Health, Wellbeing and Social Value | UKGBC

Social Value in the Built Environment

Matilda Prescott — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 15:19:56 +0000

Organisations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their contribution to society. Many businesses also recognise the value that responsible business activities bring back to their organisation, thereby mutually reinforcing the case for a strong social and environmental purpose. As a result of industry interest, we have witnessed the publication of a plethora of built environment-specific tools, frameworks, policy and thought leadership yet social value assessment continues to be complex and difficult to navigate.

This interactive half day course will cover all of the steps needed for a social value assessment, including:

Working with stakeholders

Measuring outcomes

Applying monetary values

Frameworks and tools available

Why attend 

Gain the latest thinking on social value, and clear processes of how to generate and measure social value. The session will be compelling and interactive allowing you to think through the key touchpoints for a development to create broader positive impact on communities, whilst also learning from networking with your peers and experts and hearing about their experiences.

Who should attend?

This course will be most relevant to built environment professionals who are striving to maximise social value outcomes. We recommend delegates have a base level understanding of social value in the built environment before joining the course. See more on our learning levels here.

Course Leader

Oliver Kempton, Partner at Envoy Partnership.
Oliver is a Social Value International Level 3 Accredited Practitioner and was a member of UKGBC’s Social Value Task Group. He sits on the Social Value International methodology sub-committee, and the BREEAM Social Impact Technical Working Group. He also teaches at London School of Economics.

Free Gold Leaf member tickets available – please contact learning@ukgbc.org.

Learn more

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Sensors to monitor residential air quality

Emily Rose garnett — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:43:34 +0000

Problem addressed

Currently, 99% of us are breathing toxic air. It’s an invisible killer causing 4.9 million premature deaths a year through strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases. The problem is harder to tackle because most air pollution (particulate matter and VOCs) is invisible even at dangerous levels.

Furthermore, poor air quality in social housing is contributing to increased risk of various health conditions for residents and in some cases, mortality. However, there is a challenge in identifying poor air quality due to pollution or damp before it becomes harmful to residents and in knowing where to prioritise interventions.

Solution overview

CompAir has developed a solution which involves installing air quality sensors into people’s homes. The data gathered by the low-cost sensors is provides a cost-saving triage service so that housing providers can identify issues before they become dangerous. The intention is that this will enable remedial action to be taken sooner, minimising the health risks to tenants.

The sensors themselves were developed in collaboration with UCL and use precision laser-optical technology to examine the air. The device detects key airborne pollutants including particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10) which is emitted from engines, factories and other sources of combustion, CO2 and harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as well as measuring temperature and humidity (or damp). This information is sent via 3G/4G to CompAir’s cloud storage for analysis and reporting and can be made accessible to different stakeholders – including the landlord and tenant, encouraging action.

It is also possible to install the sensors externally to build a complete picture of an area and highlight problematic locations as well as to monitor air quality in warehousing, storage facilities and places of work in order to protect employees and merchandise from damage from air pollution, damp and mould.

The cost of the loss of warehouse stock or of treating the damage to a building caused by damp in a property can be punishingly high; but the cost to human beings is immeasurable. Recently, mould and damp caused the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale and, previously, toxic air from a busy road killed Ella Kissi-Debrah in London.

Case study

CompAir is in the middle of a trial with a large housing provider and are awaiting data from this.

£1000 – £5000

£50

525,600

This page presents data, evidence, and solutions that are provided by our partners and members and should therefore not be attributed to UKGBC. While we showcase these solutions for inspiration, to build consensus, and create momentum for climate action, UKGBC does not offer commercial endorsement of individual solutions. If you would like to quote something from this page, or more information, please contact our Communications team at media@ukgbc.org.

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Air-purifying, photocatalytic, natural paint

Caroline Morell — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:11:45 +0000

Problem addressed

Synthetic paints are typically toxic for the environment, off-gas VOC’s for many months after application and have a large quantity of plastic.

Solution overview

Graphenstone Ambient Pro+ changes the nature of paints, from synthetic oil-based toxic off-grassing coatings to active air-purifying, natural mineral based products. It is a high-tech, modern paint made from traditional materials, with no performance compromise yet offering actual health benefits along with an unsurpassed sustainable and ecological profile. The paint has a mineral matt finish significantly enhancing the overall design of all interior spaces.

This lime-based coating actively cleans the air, every day, using light energy from sun or ambient. It removes air-borne toxins such as NOx, SOx, as well as removing CO2, the majority in the first 30 days after application.

It also offers an extremely low carbon footprint (certified by Solingesa), relative to other synthetic brands, whilst absorbing CO2 in volume, during the curing phase, in the first 30 days after application (circa 5kg per 15 litre pot). This is a natural process and part of the scientifically recognised ‘lime cycle’.

The embedded carbon footprint of Ambient Pro+ is also one of the lowest in the industry, a fraction of the levels of other mainstream synthetic plastic-based paints brands.

Furthermore, this mineral paint contains no plastics, micro-beads or man-made chemicals. It’s natural mineral base has been strengthened with Carbon Graphene, the strongest material on earth and a Nobel prize winning 21st Century discovery. This also ensures Class 1 washability for this ultra-clean paint.

Ambient Pro+ is certified Gold by Cradle to Cradle Institute, Global Green Tag, and Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold.

Graphenstone Ambient Pro+ is a comparable price to other ecological paints on the market, and when its superior coverage is taken into account it works out towards the cheaper end of the market.

Case study

Large US real estate customer, Greystar, used the GRAPHENSTONE AMBIENT PRO+ paints across 1000 student accommodation rooms in London in 2022. Total carbon saving was 21 tonnes relative to other commercial synthetic paints brands plus 2.5 tonnes of CO2 absorbed directly as the paint cured. In addition, the rooms were free of paints smells, VOC’s, and chemicals. In fact, this active air-purifying paint is removing toxins from the rooms of these student inhabitants every moment of the day and night when ambient of natural light is present in the space.

~£1

0.2KgCO2e

5kg of CO2

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Impact Report 22-23

Daisy Everingham — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

UKGBC’s Impact Report 22-23 documents the transformational impact our network had over a financial year with collaboration at its heart. Its the first of our Impact Reports to track our activities in line with our 2025 strategy and goals, with the aims pushing for climate action further and faster.

This financial year saw the launch of new opportunities for radical collaboration between our members, like the Collaboration Cafés and Local Authority Retrofit Forum, providing spaces and networks for knowledge sharing and problem solving. Circular Economy was central in this year’s Advancing Net Zero programme, with the release of two industry leading reports and a record number of individuals being involved in ANZ work. This financial year also saw us hit the milestone of 700 members, with over 9,000 active member contacts.

As the final year of Julie Hirigoyen’s leadership, it was a year where our industry and society at large grappled with the climate and ecological crises; epitomised by the reaction to the extreme heat of summer 2022. Progress is being made across the built environment, but we must take the impact from this year and accelerate it in both business and government if we are to avert climate and ecological breakdown.

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Carbon Offsetting and Pricing Guidance

Brooke Penman — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 13:47:17 +0000

In March 2021, UKGBC published the Renewable Energy Procurement and Carbon Offsetting Guidance for Net Zero Carbon Buildings. Now two years on, the landscape in which the initial carbon offsetting guidance was published has evolved significantly.

This report aims to provide comprehensive guidance on voluntary carbon offsetting and pricing strategies that are specifically tailored for built assets (both new and existing) and to better equip those who purchase offsets or make investment decisions at building asset or organisational level to align with their climate goals and accelerate the wider transition of net zero.

The report highlights how carbon pricing can be used as a powerful mechanism to accelerate the decarbonisation of built assets and the wider industry. It is also stresses the need for greater ambition when setting an internal carbon price, given the cost of accredited carbon credits on the voluntary market don’t accurately reflect the full societal and economic cost of emitting carbon into the atmosphere.

Key aspects of the guidance include:

In recognition of a rapidly changing carbon market, the publication sets out three levels of ambition industry should work towards, with guidance to develop a pathway to adopt a leading approach.
A step-by-step process to enable real estate developers and investors to take a more holistic approach to ambitious carbon offsetting, which goes beyond basic procurement of voluntary offset credits.
Provides all practitioners with the vocabulary to describe key offsetting and internal carbon pricing terminology and principles.

Prerequisite

Any approach to offsetting at the level of individual assets or projects is only credible if the embodied carbon and energy use limits (due to be set by the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard) have been met.

Set Objectives

Decide which approach will be taken, and set objectives to suit.

Set Price

There are various existing price proxies available, and organisations should carefully consider the range of options. .

Compensate for Emissions

Select a suite of projects that consider the specific challenges and opportunities with base offsetting, plus any stretch/leading objectives.

Review, Purchase and Disclose

Regularly reviewing the strategy is crucial to ensure it remains relevant, effective and offers the best outcomes for the objectives.

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“While absolute emission reductions should always be the priority, offsetting is a fundamental part of any net zero transition plan. We’ve seen too many examples of this done badly and UKGBC’s guidance will help companies ensure they’re purchasing high quality offsets that support communities and positive outcomes – a win for the planet and the maturity and credibility of the offset market. We know that companies with science-based decarbonisation pathways that also commit to purchasing carbon offsets reduce emissions faster than those who don’t. We have an opportunity as a sector to take real leadership in this space and offset today what we cannot reduce, so that together we can accelerate the UK’s pathway to net zero.”

Andy Haigh Director, Climate Positive Solutions Grosvenor

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Upgrading Britain’s Homes – introducing a new industry coalition for a step-change in retrofit investment

Matilda Prescott — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:36:34 +0000

With a general election on the horizon, now is the time for industry to make its voice heard and stand up for ambitious action on retrofit.

The coalition, convened by the UK Green Building Council, brings together organisations from across the built environment, technology, academia, banking and energy sectors for a campaign to secure the investment and game-changing policies we need to retrofit the nation’s homes.

The initiative is bringing together the best and latest information to calculate the size of investment needed from government and the private sector and to build consensus around national policies that can have the biggest impact.

We’re hosting this webinar to offer an early chance for leaders across the built environment sector to hear more about the new campaign and get involved ahead of a public launch with a report in September. To have real impact, this campaign will need all the ideas, energy and influence our diverse industry can bring.

Why attend

Join this webinar to hear about the coalition’s aims and plans to influence government and build consensus around the big investment and policies needed – and most importantly, how you can sign up and get involved.

Who should attend

UKGBC members and non-members with an interest in hearing about the coalition and its potential impact on Britain’s energy security, tackling the cost of living crisis, and securing homes fit for the future.

This project is made possible due to the generous support of our Advancing Net Zero programme partners, our domestic retrofit project partners with additional analysis from ARUP, Leeds Beckett University and C-Path. We will be asking those joining the event to consider adding their organisation’s voice to this growing call for investment.

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PropEco

Caroline Morell — Tue, 09 May 2023 08:16:44 +0000

Problem addressed

PropEco remove or reduce many of the key barriers that stand in the way of ‘future-proofing’ residential property. These include challenges in accessing data, as well as the complexity and high costs that are common in most retrofitting processes.

Solution overview

PropEco are developing an AI-powered platform that makes it as easy, quick and inexpensive as possible to assess and improve the energy efficiency, climate resilience and liveability of residential property. PropEco connects customers with funding sources, accredited installers and technology providers to make home upgrades as quick, easy and cheap as possible.

Each assessment leverages hundreds of sources of data, proprietary models and artificial intelligence to provide a comprehensive assessment of how ‘future-proof’ a property is. This considers a wide range of factors including energy efficiency, resilience to risks emerging from climate change (e.g., overheating or changing flood patterns) and sustainability / wellbeing (e.g., air quality or access to EV charging infrastructure). Any risks and opportunities identified are presented in a concise and engaging format alongside links to tools and partners that can facilitate recommended property upgrades.

Depending on the level of customisation required, PropEco can start generating white-labelled reports for partners within a matter of days. Set-up is designed to be flexible, requiring little or no upfront investment. Reports can then be paid for on a per-unit basis or via a monthly subscription, with price set at a cost-effective level that reflects volume and content. Through enhancing customer relationships, stimulating demand for green home upgrades and reducing risks, the service offers a compelling ROI that will only grow as the impacts of climate change become more apparent.

Based on a property assessment priced at £20-50, a £15,000 retrofit and an average property price of £275,000, the percentage cost of the solution compared to whole cost of the retrofit per unit is around 0.2% of the cost of a standard retrofit or 0.01% of the average property price.

Case study

The assessments are available directly through PropEco’s website and are due to be rolled-out (in a white-labelled format) with several lenders and estate agents over the next six months.

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Mycelium insulation

Caroline Morell — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 14:22:57 +0000

Problem addressed

Construction materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights of a building are even switched on. In fact, 11% of worldwide carbon emissions come from their manufacturing (World GBC). As a result, the legislative landscape in Europe is changing to impose stricter regulations on embodied carbon emissions. In the UK, from 2025, the current materials on the market will struggle to meet new legislation like the Future Homes Standard.

PUR/PIR, Polystyrene and Phenolic insulation materials are made out of plastic, they’re non-renewable and their manufacturing process has high energy consumption. A challenge is that the alternative sustainable products currently on the market are often not as affordable and high performing as their oil-based counterparts.

Solution overview

The MykoSlab is a carbon-negative insulation sheet for construction bio assembled from cellulosic feedstock and fungal mycelium.

Mykor’s solution is to create highly performative building materials made from biomass waste with a carbon-negative manufacturing process. Their fabrication technique involves the use of mycology to propagate mycelium on cellulosic waste from the paper industry, that would otherwise be discarded to landfill or incinerated. Mycelium is the “root” of mushrooms and functions as a natural adhesive.

Mykor insulation sequesters 22kg of CO² per m³ and its manufacturing process utilises 90% less water and 40% less electricity than polystyrene. The Mykor team has estimated that they will be able to repurpose 20,000 tonnes of waste on average each year.

With studies linking air pollution’s negative impact on our health, it has become important to improve the quality of air in our homes. Mykor promotes higher standards of air quality compared with synthetic materials which emit toxins as they degrade. Their materials prevent the accumulation of dampness, they are breathable, vapour-permeable, and free of volatile compounds. The Mykoslab is stronger than EPS and more water resistant than hemp, wool and straw insulation. Its thermal performance is estimated to be competitive with mineral wool while its estimated sound-absorption is 75% at 1000Hz. It possesses good water permeability, and it is non-toxic, VOC free and fire safe (estimated Euroclass B).

Mykofoam can be used as a direct substitution for other insulation products available on the market.

Case study

Currently in development.

22 kg

90 %

40 %

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The “healthy” built environment – balancing wellbeing, comfort and sustainability.

Daisy Everingham — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 08:09:23 +0000

What do healthcare facilities of the future look like? How can we balance the drive towards net zero whilst making such environments “healthier” by incorporating features such as good indoor air quality, natural light, access to green spaces and reduced noise pollution? Overall, a focus on health and wellbeing can improve the hospital experience for patients, staff and visitors alike but can we still achieve this while maintaining low-energy consumption and achieving sustainability goals?

Balancing wellbeing and sustainability

You have to find a balance between several potentially competing objectives: to create a safe, natural, comfortable environment for patients and to minimise the building’s environmental impact through the use of sustainable and energy-saving technologies.

Healthcare facilities have an important role to play in providing comfort, care and treatment to those who are often at their most vulnerable and in need of a healing environment. Their primary goal being to improve the patient and staff experience through various aspects of the built environment. A well-designed healthcare facility should prioritise the comfort and wellbeing of building users, creating an environment that supports health creation. Additionally, prioritising the wellbeing of staff can improve patient outcomes by reducing turnover and absenteeism.

At the same time, with the growing concern over climate change and the need to reduce energy consumption, there has been a push towards designing and building facilities that are not only functional but energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Couple this with meeting the requirements of Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs), Health Building Notes (HBNs) and infection prevention and control, you have to find a balance between several potentially competing objectives: to create a safe, natural, comfortable environment for patients and to minimise the building’s environmental impact through the use of sustainable and energy-saving technologies.

Net Zero and the NHS

Understanding and reducing embodied and operational carbon to provide an optimum whole life carbon approach is key to achieving the NHS commitment to deliver a net zero health service by 2045 and the recently published NHS Net Zero Building Standard lays the foundations for delivering a net zero NHS, whilst acknowledging the need to improve patient care.

As the Standard recognises, “Improving energy performance is an investment in patient and staff health and wellbeing, as it leads to warmer, more comfortable buildings with better air quality, when paired with adequate ventilation”. Environmental sustainability, occupant comfort and wellbeing, and social responsibility are at the heart of this new guidance with a focus put on passive design measures to assess opportunities for energy reduction and mitigate unintended design consequences. Key in this is adopting a holistic approach to sustainability where user health and wellbeing through thermal comfort, light and views, including natural light, air quality, acoustics and noise pollution reduction is embedded into a project at the earliest opportunity.

A personal reflection on sustainable healthcare

The importance of “healthy healthcare” can be explored through the personal story of Jamie Brewster, an architect at DB3 Architecture and long-time friend of Prime’s. Jamie’s experience[1] as an inpatient in an acute hospital setting provides a unique opportunity to observe the inpatient environment and the impact it has on patients and their recovery.

“Having been an inpatient in an acute hospital receiving treatment for leukaemia I was able to make a series of observations about the nature of the inpatient environment and whether there is a need for improvement. The care I received during several inpatient stays was exemplary but perhaps diminished by the quality of the environment within which treatment was being delivered. I wanted to do something about this.

The issues I was unable to have direct control over related to the most basic of human sensory phenomena”
Architect Jamie Brewster on his experience as an inpatient

During my stay, the overriding theme describing my experience is control, or more pertinently, the lack of it. I experienced several aspects which contributed to the quality of my stay and affected my treatment, recovery and recuperation. The ‘symptoms’ I experienced might have been even more felt by other inpatients who were older and less fit than myself. Some fundamental aspects relating to the quality of the inpatient environment continue to manifest, despite there being countless studies, guidance documents and papers written attempting to offer solutions. This is not a new issue but is one which is still problematic and continues to challenge those responsible for designing, building and delivering inpatient care.

The issues I was unable to have direct control over related to the most basic of human sensory phenomena – what I could hear (noise), what I could feel (temperature), what I could smell (ventilation) and what I could see (view). My growing frustration regarding these fundamentals led me to wonder why I couldn’t obtain control and whether the obstacles preventing it could and should be challenged. The importance of control cannot be underestimated when considering the mind-set of an inpatient.

Whilst there are exceptions, in most cases a person has no choice but to become an inpatient in order to obtain necessary treatment and, having been admitted, rightly surrenders almost all aspects of control to those providing care. The ability to be in charge of where one resides, when one sleeps, what and when one eats and who might be around them throughout the day/night is taken away from a patient in order that treatment and recovery can be best achieved. To then also remove control over some basic environmental factors, such as the ability to open a window, would seem to add to the difficulty in experiencing inpatient care and have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of treatment and speed of recovery.”

Conclusion

Achieving net zero in healthcare buildings is a challenge that requires significant technical expertise and innovation. However, it is equally essential to ensure that such requirements do not come at the expense of the patient experience and the quality of spaces and facilities. By seeing net zero compliance and the creation of a healing environment as two interrelated objectives, we can work towards achieving both. The challenge ahead of us is significant, but it is also an opportunity to create sustainable, comfortable and healing spaces for patients and healthcare providers. As we move forward, we must keep this goal in mind and ensure that we strike the right balance between technical compliance and human-centred design.

References

[1] Thoughts on the Inpatient Environment – DarntonB3 (db3group.com)

Prime PLC are a UKGBC member.

Learn more about the work they do here. The header image is from the Waterford Primary Care Centre in Ireland, a Prime Developments project.

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UKGBC’s Annual Operating Plan 2023/24

Daisy Everingham — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 08:23:33 +0000

As we do each year, UKGBC is excited to share our plan for making impact in the year ahead.

It’s informed by the 2025 Strategy and the seven strategic goals within this, as well as insight and feedback from members, and captures UKGBC’s key priorities for this financial year.

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Health, Wellbeing and Social Value | UKGBC

Social Value in the Built Environment

Why attend

Who should attend?

Course Leader

Learning & Leadership