CIBSE Update


Fall in investor confidence explained


THE COMMERCIAL secretary to the Treasury, Lord O’Neill of Gatley, speaking at the launch of the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016-2021, attributed low in- vestor confidence in the UK energy sector to the “staggering volatility” of energy prices rather than uncertainty about Gov- ernment energy policy.


Dr Hywel Davies, technical director of the Chartered Institution of Building Serv-


The ‘poster children’ of sustainability


ices Engineers (CIBSE), said: “CIBSE has warned the Government in the past that inconsistent and contradictory policies are leading to a ‘cliff-edge’ scenario, in which investors feel there is not enough clarity beyond 2020 to safely invest their money in low-carbon energy infrastructure. The UNEP figures show that they are finding plenty of opportunities to invest outside the UK and Europe, and that their ap-


petite for investment is growing fast. “We recommend that the Government take a more long-term approach to low-carbon and renewable energy policies by ensuring that they are uniformly applied and properly funded without mixed messages, so that investors can have the confidence to deliver this technology and make the UK a renewables-friendly country.”


Everyman Theatre wins at CIBSE Building Performance Awards


Held at the Royal Society of Arts in central London, the 2016 Annual Lecture is one of the most anticipated events in the CIBSE calendar, and cer- tainly lived up to expectations with this year’s talk ‘How en- gineers can save civilisation’. Speaker Fiona Cousins, PE, CIBSE, ARUP and LEED Fel- low, conjured a vision of a muscular approach to sustain- ability from the building serv- ices industry, unafraid to lead from the front and take on politicians, the media, scien- tists and other engineers in the face of bad environmental policy.


However, in order to reach this point, engineers have to become the ‘poster children’ for sustainability. ‘Good enough’ is no longer good enough, and it is up to engi- neers to learn about the latest techniques, other disciplines, and how they can work to- gether with their fellow engi- neers to make sustainability the primary consideration when designing and building.


The 2016 Building Performance Awards is always one of the highlights of CIBSE’s year, and this year’s event was no exception. With more guests than ever before and a wider range of categories, the 2016 awards proved to be the biggest in its nine-year history. Taking place once again at the Grosvenor Hotel in central London, the awards added four more ‘Project of the Year’ prizes to reflect the growing diversity of entries from different sectors. The awards were opened by president Nick Mead who charted the recent successes of the building services industry, followed with an address by deputy chair of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee Peter Caplehorn.


The highlight of the evening


was the grand prize, the Build- ing Performance Champion, which was awarded to the Everyman Theatre Liverpool by the Waterman Group. This


marks the first time a Stirling Prize winner has also won the top category, signifying a build- ing is both well designed and high performing.


A step into the future for building services


A report by the House of Lords Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment has cited CIBSE three times, en- dorsing key recommendations that the Institution made on Government policy.


The ‘Building Better Places’ re- port by the Select Committee on National Policy for the Built En-


vironment called for the appoint- ment of a chief built environ- ment advisor, as well as a more pro-active retrofit programme, based on CIBSE’s response to a request for evidence.


The report is a step forward for the building services indus- try, as it represents official recognition of the part that it can


play in cutting the UK’s carbon emissions and improving a vari- ety of metrics from productivity to health and wellbeing. The ap- pointment of a chief built envi- ronment advisor would also serve to put an end to frag- mented policies which give mixed messages to developers and the public.


Forward planning critical for energy efficiency


A lack of consistent policymak- ing and disjointed attempts at delivery are behind past failures of energy efficiency policy according to CIBSE in its submission to the House of


Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee.


The Institution’s evidence concluded that the UK’s lack of progress in the energy efficiency of its buildings as


Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 16 | May 2016 | HVR Daily news update at www.heatingandventilating.net


a whole is down to the lack of a long-term plan from successive Governments, and the failure to treat energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority.


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