Research Engineer at Bioregional, Steve Hornblow, Project Director for NW Bicester, A2Dominion Housing Group and many more.

Day two kicks off with a seminar about OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CUSTOM AND SELF-BUILD MARKET which will showcase a session by Philip Singleton, MD of Graven Hill Village Development Company, about Graven Hill Village – the UK’s largest self-build scheme.

Looking ahead the afternoon will ask important questions about FUTURE-PROOF HOUSING DESIGN AND MATERIALS with experts from the industry exploring the changing role of architects in housing design and creating liveable homes and communities for the long term. Does good housing design have to cost more? How can we plan for spaces that people want to live in? And what will the house of the future look like? Speakers include Nicolas Khalili RIBA ARB PM, Managing Director at HWO Architects and Gwyn Roberts, New Homes and Communities Lead at BRE.

The final day of seminars will take a closer look at the topic of FUTURE-PROOFING HOUSE BUILDING. Feeding into this session, the CONSTRUCTION METHODS TO SAFEGUARD THE FUTURE OF THE UK HOUSING MARKET segment will explore the goals and aspirations for the future of house building with its differing construction methods and their impact on the housing requirements. BIM4 Housing Chairman, Patrick Wilson explains the benefits of structured data and how this can determine build methods and outcomes. Wienerberger will lead discussions on HOW THE HOUSE BUILDER BENEFITS FROM STRUCTURED DATA in the build process, including internal processes, asset management and developed metrics. Nick Tune, CEO of coBuilder UK will also comment on WHAT IS DIGITAL DATA, WHY WE NEED IT, HOW TO COLLECT AND DISTRIBUTE IT TO OUR ADVANTAGE.

Nathan Garnett, Event Director for the Build Show, commented: “Central to this year’s show, the seminar schedule has been a real focus of our organisation – ensuring we cover the most pressing topics to offer the most value to our visitors. We really believe that the show offers a powerful opportunity for the industry to propel itself forwards into a stronger, more united and prosperous future. Indeed, as the first major event following the decision to leave the EU, the Build Show will play a significant role in shaping strategy and settling nerves within the sector.”

Taking place at the Birmingham NEC from 18 – 20 October, the Build Show sits alongside Timber Expo, Civils Expo, the Surface and Materials Show, Energy 2016, Plant & Machinery Live, HVAC 2016, Smart Buildings 2016 and Grand Designs Live as part of UK Construction Week.

For more information or to get your free ticket to attend the Build Show, please visit www.buildshow.co.uk or follow @BuildShow on Twitter.
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Armstrong Ceilings hit the heights at Farnborough

The total amount of tiles recycled by Armstrong Ceilings at the airshow has risen again.

Armstrong Ceilings continues to break the mould for recycling building materials at the Farnborough International Airshow.

The UK manufacturer has again exceeded the amount of ceiling tiles it recycles at the bi-annual show it has supplied for the past four events, this year some 14,769m2 compared to the 13,400m2 it recycled in 2014 – the first time the company employed its Off-Cut scheme as well as its End-Of-Life scheme.

Not only that, the amount of mineral ceilings recycled from the potential from more than 200 temporary corporate hospitality and business chalets and exhibition halls on site rose from 61% in 2014 to 79.8% this year, winning praise from the show’s head of operational development and Health and Safety.

Jonathan Smith said: “I am extremely pleased with the outcomes this year working with Armstrong. There has been a significant year-on-year improvement over the last few shows since we began working together.”

Some 1,885m2 (or 12.7%) of this year’s recycling total was from 70 bags of ceiling tile off-cuts recycled prior to the show between July 11 and 17 while 12,884m2 (87.3%) was from tiles dismantled after the show, all in all saving contractors (whom Armstrong does not charge for the service) more than £10,000 in landfill and skip hire tax.

In terms of environmental impact, as well as the 14,769m2 diverted from landfill, this year’s scheme saved more than 73 tonnes of virgin raw material, more than 20,000 kWh energy, more than 36,000 CO2 equivalent greenhouse gasses, and more than 251,000 litres of potable water.

The tiles for recycling (Dune Supreme and Fine Fissured) were collected in bags and stored in the exhibition hall then returned on nine trucks to Armstrong’s production facility in Gateshead for recycling back into the mix with the help of logistics company and fork lift operators Ceva Showfreight, specialist waste management and cleaning contractors Sagum Events and the Southampton branch of specialist distributor SIG Interiors.

The corporate hospitality and business chalets, which are used by such prestigious exhibitors as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Rolls Royce, typically take five weeks to build and fit out and one week to dismantle.

Oliver Newin, who oversaw the recycling and environmental element of the show, which prides itself on its green philosophy, said: “We encourage people to use Armstrong because of their recycling capabilities and this year it went very well.”

Roy Smith, Armstrong’s recycling sales development manager, added: “Our recycling scheme was very well received by the contractors on site. I feel from them it is now an expected part of the show.”

Armstrong was first brought in to recycle its suspended ceilings at the 2008 airshow by the event’s largest independent chalet fitting contractor SDD I GES and back then saved 2,600m2 (or 10 tonnes) from landfill.

The ceiling tiles recycled from this year’s Farnborough airshow help to bring the total amount of recycling by Armstrong since 2009 to more than 500,000m2.

Armstrong pioneered ceiling recycling in the UK in 2003 and since then the programme has evolved to include all mineral tiles, no minimum quantities, a growing network of “Green Omega” installers and partnerships with national distributors to further support customers’ local recycling requirements.

For more information please visit www.armstrongceilings.co.uk.
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Parliament calls for greater sustainability in transport infrastructure

Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has published a report calling for greater sustainability from the Department for Transport in future infrastructure projects.

According to the report (which can be read here), The Department for Transport needs a clear strategy to increase the use of ultra-low emission vehicles, reduce air pollution and deal with the VW cheat device scandal so that it can meet decarbonisation and air quality targets.

The Environmental Audit Committee highlights that the Department for Transport has planning and investment responsibilities for the UK’s road, rail, maritime, aviation and bus service sectors. The Department’s total spending is set to increase during this Parliament: although its resource spending is due to go down, its capital budgets will rise, with £73.4 billion of transport-related capital investment between 2015–16 and 2020–21, including £34.5 billion for Network Rail and £15.2 billion for its Roads Investment Strategy. In 2014–15 the Department allocated 50% of its gross expenditure to its roads, traffic and local responsibilities; almost 40% to its rail executive responsibilities; and 3% to its international, security and environment responsibilities.

Whilst Parliament acknowledge that many positive steps have been made towards better sustainability within the transport sector, the report focuses on those areas where the Department for Transport might go further to tackle climate change.

This has been welcomed by Campaign for Better Transport who will be writing to the Department demanding further reduction of their carbon footprint.

Sustainable Transport Campaigner, Bridget Fox commented: “The report shows that the Government is not doing enough to decarbonise transport and avoid building damaging infrastructure projects. Stronger action to clean up polluting vehicles is welcome but ultimately the answer lies in reducing car dependency, getting more freight onto rail and investing in good quality public transport alternatives. The call today from Team GB’s Olympic cycling champions for investment in everyday cycling is part of this solution. We’ll be writing to the Department for Transport Permanent Secretary demanding action on this report.”

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