Benchmark Study on Green Buildings - Royal Architectural Institute ...

TrustMark scheme was introduced to help consumers find qualified contractors with good
track records for home renovations, which increases the likelihood that homeowners will
seek home improvements and also the likelihood that these improvements will be of the
highest quality. The UK has the Energy Saving Trust (EST), which runs many incentive
programs to help people increase their home’s energy efficiency, decrease its energy
consumption, or increase its use of renewable energy. The EST is also the administrator
of public campaigns to reduce energy waste, as well as the manager of the UK’s own
energy labeling system, called Energy Saving Recommended. The UK also uses the
Energy Star product rating system for energy efficient office equipment. As it does for
energy, it does for water as well. The UK Waterwise initiative was designed to help
people reduce the amount of wasted water. Although the UK has no official water
efficiency labeling or rating system, Waterwise initiatives such as the provision of water
saving tips and products are helping people reduce their water consumption.
The UK ESCO industry is also growing in size and popularity as more people become
aware of the problem of wasted energy, and take measures to help regulate the situation.
Like other leading sustainability-promoting nations around the world, the potential
market for ESCO services is huge and activity is just starting to take off. Some
sustainable communities are also completed and being built in the UK. The Beddington
Zero Energy Development (BedZED) was completed in 2002 and has proven to be a
huge success. Additionally, the UK Government’s Millennium Communities initiative
has resulted in the creation of 7 sustainable developments across the country, which are
currently under construction but have already produced promising results. Finally, several
building societies including the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (NPBS) and
the Ecology Building Society offer green mortgages and loans at reduced interest rates to
help homeowners interested in renovating their home improve its energy efficiency.
8.0 Conclusions Section:
8.1 Barriers:
Upon a review of world-leading green building countries, several main barriers to
increasing the prevalence of green buildings have been identified.
8.1.1 Education & Awareness:
The first and probably the most important green building barrier is simply the lack of
knowledge or awareness of the wide-ranging environmental problems caused by
conventional buildings and the benefits of green buildings. Many people are unaware of
the amount of energy and resources average buildings consume, as well as the amount of
greenhouse gases they release. When people think about climate change, they generally
focus on the transportation industry, its congested highways and its millions of vehicles,
or the manufacturing industry with its processing plants and dirty smokestacks. However,
studies have shown that the construction of buildings consumes 32% of the world’s
resources, that the building sector consumes 12% of the fresh water and 40% of the
energy consumed in OECD countries, and that 40% of the waste going to landfills is from
the construction and demolition of buildings. Attention needs to be focused on improving
construction industry practices and making the final products more sustainable, as well as
making more people aware of green buildings.
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