NEWS
YORKON PUBLISHES NEW TECHNICAL PAPER – ‘A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO BREEAM’
O
ff-site construction specialist, Yorkon, has published a new technical paper for construction clients and contractors – ‘A Practical Guide to
BREEAM – An Essential Tool for Sustainable Development, Design and Construction’.
BREEAM is the world’s foremost method of assessing and rating buildings for environmental efficiency. Over 200,000 projects have already been certified and a million registered since the system was first launched. The scheme evaluates the specification, design, construction and uses of a building. Its measures include energy and water use, the internal environment for health and wellbeing, pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes. BREEAM is revised every few years to ensure it remains fully up-to-date and represents current best practice.
The new technical paper from Yorkon sets out the most recent changes to the BREEAM methodology and provides construction clients with a valuable guide to the process and how it should be thoroughly integrated into the design and construction phases of a project, as well as the important roles for the client, contractor, and architect. The report, which can be downloaded from
www.yorkon.info/industryreports, looks at: • An introduction to BREEAM 2011 • The purpose of BREEAM • How a project is assessed and when • The benefits • The latest changes to the methodology and
assessment
• How off-site construction can add value to the BREEAM process.
Commenting on the issue, Simon
Ambler, Director of Yorkon, said, “The biggest opportunity to address the UK's environmental impact lies in the better management and improvement
of our buildings. The environmental performance of an organisation's built assets is a key factor in its sustainability credentials and carbon footprint. Operating a building also represents a major cost – and with soaring energy prices and such a challenging economic climate, reducing energy, water, waste and other such costs can be a relatively easy way of improving cost efficiency. “The latest BREEAM updates are contributing to a change in mindset across the property sector – the responsibility for the BREEAM process must be shared by the whole team – architect, contractor, and client. And it has to be considered from the very earliest planning stages of a project. If these two points are taken on board, BREEAM becomes a genuinely invaluable tool, and will help us protect the resources of the planet for future generations.” The Yorkon approach to off-site construction can add significant value to the BREEAM process, promoting both sustainability and whole life value.
• news • news • news • news • news • news • news • Business continuity
Powercall’s ‘power within the hour’ service.
PURBECK DISTRICT COUNCIL SIGNS WITH SHENTONGROUP’S POWERCALL SERVICE Purbeck District Council has contracted with shentongroup, a leading supplier of integrated power solutions, for its Powercall ‘power within the hour’ service, as part of their emergency and business continuity planning. A requirement under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the unique Powercall service enables councils to meet their obligations under the Act without the necessity of
committing public funds to a standby generator system. One of the country’s smaller District Councils, Purbeck District Council provides a wide range of local government services to the inhabitants of the Purbeck Peninsular and surrounding area. Needing to ensure power in the event of an extended power outage to its headquarters at Westport House in Wareham, a three-storey building that accommodates 150 personnel, Jacquie Hall, Property & Procurement Team Leader decided to investigate the Powercall service. “shentongroup’s engineers carried out a thorough survey of our building and provided us with a report on what we would require to maintain services in the event of a long powercut”, said Jacquie Hall.
6 PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 2 ISSUE 6
management is a key factor of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The legislation requires front-line responders, such as Councils and emergency services, to identify and protect critical functions in the event of an emergency. These include public information services such as websites and telephones as well as internal structures and processes. shentongroup’s Powercall nationwide generator service is the perfect solution for emergency and business continuity planning. Serviced by a 24/7-control room, a generator is quickly despatched from a local depot with a target time of less than one hour and a guaranteed commitment to a maximum of three hours. Upon arrival the delivery engineer connects the
generator to the pre-fitted connection point and advises the customer to switch over to the generator. An indicator lamp is fitted to the
changeover switch to advise the customer when the mains power is restored. Should there be a prolonged powercut, shentongroup will provide a refuelling service to keep the standby generator running for the duration of the powercut. “We are now confident that the Council is able to fulfil its requirements under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and that we have an effective power security plan to protect critical functions and ensure continuity of service” concluded Jacquie Hall. Email:
info@shentongroup.co.uk www.shentongroup.co.uk/ powercall
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