SPRING 2011

Issue 47

Constructing
the future 47
90 years of BRE – then and now 05
ISA Founding Members take the lead 09
Ecobuild 2011 11
Fire safety and sustainability –
the perfect combination? 13
Launch of sustainable shop fit tool 14
Contents Comment

01 Comment Building on a unique legacy

02 News
05 90 years of BRE – then and now
The dozen or so people beginning work in some In BRE’s 90th anniversary year we will be reflecting on the extraordinary
wooden huts in 1921, could not have imagined that
their fledgling organisation would go on to become achievements of an organisation that has succeeded in improving
one of the world’s top centres of excellence for the almost every aspect of our built environment.
built environment.
09 ISA Founding Members take the lead As the proud custodians of this unique legacy, we strive to build on the
A major milestone was reached by the International
Sustainability Alliance in January with the publication
successes of the past by tackling present and future challenges, with the
of KPIs that will be used to measure the sustainability same dedication, skill and independence that have been the hallmarks
of member organisations’ building assets, and
establish benchmarks of performance across the
of BRE throughout its history.
membership.
Those challenges are, if anything, even greater than before. We must
11 Ecobuild 2011
Ecobuild, the world’s largest event for sustainable adapt to climate change, reduce carbon emissions, care for an ageing
design, construction and the built environment, population, grasp the opportunities of a new green economy and much
will be held at London’s ExCel in March 2011.
besides. Whilst admiring past achievements, we know that preparing
13 Fire safety and sustainability –
the perfect combination? for the future is more important now than ever.
Fire safety and sustainability in buildings often share
common goals, but can sometimes appear to conflict That doesn’t mean abandoning the aspirations and approaches
with each other. Greater awareness of the issues
and dialogue between the two disciplines can help
of our predecessors. BRE was set up to research and develop ways
to make buildings both safer and more sustainable. of improving buildings and the built environment by generating
14 Launch of sustainable shop fit tool knowledge and developing common standards. Our aims remain
A new, Marks & Spencer backed assessment tool
called LIST (Low Impact Sustainability Tool) will be much the same today, though with greater emphasis on safety
available in April. and sustainability.
As before, research underpins our business. From this we develop
the tools, products and frameworks that enable built environment
stakeholders to successfully rise to the challenges they face in their own
individual and innovative ways, without being overly prescriptive and
stifling progress and growth. Working with stakeholders from industry,
government and academia has been vital to BRE’s success. Our thanks
go to them – we look forward to continued close collaboration with
partners and clients.
Above all, we still have the same enthusiasm as those building science
pioneers who established BRE. We are operating in times that are
every bit as exciting for our industry – if we can continue to develop
the designs, materials, products, technologies and skills that drive
sustainability, the built environment could hold the key to the UK’s
Constructing the future is Editor
published by the BRE Group, a
world leading research consultancy,
Tom Harvey
Email: harveyt@bre.co.uk
future prosperity. (See page 5 for more on BRE’s 90th.)
training, testing and certification
organisation, delivering Design
sustainability and innovation across OPX
the built environment and beyond. T +44 (0)20 7729 6295
The BRE Group is wholly owned by
the BRE Trust, a registered charity
www.opx.co.uk Martin Wyatt
aiming to advance knowledge, Printing
innovation and communication in
all matters concerning the built
Printhaus
T +44 (0)1442 355 217
Chairman of the BRE Group
environment for the benefit of all.
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News 01 | 02

New training courses for 2011

BRE Training’s extensive schedule of built environment
industry training events has a number of new courses for
2011. They include:
Renewables for designers – a two-day course providing a
broad understanding of renewable technologies, specifically
photovoltaics, solar thermal, passive solar design and wind
turbines. It provides guidance to designers, architects,
architectural technicians and members of the design team on
how best to incorporate renewable technologies effectively
and economically.
Specification writing for architects – a course for architects
and building designers on formulating specifications from a
building brief and design. It looks at the specification process,
particulary at what the specification is, when it starts, who is
responsible for what and when. It is a one-day introductory
David Cameron with BRE Chief
Executive Peter Bonfield. course with the option of an additional two days of training
and more detailed guidance.
Sustainable architect course – a five-day course providing
architects with comprehensive guidance on how to achieve

David Cameron at BRE low and zero carbon designs. It will provide the detailed
and broad understanding of sustainable low energy design
concepts and technologies that architects will need to
achieve zero carbon buildings.
At the end of last year Prime Minister David Cameron took time out of his busy schedule to meet with BRE Chief Executive
Peter Bonfield, and tour BRE’s Innovation Park to learn more about the contribution buildings can make to the UK economy, Sustainable refurbishment training – a training programme
carbon reduction and energy saving. that will include courses on materials (fabric first) and thermal
bridging, heritage buildings, airtightness and ventilation,
During the meeting Mr Cameron discussed the latest innovations in housebuilding and retrofitting existing homes,
thermal comfort and indoor air quality, environment and
and the crucial role that the built environment can play in boosting the green economy.
asbestos awareness.
The Prime Minister was given a guided tour of two key demonstration projects, the Victorian Terrace retrofit project and the
Airtightness training – to meet Section 6 of the Scottish
Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6, Barratt Green House, where he heard about the key principles that underpin the delivery
Building Standards 2010. The Standards require a 30%
of more sustainable homes. ‘Looking at the houses here today,’ he said, ‘It is clear that people’s energy bills can come down if
reduction in CO2 emissions for new buildings compared with
homes are properly insulated and properly built.’
2007 figures. Achieving this tough new target will require
The visit came as government launched a consultation on its plans to reform the electricity market. ‘What we want is green, buildings to be reasonably airtight, and as such there is now
safe, reliable, cheap electricity,’ said Mr Cameron. a requirement within the standard to carry out air pressure
testing to demonstrate compliance with the new legislation.
‘It was great to host the Prime Minister at BRE,’ said Peter Bonfield, ‘and to show and discuss with him how BRE and our
industry partners are rising to the challenges and opportunities facing our country.’ For more information
BRE Training, T 01923 664829, E train@bre.co.uk,
For more information Linda McKeown, T 01923 664569, E mckeownl@bre.co.uk
www.BRE.co.uk/training

Fire performance of structural insulated panel systems

Details of government-funded research by BRE, into the fire
performance of structural insulated panels (SIPs), have been
published in a BRE Information Paper.
SIPs are prefabricated lightweight units that form the
principal loadbearing components used predominantly
In view of this, the Department of Communities and Local
Government (CLG) commissioned BRE to carry out an Become
a BREEAM
experimental programme to determine the performance
of SIP systems exposed to a realistic fire scenario. The
Information Paper summarises the results of this research

in residential and light industrial buildings. They are a
sandwich construction consisting of two structural facings
bonded to a lightweight insulating core.
With a number of useful qualities – they are lightweight and
strong, easily adaptable and provide good thermal efficiency
(and the prefabrication of panels results in reduced waste
onsite and increased speed of erection) – their use in UK
construction has been increasing over the last decade.
As with other forms of construction, SIPs must be tested to
demonstrate their compliance with the requirements of the
building regulations, but standard fire resistance tests provide
little information on a building system formed of a number of
interconnected building elements in a realistic fire scenario.
assessor
and provides recommendations for designers, regulators,
warranty providers, manufacturers and contractors.
The experimental programme consisted of a series of
laboratory tests on single panels, and four large-scale
fire tests on two-storey SIP structures incorporating Train to be an assessor for the
engineered floor joists. These studies were supported world’s most widely used scheme
by numerical modelling. for assessing the environmental
The Information Paper, Fire performance of performance of buildings.
structural insulated panel systems (IP 21/10),
by Tom Lennon and Danny Hopkin of BRE, is available Tel: 01923 664462
from www.BREBookshop.com or T 01344 328038.
Email: breeam@bre.co.uk
www.breeam.org
News
James Popper receiving the first
BRE Ventures Innovation Award
from BRE Ventures Chief Executive,
Guy Hammersley, and BRE Global
Chief Executive Carol Atkinson.
First BRE Ventures Innovation Award
The first BRE Ventures Innovation Award has been presented
to James Popper for his ‘CookerSmart IR Kitchen Flame
Detector’, a fire detection system designed specifically for
the kitchen, which overcomes the false alarm problems of
smoke detectors.
BRE Ventures works with innovators and investors to bring
new products and services to market. Its new award is for
inventors whose ideas are of particular merit, based on
market need, novelty, scientific quality and potential for
successful development. The award is intended to help an
inventor in the early stages of proving a new idea, by funding
initial testing by a BRE Group company.
James Popper is an 18 year old student who set about
devising a fire detection system that would be suitable for
use in kitchens, after a devastating fire in the kitchen of an
elderly family friend.
‘Even though more fires start in the kitchen than anywhere
else in the home,’ says James, ‘there are currently no effective
detectors that can be situated there. Existing devices, such as
smoke alarms, cannot function successfully in the kitchen due
to the prevalence of false alarms.
Working in harmony: the Smart Home technology challenge
Achieving efficient interoperability between the growing
range of building systems required for the 'smart homes' of
the future, is the issue being addressed by a new research
and development project financed by the government-funded
Technology Strategy Board.
The project involves a partnership between BRE, TAHI –
The Application Homes Initiative – and a host of other
organisations. It will use two of the demonstration homes
on the BRE Innovation Park to test TAHI’s interoperability
framework, communicating between smart meters and a
range of different smart homes appliances, e.g. washing
machine, fridge/freezer and dishwasher, to improve the
energy efficient use of the appliances.
‘CookerSmart overcomes this fundamental problem with
an innovative detection method. Instead of sensing for the
presence of smoke, it detects fires in their infancy by
identifying the infra-red flicker of their flame and analysing
and responding to specific frequency bands of flame flicker.
‘Its implementation is not limited to the kitchen – and it
can potentially be modified for use in other sectors such
as marine, garage and leisure.’
The award included funding of £5,000 towards the costs of
further testing of the prototype at BRE Global ‘s laboratories.
CookerSmart has already attracted a good deal of attention,
including that from James’ regional fire brigade and the Fire
Protection Association (FPA). ‘Both would be very keen to see
the product developed,’ he says, ‘as they feel it would make a
valuable contribution to saving lives.’
For more information
Guy Hammersley, E hammersleyg@bre.co.uk
Results from the seven-month project will be used to further
develop an industry standard and a certification stamp for
these technologies.
A major conference on smart energy networks being held
at BRE on 30–31 March, will include the output from the
TAHI-BRE project and other associated TSB projects.
More information about the conference is available from
www.bre.co.uk/smartenergy
For more information
Mike Perry, E perrym@bre.co.uk
Designing urban streets to minimise
heat island effects
The rapid increase in the world’s urban population is placing
many demands on urban environments. Of particular concern
is the ‘heat island’ effect – a warm urban ‘island’ in a ‘sea’ of
cooler countryside – that can result from higher building
densities.
A recently published Information Paper explains how city
streets can be designed to reduce the heat island effect by
taking advantage of convective cooling by the wind.
The morphology and materials of the built environment are
more effective than natural surfaces at absorbing solar
radiation, and retaining more of this thermal energy later into
the night. The resulting increased night-time air temperatures
can be up to 5°C higher than in neighbouring rural areas.
Predicted global warming is expected to exacerbate this issue.
The new publication, Designing urban streets to minimise
heat island effects, explains how, by selecting street geometries
that maximise convective heat exchange, the layouts of towns
and cities can take advantage of the cooling effects of the
wind. It presents details of how street geometry affects wind
flow patterns and gives the findings of wind tunnel studies to
quantify the resulting convective cooling of building surfaces,
The Paper also explains how other factors must be taken into
account, such as the comfort and safety of pedestrians, the
dispersal of pollutants, solar access to the street and site
constraints.
It is available from www.BREBookshop.com
or T 01344 328038
Hire a unique
event venue
– Wide ranging conference facilities
– Access to the renowned BRE Innovation Park
– A complete event management service
– Excellent location near Watford
Contact the BRE Watford Events team
T 01923 664800 E events@bre.co.uk
News
Work starts on the BRE Scotland
Innovation Park
Work has started on the ground-breaking BRE Scotland
Innovation Park at the former steelworks site at Ravenscraig
in Lanarkshire.
Aiming to influence the future of housebuilding in
Scotland, the two-acre park will incorporate four full-scale
demonstration houses and a visitor centre, and will channel
over £2 million of new technology investment. The houses will
showcase how homes of the future can tackle issues such as
affordability, energy efficiency, the use of recycled materials,
carbon emissions and sustainable methods of construction.
North Lanarkshire Council, through the Vacant and Derelict
Land Fund, has awarded £500k to BRE Scotland to prepare
the site’s first stage of development. This will include the
completion of landscaping and infrastructure works, such
as new roads and a car park, as well as the installation of
a sustainable drainage system (SUDS) and street lighting.
BRE Scotland is now inviting companies from across Scotland
who are interested in getting involved in the development
to submit proposals for the demonstration homes. Those
selected will then be charged with delivering buildings that
meet the net zero carbon standards proposed for 2016.
Alex Neil MSP, Minister for Housing and Communities,
was joined by representatives from BRE Scotland,
North Lanarkshire Council and Ravenscraig Ltd at an
event in November to mark the start of the project.
‘I congratulate BRE Scotland on choosing Ravenscraig as
the site of this innovative project to showcase house design,
construction methods and materials from Scotland and
abroad’, said Mr Neil. ‘It will make a great contribution to
regenerating Ravenscraig, establishing it as a centre of
excellence in terms of research on sustainable housing.’
BRE Scotland Director, Rufus Logan, said, ‘We want to tap
into Scotland’s rich history of innovation and challenge
companies to develop new solutions to the defining issues
of our time – the need for radical CO2 reduction and climate
change mitigation. We also want to highlight the innovative
work already going on in Scottish construction.’
For more information
BRE Scotland, T 01355 576200, E eastkilbride@bre.co.uk
Scottish Housing Minister, Alex Neil MSP, at the official start
of the BRE Scotland Innovation Park project at Ravenscraig.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang with
BRE Chief Executive Peter Bonfield
at the BRE Innovation Park.
Chinese Vice Premier Li visits BRE Innovation Park
China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang completed his four day visit
to the UK by visiting the BRE Innovation Park in Watford on
12 January.
Accompanied by the Business Secretary Vince Cable, and a
group of Chinese Government Ministers and officials, the Vice
Premier was given a tour of the Park, which features some of
the world’s most sustainable buildings and homes.
Mr Li visited three of the twelve buildings on the Innovation
Park – the net zero carbon Barratt Green House, the UK
manufactured, recycled steel Cub House and the BRE
Victorian Terrace, which features a range of materials and
technologies used to improve the energy efficiency and
carbon footprint of existing homes.
‘The UK is already a world leader in many low carbon goods
and services,’ said Vince Cable. ‘We are changing the way
the world thinks about carbon, from our proactive regulatory
environment and carbon reporting, through to collaboration
and accountability throughout the supply chain.
Design fires for use in fire safety engineering
New guidance and technical data for use in the fire safety
engineering design of a building has recently been published.
Design fires for use in fire safety engineering provides a
reference guide to data recorded from full-scale fire tests
conducted by BRE Global.
‘Reliable published data is scarce and fire safety engineers
often resort to a simple generic description based on
assumption,’ say the authors, Chris Mayfield and Danny
Hopkin. ‘This publication provides technical data and
guidance for defining robust appropriate and acceptable
design fires for use in the development of fire safety
engineered design solutions.’
A fire safety engineering design goes through a process
of identifying the most credible worst case fire scenario
for a given location. Once this has been completed, numerical
parameters for the fire are assigned in order to assess
the impact the fire may have on the means of escape or
building structure.
03 | 04
‘This is nowhere more evident than in the construction sector,
where sustainability is at its heart,’ said Mr Cable. ‘The BRE
Innovation Park is a great example of what can be achieved in
low carbon, and I am delighted to bring Vice Premier Li to this
centre of excellence.’
Mr Li, who is widely expected to succeed Wen Jiabao
as China’s Premier, was visiting the UK with the aim of
strengthening political and economic ties between the
two nations.
‘We hope the visit will open up new opportunities for us in
China,’ said BRE Chief Executive, Peter Bonfield, ‘particularly
on the new low-carbon city developments currently being
planned and constructed. We also hope the visit will
encourage more Chinese companies to get involved with
what we are doing here.’
For more information
Linda McKeown, T 01923 664569, E mckeownl@bre.co.uk
For a given building layout, this publication will allow a fire
safety engineer to use an appropriate and proportionate
(i.e. not overly onerous, resulting in unnecessary expenditure)
quantified design fire, to assess its impact on life safety or any
other requirements of the design.
‘This publication is aimed at those professionals involved
in the fire safety engineering design process, either as a
designer fulfilling a brief or a regulator/approver of the
design,’ says Mayfield and Hopkin. ‘The publication will
provide evidence to assist the review of a fire engineered
solution as part of any approval process.’
Fire safety engineers, local authority building control, and
the fire and rescue service should find this book a valuable
aid in sourcing quantifiable parameters, such as heat release
rates and fire growth rates that are proportionate to the fire
hazard foreseen.
Design fires for use in fire safety engineering (FB 29)
is available from www.BREBookshop.com
or T 01344 328038
90 years of BRE – then and now
The dozen or so people beginning
work in some wooden huts
in 1921, could not have imagined
that their fledgling organisation
would go on to become
one of the world’s top centres
of excellence for the built
environment. We review some
of the highlights from BRE’s
first 90 years, and the exciting
challenges today.
1920s – building science pioneers. Some of the first BRE staff at East Acton.
1920s
Homes for heroes, building science pioneers
In 1921 the government invested £4000 in converting some
old wooden huts in East Acton into chemical laboratories
and engineering workshops – and BRE1 was born. In 1925
the organisation moved to its current headquarters site
near Watford.
Homes for heroes
After the First World War there were strong expectations
that reconstruction would raise living standards and provide
better quality housing, particularly for the returning soldiers
and their families – the politicians talked of ‘homes fit for
heroes’.
But it was recognised that UK technology was lagging behind
that of other countries, and more research into building
materials and methods of construction was needed. BRE was
set up to meet this need, and the enthusiastic young staff saw
themselves as pioneers in developing and applying the new
science of building.
The work they started on construction materials and the
physical processes that determine the behaviour of buildings,
and on providing the hard facts needed to develop and
underpin building science and standards, would impact
on every element of construction.
Today, housing remains a key social issue – in 2010 a BRE
led project estimated that poor housing in England results in
health costs alone of more that £600 million a year. It is
also a vital environmental issue, with BRE at the forefront of
initiatives to develop low carbon new homes and sustainably
refurbish existing housing.
BRE is a partner in the AIMC4 project, for example, which is
pioneering the volume production of low carbon homes by
developing and applying innovative materials, products and
processes to meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4.
Meanwhile, the Victorian Terrace refurbishment project at
BRE’s Watford site is one of hundreds of exemplar projects
generating sustainable refurbishment knowledge and
guidance for the new National Refurbishment Centre.
1
BRE was initially called the Building Research Station (BRS), becoming the
Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1972 when BRS, the Fire Research
Station and the Forest Products Research Laboratory were amalgamated.
1930s – early materials research. Bricks from 150 brickworks were tested on
exposure sites and in the laboratory.
1930s
Materials, Houses of Parliament, plaster for spies
The 1930s was a time of rapid growth for BRE. Work started
on soil mechanics, new buildings were erected for heating
and ventilation research and physics testing, and the first
edition of the seminal ‘Principles of modern building’ was
published. By 1936 staff numbers had grown to more than
200.
Materials
There was a strong focus on the suitability and resilience
of construction materials. In 1932 for example, a milestone
reference work, ‘Weathering of natural stone’, was published.
BRE’s expertise in this area helped in a major refurbishment
project on the Houses of Parliament, and prevented the use
of an unsuitable stone that would have caused the repairs
to quickly fail.
Also in 1932, a weathering test on bricks was begun. It was
one of the earliest trails on building materials designed on a
statistical basis, and BRE was one of the first research bodies
to use statistical methods systematically.
Cement research at this time included a four-year study of
the chemistry of cement. This work was of fundamental
importance to the development of cement technology and
was the basis of much subsequent research, one intriguing
example being the development of quick drying plaster.
Peter Wright’s infamous ‘Spycatcher’ memoir reveals that BRE
developed the special plaster to enable spies to go into
rooms, drill and insert ‘bugs’, then re-plaster so no-one would
notice.
Materials research, development and testing are a major
part of the BRE Group’s work today. New applications are
being found for traditional and natural materials, and
innovative materials are being developed, often with the
aim of increasing the sustainability of buildings.
The durability, costs, environmental credentials, fire
performance and certification of these materials are among
the key issues being addressed, and the innovative use of
traditional, natural, new and recycled building materials is
extensively demonstrated on the BRE Innovation Park.
90 years of BRE – then and now
1940s – Second World War. Model of the Möhne Dan being tested by Barnes
Wallis. Now a wildlife haven, the model can still be visited today.
1940s
Dam busters and BRE Scotland
While much of the staff went to join the forces during the
Second World War, many scientists were kept in post to
carry out research for the war effort. They worked on
explosive resistant concrete, combating incendiary bomb
fires, repairing damaged structures, glass substitutes,
camouflage and many other projects – one of which played
a key role in the destruction of the Ruhr dams in Germany.
In 1941 Barnes Wallis was planning the attack on the dams,
but needed to know where on the dam walls the bombs
would have to be delivered, and how much explosive would
be needed. To answer these questions, BRE scientists
secretly constructed a very detailed 1-to-50 scale model of
the Ruhr’s Möhne Dam, across a brook at BRE’s Watford site.
Wallis’ tests on the model helped determine that correctly
positioning the bombs would require them to be ‘bounced’
across the reservoir. Further laboratory work elsewhere
culminated in the May 1943 raids made famous in the ‘Dam
Busters’ film. The model Möhne Dam is still at BRE and can
be viewed by visitors to the site.
Today, BRE continues to give innovators the opportunity
to try out ideas before they are applied in the real world,
with an extraordinary range of facilities for structural,
environmental, wind tunnel, fire and other testing –
and expertise on developing new products and ideas
and getting them to the market.
Scotland
In 1949, a new BRE office opened at East Kilbride near
Glasgow. BRE Scotland focuses on the issues that differing
building materials, techniques, and particularly climate and
climate change has on construction north of the border.
1950s – multi-storey buildings. Single stack plumbing experiments led to a
50% reduction in the amount of drainage pipe work needed in buildings.
1950s
Tall buildings, plumbing and tower cranes
The Second World War left UK housing in a poor state, with
no building development for six years and 20% of pre-war
buildings destroyed or badly damaged. Post-war
governments embarked on ambitious building programmes
that often required new technological and design skills –
including those for tall building construction.
BRE’s work to support these programmes included a new
focus on the analysis and design of buildings, with one major
project, for example, examining the economic, accurate and
reliable use of rigid steel frames in tall buildings.
Building services were also addressed, including the
development of single stack drainage systems for multi-
storey flats.
The construction of multi-storey housing was also helped by
BRE’s introduction of tower cranes to the UK which, along
with the special handling equipment developed for use with
them, dramatically improved efficiency in handling materials
on building sites.
Site efficiency remains an important area of BRE expertise.
More recent activities have included the development of
well known site efficiency tools such CALIBRE, a productivity
measurement system that diagnoses and quantifies ‘waste’
in man hours, and a suite of waste management tools such
as SMARTAudit, which detail the waste materials generated
on site. BRE also runs the Construction Lean Improvement
Programme (CLIP), which has been very successful in
improving productivity and cutting waste in wide ranging
construction industry companies.
05 | 06
1960s – Ronan Point. A struck match in an 18th floor kitchen sparked a gas
explosion and the collapse of the building’s entire south-east corner.
1960s
Building Regulations, structures
laboratory, Ronan Point
BRE’s continued expansion included a new structures
laboratory that opened in 1966. Within this large enclosed
space it is possible to test and trial full-scale building
elements under laboratory conditions. It can, for example,
accommodate a four-storey building and simulate conditions
ranging from floods to earthquakes.
The 1960s saw the adoption of the first national building
regulations, initially in Scotland and then in England and
Wales (and in Northern Ireland in 1973). Working closely
with government and other partners, BRE has participated
in the preparation of a great many national and international
standards and building codes – including the building
regulations – and is still very much involved in this work.
The Code for Sustainable Homes, for example – a major
element in the government’s current drive for low carbon
housing – has been developed by BRE Global in collaboration
with government and other stakeholders.
One of the big construction-related news stories of
the decade was the partial destruction of Ronan Point,
a 22-storey, east London tower block. A load-bearing wall
was demolished by a gas explosion, causing the collapse of
an entire corner of the building and resulting in four deaths
and 17 injuries. BRE’s investigation explained how the
relatively minor explosion caused such catastrophic damage,
and formed the basis of guidance on the construction and
maintenance of large panel system buildings – an area in
which BRE continues to provide leading expertise.
Other high-profile projects included the use of an electronic
system devised by BRE, called ‘assisted resonance’, to improve
the acoustics in the Royal Festival Hall. BRE has been working
on issues concerned with sound and noise since the 1930s
and now has world-class acoustic facilities and one of the
largest anechoic chambers in Europe.
90 years of BRE – then and now
1970s – new focus on environment and energy, culminating in today’s
work on the BRE Innovation Park which includes the Kingspan Lighthouse
(shown here), the world’s first volume build, zero carbon house.
1970s
Environment and energy move to centre stage
1971 was BRE’s 5Oth anniversary, and the amalgamation
with the Fire Research Station (FRS) and the Forest Products
Research Laboratory (FPRL) was announced – although FRS
and FPRL didn’t move to Watford at this time.
Another key announcement was the intention to increase
markedly the extent to which research should be directed
at improving the environment. From this time on BRE has
put an ever increasing emphasis on environmental research,
becoming a world leader in this field.
Energy efficiency
Recognising the huge contribution that energy use in
buildings makes to overall consumption, BRE took a
leading role in improving energy efficiency in homes
and other buildings, which continues to this day.
Early work included the development of models and
methods for reducing energy use. These included
BREHOMES, a model of the energy use in varying housing
types, and BREDEM for calculating the annual heating,
cooking and electrical requirements of homes.
The English Housing Survey (EHS), large elements of which
BRE has been managing since 1967, now provides detailed
and invaluable long-term housing data that, among many
other uses, underpin BRE’s housing stock modelling services.
These provide local authorities with estimates of housing
and energy variables at authority, ward and census output
area levels.
Since the 1970s BRE has run major government energy
efficiency programmes and played a leading role in the
development and testing of improved insulation methods
and efficient energy sources. This has often involved using
its own buildings to trail and monitor innovations. The
‘Environmental Building’, for example, has been a model for
energy efficient office buildings since it was built in 1997.
The Watford site has also been widely used to demonstrate
energy efficient homes, with the Kingspan Lighthouse, built
in 2007 on BRE’s Innovation Park, being the world’s first
volume build, zero carbon house.
1980s – timber research at Watford. BRE’s research facilities include the
world’s largest library of timber samples
1980s
Global warming, front room fire, timber research
moves to Watford
In 1985 scientists at the World Climate Program conference
predicted that increased CO2 concentrations would lead
to significant rises in mean temperatures. 1987 was the
hottest year on record, and three years later the 1980s
was confirmed as the hottest decade since records began
(a record broken by the 1990s).
With buildings responsible for an estimated 42% of UK CO2
emissions, reducing their impact on global warming has
been an increasing focus of BRE’s work. Key to this has been
establishing a robust but practicable method of assessing
and improving the environmental performance of buildings.
In the late 1980s work started on the development of the
BRE Environmental Assessment Method, which was to
become very widely known as BREEAM.
In 1985 the ‘Front Room Fire’ film made by BRE for the Fire
and Rescue Service shockingly showed how quickly and
devastatingly fire could spread from a small furniture fire
to engulf a room. BRE’s work in this area led to a complete
overhaul of the furniture industry’s approach to fire safety.
The staff of the Forest Products Research Laboratory moved
to the Watford site in 1988 to form BRE’s Timber Division.
BRE now has one of the world’s most comprehensive
research, testing and consultancy capabilities for timber,
wood-based products and composites.
Wide ranging construction advances at BRE made during
the 1980s included the improved evaluation of sites that
potentially pose problems for foundations, a better
understanding of racking resistance in timber-framed
structures, rapid response sprinkler systems for high
rack storage, a design guide to wind loading, and a
new, stable form of high alumina cement (BRECEM).
1990s – fire research at Watford. In 1993 BRE fire researchers went up in the
‘vomit comet’, a parabolic flight during which the steep curving trajectory
delivers zero gravity conditions at the top of the curve.
1990s
BREEAM launched, fire research at Watford
and in zero gravity, privatisation
In 1990 BRE launched the first environmental assessment
method for buildings, now known all over the world as
BREEAM. More than 200,000 buildings have been certified
and a million registered for certification since the BREEAM
schemes were launched.
BRE Global updates the BREEAM UK non-domestic buildings
methodology biennially to ensure it remains current,
representative of best environmental practice and a driver
for innovative, sustainable building design and construction.
A BREEAM update will be issued this year.
Also in 2011, an international Code for a Sustainable
Built Environment will be launched at Ecobuild to provide
a common framework for BREEAM Standards. It will
enable scheme operators in other countries to develop
environmental assessment schemes that adhere to the core
principles of BREEAM, while being appropriate to their local
contexts.
In 1994 the Fire Research Station staff moved to join BRE
colleagues in Watford, and a new fire testing Burn Hall, the
largest of its type in Europe, was built on the site.
The year before, fire research staff took part in a project for
the European Space Agency (ESA) to study fire safety in
space, working in zero gravity conditions created during steep
curving parabolic flights. This work was part of preparations
to send the ESA’s manned laboratory to the International
Space Station aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in 2008.
Fire research and investigation remains a key area of BRE
expertise – recent projects have included major studies of fire
spread in car parks, and new challenges include determining
the fire performance of innovative materials and technologies
being developed to increase building sustainability.
BRE Trust
In 1997 BRE was privatised. Ownership was transferred to
the BRE Trust to ensure that BRE remains an independent,
impartial resource for the whole UK construction industry.
The Trust is registered as a charity in England (no. 1092193)
and in Scotland (no. SC039320). It works to advance
knowledge, innovation and communication in all built
environment issues. Trustees are drawn from a broad
spectrum of industry and academia to provide strategic
direction and guidance. Profits made by the BRE Group are
all passed to the Trust – the largest UK charity dedicated
specifically to built environment research and education –
to promote its charitable objectives.
90 years of BRE – then and now 07 | 08

BRE: Building a better world

2000s – innovation. The innovative use of traditional and new technologies
and materials is an increasing feature of the built environment.
Since our beginnings in 1921 our purpose has been to
Build a better world: to make a positive difference across
the built environment which impacts so extensively on
how we all live, work, heal, learn and generate wealth.
Throughout our history we have focused on generating
the new knowledge and expertise required to underpin
solutions to the perennial challenges and opportunities
facing the built environment. We use this knowledge
The pace of change is accelerating – it needs to so that
we are able to address these rapidly growing drivers. A
common and significant binding factor between each
of these drivers is the built environment. It provides the
infrastructure for almost everything that we do.
So how does the built environment and all those
associated with it cope with this, unprecedented
scale of change? How can we be sure that the changes,

2000s to develop a number of ‘products’: calculation models,

Certification, innovation, challenges
In 2000 the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB)
was taken over by BRE Certification, BRE’s sister company
established the previous year. With a very distinguished
history dating back to the Fire Office’s Committee
established in 1868, LPCB assesses and certifies fire and
security systems and services. In 2006 BRE Certification was
renamed BRE Global, and environmental certification and
rating, including BREEAM, were brought under the BRE
Global brand.
More recent additions to the BRE Group are BRE Ventures,
which works with innovators and investors to bring new
products and services to market, BRE Wales, which provides
sustainable building consultancy and research in Wales
and the South West, BRE Ireland and BRE Training which
makes BRE expertise available to all. Also, five BRE Trust
research centres have been set up in the universities of Bath,
Cardiff, Strathclyde and Edinburgh.
In 2005 BRE created the BRE Innovation Park to enable
developers, manufacturers and housebuilders to try out
new designs, products and technologies that could
contribute to a lower carbon, high quality built environment.
Its current buildings include ten of the world’s most
sustainable houses, a health centre of the future, a
refurbished Victorian Terrace and over 400 different
construction innovations and emerging technologies,
along with a state-of-the-art community landscape design.
Innovation parks have now been established in Scotland
and Wales, and international parks are currently being
developed in other countries.
The parks showcase the solutions to many current and
future built environment challenges – reducing carbon
emissions, making greater use of renewable energy and
materials, sustainably refurbishing existing buildings,
caring for an increasingly elderly population, preparing
the built environment to meet the impacts of climate
change, and many more.
design codes, specifications, standards, training,
accreditation and certification, software tools and
investments and solutions we implement will give the
returns we expect? How can we combine a number
of disparate, but connected socio, economic and
publications. These products enable consistent and environmental factors together to ensure the optimum
widespread change to occur in support of Government outcome?
policy delivery and in practice by construction
For BRE our role is clear: we need to continue to provide
professionals and the wider sector. These tools also
independent and expert research and data to enable
support the business success of many companies
us to learn what works and what doesn’t and why. We
and organisations and manufacturers across the UK.
need to reflect this in new and /or improved tools and
The question now is how is this relevant to today and the products that enable the many to change in a consistent
future? What lies in store for BRE, and are we relevant and and risk managed way. Through partnership and
fit for purpose? collaboration we will broaden our impact, facilitating
and driving change that delivers better outcomes across
To answer these questions, it is helpful to look at the
the built environment.
drivers that impact on the built environment. The sector
is facing challenges that are as significant as any in the Arguably, a research-based organisation like BRE is as
last 90 years. These include; relevant, or more relevant, than it has ever been. Our role
of providing evidence that enables change to occur in a
– Climate change and the realisation that we need
way that minimises risk and gives confidence of outcome,
to act quickly to mitigate human kind’s impact on
will be a key component of our country’s future prosperity
accelerating it
and success.
– Adaptation to the outcomes of climate change so
that we can cope with the increasing number of severe
weather events Peter Bonfield, BRE Chief Executive
– Rapid growth in world population and mass
urbanisation bringing increased pressure on the
use of resources to cope with demand
– The ageing demographic: by 2050 more than 50%
of the UK population will be over 65, by 2015, life
expectancy in the UK will be increasing at more than a
year per year. This presents a massive challenge to the
way in which we provide healthcare
– Advanced technology development and integration
that has already and will continue to impact on how
we all live, work, learn and heal
– Globalisation: the built environment products,
technologies and designs we develop have to be
delivered on a global scale and adapted to local
requirements – our economic growth depends on it
– Austerity and the need to do more for less.
 PassivHaus
ISA Founding members take the lead

Carbon ISA Founding

emission
perform
Members take
ance
Competit
the lead
ors
your pe
rforma
nce ISA’s Founding Members have led the development
of KPIs for quantifying the sustainability credentials
of their real estate in terms of energy, emissions,
waste and water, using internationally accepted
standards and definitions.
A major milestone was reached by the International
Sustainability Alliance (ISA) in January with the publication
of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used
to measure the sustainability of member organisations’
building assets, and establish benchmarks of performance
across the membership.
Issues such as energy and water consumption, greenhouse
gas emissions and waste generation are addressed by nine
KPIs (listed on page 10). ISA members will be able to track
their own performance against the aggregated ISA
performance on the basis of building asset type and country.

nergyater on
E d w p ti
an nsum
co ISA members
rs ce ISA is bringing together a global network of leading real estate organisations, dedicated
i t o rm a n
pe t o to achieving a more sustainable built environment, by creating a benchmarking club to
Co m p erf
yo u
r measure the performance and environmental impact of existing commercial buildings.
Current members include:

Aberdeen Asset Corio Greenaffair Schofield &

Management Partners
C&A Grontmiji
Alstria Sonae Sierra
CSTB Heineken
APG Standard
EDF Group ICSC
Chartered
Astrance
EURO institute ING REIM
Unibail-Rodamco
Befimmo of Real Estate
Iosis Conseil
Management VastNed Group
Bopro
PGGM
FGH Bank
Bouwfonds REIM
Redevco
Fortrus
Cofra
ISA Founding members take the lead 09 | 10

ISA is an independent, non-profit company made up of
a global network of leading real estate organisations –
developers, owners, occupiers, investors – who understand
the business imperatives of achieving a more sustainable
built environment. As a non-commercial and practical
organisation underpinned by a wealth of reliable data,
ISA presents its members with credible recognition of
their sustainability efforts.
Member led
An illustrious group of Founding Members representing many
of Europe’s major commercial building owners and managers
– including household names such as C&A, EDF and Heineken
– has signed up to ISA (see members list below). They are
supported by the BRE Trust, which acts as the independent
custodian of the asset and environmental data uploaded to
the ISA database by members. But the generation of the KPIs
has been very much member driven. The chair of the ISA KPI
sub-committee is Sander-Paul van Tongeren of APG, a key
figure in the European real estate industry.
Not ‘reinventing the wheel’
The current set of KPIs forms the basis of an evolving reporting
framework agreed on a consensus basis by ISA members,
taking into account the various other reporting initiatives
underway in the industry. ‘These KPIs are not the product
of isolated, “silo” thinking by ISA,’ says Justin Halewood of
BRE Global. ‘We have purposely avoided reinventing the
wheel and adding to the proliferation of reporting standards
and frameworks. Instead we have tried to bring together
and consolidate the work that other initiatives are doing in
this area.’
The KPIs are primarily based on the world’s most widely
used sustainability reporting guidelines, the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) G3 Guidelines, and more specifically, the GRI
Construction and Real Estate Sector Supplement (GRI CRESS).
It is anticipated that these will become the industry standard
against which investors measure and compare corporate
sustainability performance.
Account has also been taken of the recommended common
metrics set out by the Green Property Alliance (a UK focused
real estate industry initiative) for investors and tenants in its
report, ‘Establishing the Ground Rules for Property’. These
can be used to measure and compare energy use and
greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste generation
in commercial buildings.
Other influences have included the ‘Best Practices
Recommendations on Sustainability’ published recently by
the Brussels-based European Public Real Estate Association
(EPRA), which represents the publicly traded real estate
sector in Europe.
The KPIs
The table below outlines the KPIs that ISA will use as the basis
of its benchmarking and reporting, following consultation
and development of appropriate reporting protocols specific
to global real estate companies and fund managers. The first
set of ISA KPIs came into effect this year.
How it works
Each ISA member is given access to an online system on
which to upload their KPI data on current energy use, water
consumption and waste arisings, creating the world’s largest
environmental property database in the process. Benchmarks
for the KPIs will be calculated from the performance data of
all of the ISA members.
Individual members can use their private ISA online accounts
to confidentially measure the performance of their building
assets and compare them against the KPI benchmarks. They
can do this on an asset-by-asset and country-by-country
basis, or for their entire portfolios.
The KPIs will be used for this year’s round of GRI reporting by
ISA members, with two main sets of information being
generated by this process. The first is the set of benchmarks
derived from the aggregated and entirely anonymous
performance of all of the ISA members. First announced at
Expo Real 2010 (the international trade fair held in Munich
for commercial real estate and investment), the benchmarks
demonstrate how ISA members as a group are performing –
for example, how much carbon is being emitted by the whole
group, or by members’ building assets in particular countries.
In addition to this, each member will receive their own report
that compares their portfolio’s performance against the
benchmarks, and against other (unnamed) members in each
of the KPIs. ‘If, for example, an ISA member wants to know
how their offices in Germany are performing in terms of
carbon emissions,’ says Justin Halewood, ‘their report will
include a bar chart showing the average carbon emissions of
their office against those of all other members – but the bars
representing other members’ performance will be in
anonymous grey.’
The benefits
There is growing evidence of the economic benefits of
improving the sustainability of buildings. It has been reported,
for example, that many asset managers regard sustainable
properties as easier to let than those considered by
prospective tenants and their advisers to be less sustainable,
with shorter void periods as a result.
A major groundbreaking study being conducted by BRE
Global, the Investment Property Databank (IPD), Maastricht
University and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(RICS), is aiming to put an economic and financial value on
the sustainability of UK non-domestic buildings.
The research team has already assimilated data from a
number of BREEAM-rated office buildings, which are initially
showing positive correlations between those ratings and
improved property values and rental incomes. To ensure it has
a strong and robust statistical basis, the study has now been
widened to include a greater number of buildings across the
property spectrum. But whatever the financial payoff,
sustainability is increasingly regarded as an integral part of
good asset management and securing the long-term future.
Delivering sustainable properties and sustainable investment
returns requires authoritative but readily useable performance
measures such as the KPIs and sustainable benchmarks being
developed by ISA. Among other things they offer a simple way
of enabling CSR reporting, and of allowing companies to fully
understand their own performances – and where
interventions to elements of their portfolios could be best
made in terms of improving sustainability.
ISA members also benefit from being part of a rapidly
growing, prestigious group of real estate companies who
are recognised as making valid and important contributions
to reducing the environmental impacts of the building stock.
Organisations involved in the management of real
estate that are interested in joining ISA can e-mail
info@internationalsustainabilityalliance.org
or telephone +44 (0)1923 369080.
Further general information on ISA can be found at
www.internationalsustainabilityalliance.org

The KPI table

Key Performance Indicator Metric

1 Total indirect energy consumption by primary source kWh or MWh / year

2 Total direct energy consumption by primary energy source kWh or MWh / year
3 Building energy intensity kWh / m2 / year
4 On-site energy generation in volume kWh or MWh / year
5 Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight Metric Tonnes Co2e / year
6 Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas intensity from building energy Metric Tonnes Co2e / m2 / year
7 Total water withdrawal by source Cubic metres (m3) / year
8 Building water intensity m3 / m2 / year
9 Total weight of waste by type and disposal method Metric tonnes
Ecobuild 2011
Ecobuild, the world’s largest event for
Ecobuild
sustainable design, construction and
the built environment, will be held at
London’s ExCel in March 2011.
2011
Last year’s Ecobuild turned out to be the biggest yet, with more
than 41,000 visitors attending. This was an increase of nearly
20% over 2009, and a clear demonstration that despite the
prevailing economic uncertainty, the construction industry is
well aware of the business benefits of sustainable and
innovative construction.
Record attendance is again expected at this year’s event, which
having outgrown its former venue will be taking place at
London’s ExCeL on 1–3 March 2011. 50,000 visitors are expected
at the world’s biggest showcase of sustainable construction
products, which are being presented by more than 1,300
suppliers.
Ecobuild’s lead sponsor is the BRE Group. ‘The remarkable
range of new products, materials, technologies and expertise
on display at Ecobuild,’ says BRE Chief Executive, Peter Bonfield,
‘demonstrates the huge energy and inventiveness in our industry,
and the crucial contribution that sustainable innovations can
make to future prosperity.’
Bill Dunster’s straw house
Among the event’s highlights will be some major launches,
including Bill Dunster’s StramitZED straw house. The latest in
his eco-housing stable, it is a straw board home that can be built
for £135,000 – £20,000 less than the normal cost of constructing
a Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6 house. The straw boards
are combined with timber and insulation from recycled
newspaper, and made into cassettes to build the homes.
BREEAM Awards 2011
The BREEAM Awards return to Ecobuild in 2011, to recognise
the highest scoring buildings under BREEAM. Independently
assessed, and representing genuinely sustainable buildings, the
categories for the 2011 awards will include the best buildings in
the office, education, health and residential sectors, as well as
more specialist buildings including prisons, courts, datacentres,
multi-residential buildings and leisure centres.
There will be a number of international awards, reflecting
BREEAM’s growth outside the UK, and special awards for the
management of existing buildings (BREEAM In-Use) and the
government sector.
‘BREEAM assessed buildings are continually demonstrating their
environmental credentials,’ says Carol Atkinson, Chief Executive
of BRE Global. ‘BREEAM is the leading and most widely used
assessment method for buildings and is now represented in
more than 30 countries. It sets the standard for best practice in
sustainable design.’
The BREEAM awards will take place at 6pm on 2 March in the
Platinum Suite.
BRE Bites
Among the new and surprising events that are always a feature
at Ecobuild, will be the ‘BRE Bites’, a series of ten-minute ‘tasters’
on a range of topics that include the BREEAM 2011 update,
BREEAM In-Use, BREEAM Communities, Passivhaus, Feed-in
Tariffs and SMARTWaste, taking place daily on the BRE stand
(number S1330).
BRE Lounge
The BRE Lounge in the South Gallery will be the venue for
a range of events including the launch of the new Code
for a Sustainable Built Environment, seminars on BREEAM
Domestic Refurbishment and BREEAM Communities, and
demonstrations of the ClimateLite design tool and LIST,
the sustainable shop fit tool (see page 14).
Rock star physicist
On 2 March ‘Rock star physicist’ Professor Brian Cox will be
presenting an award to the winner of the CIOB’s Inner Space
2050 competition for students aged 11–12 years to design
sustainable work and living spaces in orbit.
Conference and seminars
Some 600 speakers will be participating at Ecobuild this year.
Leading the line up at the free conference are Paul Morrell,
the Government’s Chief Construction Advisor, Construction
Minister, Mark Prisk, Sir Terry Farrell, Baroness Susan
Greenfield, Tim Smit of the Eden Project, Bianca Jagger
and Professor AC Grayling.
They will take on subjects as diverse as, ‘The radicalism of
localism’, ‘The age of unreason: the psychology of climate
change’ and ‘Ending our love affair with more’.
Interactive demonstrations
Many topics covered in the seminars will be brought to
life through a series of interactive attractions and live
demonstrations, taking advantage of the extra room at
the ExCeL venue. These range from installing a solar panel
or a green roof, to timber frame construction and applying
exterior wall insulation.
Ecobuild’s Solar hub will explain the fundamentals of
photovoltaic systems – how they work, what components
they include, and how and where to install them. There will
be daily demonstrations and talks on building integrated
photovoltaic tiles (BIPV), photovoltaic systems (PV) and
benefitting from the Feed-in Tariffs. To be eligible for Feed-
in Tariffs, PV systems and the individuals who install them
should be MCS certificated. More information on MCS
certification, which can be carried out by BRE, will be
available at the BRE Group stand at Ecobuild.
The Cityscape returns in 2011 to focus on greening the
built environment and encouraging biodiversity, with live
demonstrations and a variety of case studies and
installations.
A regular attraction, Natural, traditional….sustainable, will
provide daily interactive demonstrations covering a wealth
of natural materials and traditional techniques, including dry
stone walling, straw bale construction, rammed earth, cob
brick making, traditional carpentry and lime rendering.
New for 2011, Ecobuild’s Water wise will bring visitors up to
date on the changes to Part G of the building regulations, and
the water efficient systems and appliances that can now be
installed into buildings.
Come and see us
We would be delighted to see you at the BRE stand (S1330),
where you can get all the latest information on BRE events
and activities at Ecobuild, and discuss the issues being
covered.
For more information visit the websites at
www.bre.co.uk/ecobuild and www.ecobuild.co.uk
Left photo
High profile speakers regularly feature at Ecobuild, such as Alistair McGowan
shown here at last year’s event. Ecobuild 2011 will be no exception, with Bianca
Jagger and Professor Brian Cox among many well known participants.
BRE Bites and events at ecobuild 2011 11 | 12

‘BRE Bites’
BREEAM 2011
For more than twenty years the BRE Group has operated and maintained BREEAM as a
method of assessing, improving and sharing information on the built environment. In this time
it has evolved and adapted to changes in knowledge and new economic and social needs.

and events at The latest of BREEAM’s regular, biennial updates, BREEAM 2011, will set a new standard
in sustainability and support the roadmap to energy efficient, zero carbon and ‘carbon
negative’ buildings. The Ecobuild events will explain how feedback from industry and

Ecobuild 2011
stakeholders has been incorporated into the BREEAM update, and how it is aligning with
new policies and standards.
Code for a Sustainable Built Environment
In the last six months BRE Global has created a framework that can be applied to any local built
environment processes and products. This framework – the international Code for a
Sustainable Built Environment – is being launched at Ecobuild and will make BREEAM more
Over the three days of Ecobuild the latest transparent, more adaptable and more attractive to national interests across Europe, and drive
forward the commitment to sustainable buildings.
initiatives and developments in the BREEAM
BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment
family of assessment schemes and a range The new BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment scheme will play a key role in improving the
of BRE sustainability tools will be presented. sustainability of UK housing. It will measure the progress made by refurbishment and retrofit
projects in achieving key sustainability issues, and provide a sustainability indicator for existing
Among the topics being covered by the homes.
BRE Group will be: BREEAM In-Use
BREEAM In-Use helps to reduce running costs and improve environmental performance in
existing buildings. It is also being used by property owners and occupiers across Europe,
through the International Sustainability Alliance (see page 9), to benchmark the performance
of commercial property.
BREEAM Assessors
Detailed information about the opportunities to train with BRE to become a BREEAM Assessor,
or to carry out EPC/DEC assessments, will be available at Ecobuild. These courses are designed
to help companies and individuals extend their skills and capabilities to increase their efficiency
and competitiveness, and are delivered by leading BRE experts in each relevant field.
Construction products
With changes to the Construction Products Regulation still being finalised there will be
opportunities at Ecobuild to learn of the latest developments in the Green Guide to
Specification, and on the issues of responsible sourcing and environmental profiling. There
will be an update on IMPACT (Integrated Material Profile And Costing Tool), a project aimed
at changing the way industry approaches low embodied environmental impact and cost-
effective design.
Passivhaus
The Passivhaus Standard is the fastest growing low energy standard in Europe, with more than
20,000 Passivhaus buildings to date and many more being designed and constructed. Passive
design minimises the energy requirements of buildings by making the best use of natural
factors. Typically, such buildings have a passive solar strategy combined with a high level of
thermal efficiency to reduce heating and artificial lighting requirements. They are also specified
with a natural ventilation system.
Passivhaus incorporates features of passive design, but also meets the heating requirement of
the building by pre-heating the fresh incoming air. This use of ‘active’ building services allows
the building designer greater flexibility.
LIST
A new sustainability tool for the retail industry called LIST (Low Impact Sustainability Tool) is
being presented at Ecobuild. Backed by Marks & Spencer, LIST will enable retailers to improve
the sustainability of their shop fittings and display equipment, and shop fitting designers and
manufacturers to choose more sustainable combinations of materials and assemblies (see
page 14).
National Refurbishment Centre
The National Refurbishment Centre (NRC) is a joint initiative between the Energy Saving Trust,
the BRE Trust and a number of industry partners, to enable the practical delivery of green
refurbishment through a national demonstration network. Through this network of some 500
exemplar buildings, the NRC will provide sound evidence-based information for use by all.
Anna Scothern, Director of Housing Enterprise at BRE, will speak on this unique initiative and
some of the projects in the demonstration network.
More information
More than 41,000 visitors attended Ecobuild 2010. Around 50,000 are expected this year. For the latest on these and other BRE events at Ecobuild visit www.bre.co.uk/ecobuild.
Fire safety and sustainability – the perfect combination?
Fire safety and
sustainability—
the perfect
combination?
Fire safety and sustainability in
buildings often share common
goals, but can sometimes appear
to conflict with each other. Greater
awareness of the issues and dialogue
between the two disciplines can
help to make buildings both safer
and more sustainable.
Antonia Crawford reports.
It is well known that fires are bad for the environment. As well
as combustion products such as carbon dioxide and sulphur
oxides, there are contaminants from fire fighting activities –
e.g. run-off water containing fire fighting foams – and the
risk of land contamination from disposing of fire damaged
materials that may contain heavy metals.
In addition, there are environmental impacts from rebuilding
fire damaged structures and, in some cases, of relocating key
services – such as added car travel if a local school is closed
due to fire.
Clearly the fire safety and sustainable development
communities have a common interest in making sure that
there are as few fires as possible, and that fires cause as little
damage as possible. But there is sometimes a lack of scientific
data, dialogue or awareness, which needs to be overcome.
BREEAM
The BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
assumes a baseline of legal compliance when starting an
assessment. It does not award credits for merely meeting
building regulations because BREEAM has been developed
to promote excellence in the construction sector.
Currently, BREEAM does not award credits for the inclusion of
elements limiting the impact of fire (such as sprinkler systems
and added passive protection) above and beyond building
regulations, because their contribution to a sustainable
design solution is difficult to quantify – there is not, as yet,
enough scientific data to support appropriate assessment
criteria. Every item included in a building has an associated
environmental impact, including fire protection systems.
The environmental impact of a single system may well be
outweighed by the reduction of emissions when a major
fire incident takes place. Indeed, this has been quantified
and documented by the USA insurance company FM Global
in a single test. However, to be incorporated into BREEAM
it would be necessary to identify a ‘typical’ fire by purpose
group and compare this with the environmental impact
of installing a particular fire safety measure across the
building stock.
But what is a typical warehouse fire? How do we define
‘typical’ in reference to fires – by size, by damage, by
environmental impact? These are the sort of questions that
are now being asked, but definitive answers do not yet exist.
BREEAM In-Use
It is possible, however, to gain credits from BREEAM In-Use
for proactive fire safety management above the minimum
legal requirement.
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 there is
a requirement to complete a fire risk assessment for occupied
buildings, which is largely aimed at assessing fire risks to the
occupants (and other relevant persons). If the assessment is
extended to include fire risks to the environment, BREEAM
In-Use is able to reward that.
Innovation
Innovative building methods developed to improve
sustainability can be a source of fire safety concern.
For example, innovative building methods are becoming
difficult to distinguish from traditional construction and
the fire fighting community is therefore concerned about
choosing the safest and most effective fire fighting strategy
when attending a fire. On the positive side, this is helping
to raise awareness of sustainability in the Fire and Rescue
Services, and guides and training courses to help building
surveyors and other professionals could be readily adapted
for the Fire and Rescue Services.
There are also instances where innovations to improve
sustainability may seem to be stifled by the prescriptive
fire safety guidance in Approved Document B.
For example, modern construction materials may conflict with
the recommendations in Approved Document for Fire Safety
(AD B). But there is flexibility in the building regulations and
while the ADs offer one way of meeting the regulations’
functional requirements, there are other options. Fire safety
engineering solutions can help innovative building designs
to meet the Building Regulations using an evidence-based
approach rather than following AD B recommendations.
Take ventilation for example, an important sustainability issue.
More ventilation options are often available when air flow
through the building is unrestricted, but AD B recommends
limiting open space by including fire rated construction to
reduce the spread of fire. However, through discussions early
in the design process it may be possible to meet criteria for
both by using performance-based fire engineering solutions.
This reflects the fact that building sustainability and fire safety
can complement each other, rather than conflict with each
other, if the two disciplines engage in meaningful dialogue
early in the design process.
Awareness and engagement
By being aware of new developments in sustainability, fire
safety professionals can flag up areas where more research
would be helpful. John Woodcock, the 2010/11 President of
the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE), has made the issue of fire
and sustainability the focus of his presidency. A workshop
was held at BRE to engage the fire engineering community in
discussions about their concerns, and to take positive steps
to ensure that fire safety is given its proper place in the
sustainability agenda.
Engagement between professions is being promoted through
joint events. In April 2011 the IFE, the Royal Institute of British
Architects (RIBA) and the Chartered Institute of Architectural
Technicians (CIAT) will be holding an event at BRE to promote
inter-discipline consultation and joint consideration of fire and
sustainability.
For more information
Antonia Crawford, crawforda@bre.co.uk
Antonia Crawford is a member of BRE Global’s Fire &
Security Group.
Launch of sustainable shop fit tool
Launch of
sustainable
shop fit tool
Many retailers have set themselves challenging
sustainability targets, with initiatives to cut carbon
emissions, reduce water use, minimise waste and
change customer habits. But there has been little
focus on one key area, the sustainability of shop
fitting and display equipment. That now looks set
to change with the introduction of a new, Marks &
Spencer backed assessment tool called LIST (Low
Impact Sustainability Tool). Linda McKeown reports.
Large quantities of shop fitting equipment – the display
stands and shelving that play such a crucial role in the
character and success of retail outlets – are routinely
discarded and replaced in UK shops every year.
Although this equipment is often designed to be very durable,
it is typically removed from stores much earlier than would be
expected because of changes in seasonal demands, or as
part of re-branding exercises. It is then usually thrown into
skips and disposed of in landfill rather than being recycled
or reused.
The project
A BRE Trust funded project, conducted in partnership with
Marks & Spencer, design consultancy, Fitch, and point of
purchase company, Displayplan, has been working to reduce
the impacts of shop fitting equipment on the environment.
The aim is to encourage retailers to use materials more
efficiently, rationalise specification, minimise waste and
reduce transport. To this end the team have developed
guidance and an easy-to-use online tool for designers,
manufacturers and retailers which is based on independent
and objective methodology.
Building on similar work undertaken for the construction
sector, the project investigated the types of materials and
products currently used for producing shop fit equipment.
It considered the equipment’s service life – maintenance
and replacement intervals – packaging, transport and end-
of-life issues, and produced an indicative analysis of the
environmental impacts of the options available.
The key output from the project is a web-based tool called
LIST, which designers, manufacturers and retailers can use
to evaluate and reduce the environmental impacts of their
display equipment. ‘The project process itself has been a
really great demonstration of collaboration, with each partner
13 | 14
taking responsibility for bringing their company’s strengths LIST will also allow shop fitting designers and suppliers
to the table and integrating it into the tool,’ says Beulah to demonstrate the environmental credentials of their
Keane, Sustainable Construction Project Manager at products to retailers, compare new shop fit equipment or
Marks & Spencer. new materials that come into the market place, and make
informed suggestions to retailers looking to improve their
LIST
environmental performance. ‘LIST will enhance creativity
The LIST tool uses Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) principles to
at both manufacturing and design stages,’ says David
compare the environmental impacts of two or more shop
Roberts at Fitch, ‘encouraging the use of new and
fitting equipment products or designs. It allows for all
innovative materials.’
significant environmental impacts to be analysed – not just
the carbon emissions – and for the selection of different LIST will be available from April 2011.
combinations of materials and assemblies based on its
For further information
findings. LIST offers a means of giving recognition, within the
James Fisher, E fisherj@bre.co.uk
industry and among retailers, to those shop fitting products
that provide better carbon and overall environmental Linda McKeown is BRE’s Marketing Manager.
performance. ‘The work that we have done with LIST is
pioneering,’ says Scott Morris of DisplayPlan, ‘and will not
Ecopoints
only allow for more informed decisions, but also drive greater
A UK Ecopoint is a single score that measures total
awareness of others throughout the industry. This is a crucial
environmental impact, as a proportion of overall impact
piece of work for us and we believe that this tool will lead to
occurring in the EU, against the impact categories listed
a better tomorrow for everyone.’
below. As a benchmark, 100 Ecopoints are equivalent to
Assessment scores the impact of one EU citizen over one year. The impact
The shop fitting equipment is assessed under five different categories are:
headings – components, packaging, transport, maintenance
and end of life. The LIST assessment gives an overall score of
– Climate Change – Nuclear Waste
all environmental impacts for a piece of equipment, measured
in Ecopoints (see right). The tool also gives a ‘kg of CO2 – Water Extraction – Waste Disposal
equivalent’ score – a measure of carbon impact equivalent
– Mineral Resource Extraction – Fossil Fuel Depletion
to a carbon footprint.
– Stratospheric Ozone – Eutrophication
Benefits
Depletion
The LIST assessment tool and accompanying guidance – Photochemical Ozone
will allow retailers to assess current and available shop – Human Toxicity Creation
fittings, improve their environmental performance, highlight
– Ecotoxicity to Freshwater – Acidification
this to customers and, potentially, reduce waste and its
and Land
associated costs.

Recent publications
REPORTS
Design fires for use in fire safety engineering (FB29)
Provides technical data and guidance on defining a robust and
appropriate design fire for use in the fire safety engineering
design of a building. It explains what a design fire is, how it can
be determined, the limitations of current methodologies,
experimental data and calculation methods.
£45 (£32.50 for subscribers).
Financing UK carbon reduction projects (FB31)
Explores the funding of project-based carbon reduction projects
in the UK, by surveying potential sources of supply and demand
for such emission reductions, and examining the regulatory
hurdles that need to be overcome to put a funding mechanism in
place. It recommends the creation of a comprehensive reporting
framework for carbon reduction projects in the UK.
£30 (£20 for subscribers).
DIGESTS
Concise reviews of building technology.
Residential sprinklers for fire protection (DG519)
Automatic fire sprinkler systems are increasingly complementing
other fire protection measures in residential buildings in the UK.
This two-part Digest introduces the subject and gives guidance
on installing sprinklers in accordance with BS 9251 ‘Sprinkler
systems for residential and domestic occupancies. Code of
practice’. £16.50 (£11.50 for subscribers).
INFORMATION PAPERS
The latest BRE Group research information and how to apply it.
Sustainable housing refurbishment (IP18/10)
Provides an update on the process of refurbishing housing to
make it suitable for modern living with sustainability in mind.
Includes useful tips plus links to numerous sources of information
and websites. Many organisations are working towards
refurbishing the UK’s housing stock, and these are referred to at
relevant points. £15.50 (£12.50 for subscribers).
Designing urban streets to minimise
heat island effects (IP19/10)
Inner-city buildings and streets can create an urban ‘heat island’
in a ‘sea’ of cooler countryside. To help overcome this, city streets
can be designed to take advantage of the convective cooling
effect of the wind (see page 3).
Price: £13.00 (£10.50 for subscribers).
Delivering a successful demonstration
project (IP20/10)
Shares the knowledge that BRE has gained from the ongoing
delivery of its own Innovation Park, and its experience of
working with partners and of sustainable housing and
developments. Highlights wider lessons that can be applied to
new demonstration projects, such as those linked to proposed
eco-developments that showcase energy-efficient homes and
sustainable technologies. £13.00 (£10.50 for subscribers).
Fire performance of Structural Insulated
Panel systems (ref: IP21/10)
Summarises the findings from a research project into the
performance in fire of Structural Insulated Panel systems (SIPs).
Provides recommendations for design, based on the results of a
series of fire tests on single panels, and four large-scale fire tests
on complete building systems incorporating SIPs wall panels and
a floor system comprising engineered floor joists (see page 2).
£9.50 (£8 for subscribers).
GOOD BUILDING GUIDES
Practical guidance on building design and construction.
Water services for domestic purposes (GG80)
Covers the water requirements in a domestic property – both
cold and hot water systems are described, together with pipe
sizing, components and materials. Includes advice on reducing
noise from water systems, and using rainwater and greywater
systems. £16 (£11 for subscribers).
TO OBTAIN THESE PUBLICATIONS OR
TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRE CONNECT
www.BREBookshop.com
Phone 01344 328038
Fax 01344 328005
Email brepress@ihs.com
EVENTS AND TRAINING
Hold the VAT on BREEAM training!
Until 31 March 2011, BRE Global is holding VAT at 17.5% on
BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes assessor training for
all existing assessors. BREEAM assessor schemes include
Commercial (Offices, Industrial, Retail), Education, Healthcare,
International, Other Buildings, Communities and the related
Code for Sustainable Homes. Auditor training is also available for
the new, fast growing BREEAM In-Use scheme.
Contact: www.breeam.org/training
Ecobuild 2011
1–3 March 2011 at the ExCeL, London
Ecobuild, the world’s largest event for sustainable design,
construction and the built environment. It will be bigger than
ever this year with over 1,300 exhibitors and more than 50,000
visitors – along with 130 seminars, and dozens of interactive
attractions and demonstrations (see page 11).
Contact: www.ecobuild.co.uk
Energy management
8–9 March 2011 at the James Watt
Conference Centre, East Kilbride
Give a greater understanding of where and how an organisation
uses energy and what opportunities there are for cost-effective
reductions in energy use.
Contact: 01923 664800, events@bre.co.uk
Certified European Passivhaus Design
Consultant training
9 –18 March 2011 at BRE Watford
Distance Learning and six training days split over the weekend to
become a Certified European Passivhaus Design Consultant with
the skills to successfully design and deliver homes to the
Passivhaus standard. Contact: 01923 664829, train@bre.co.uk
SMARTWaste Plan and SWMP Training
14 March at BRE Watford
Training to comply with Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP)
requirements, and to use the free web-based tool, SMARTWaste
Plan for preparing, implementing and reviewing SWMPs.
Contact: 01923 664800, events@bre.co.uk
BS 9999 – Code of practice for fire safety in
the design, management and use of buildings
18 March 2011 at BRE Global, Watford
Course designed to provide an overview of the detailed fire
safety guidance provided in BS 9999.
Contact: 01923 664271, training@breglobal.com
Fire safety for managers and supervisors
on construction sites
21 March 2011 at BRE Watford
Half-day course explaining how the Regulatory Reform (Fire
Safety) Order 2005, the Construction (Design and management)
Regulations 2007, and the Dangerous Substances and Explosive
Atmospheres Regulations 2002, come together for the
management of fire risks on construction sites.
Contact: 01923 664829, train@bre.co.uk
Understanding the energy and carbon landscape
25 March and 20 May 2011 at BRE Global, Watford
One-day course covering the current key energy issues and
impending energy policy and regulatory issues.
Contact: 01923 664271, training@breglobal.com
Smart energy networks
30–31 March 2011 at BRE Watford
A major conference on smart energy networks will include the
output from the TAHI-BRE project and other associated TSB
projects (see page 3).
Contact: www.bre.co.uk/smartenergy
Environmental permitting and compliance
in construction training course
5 May and 6 July 2011 at BRE Watford
Will provide main contractors, and other construction
professionals involved in reusing and recycling products and
materials, with a better understanding of how to reuse and
recycle on a construction site in compliance with current
Environmental Permitting Legislation.
Contact: 01923 664800, events@bre.co.uk
Sustainable Construction iNet events
The Sustainable Construction iNet will be running a series of
events throughout 2010–11 on various key construction and
sustainability ‘hot topics’. They are only open to East Midland
organisations.
Contact: 01923 664800, events@bre.co.uk
More information
For more information on events and training courses,
www.bre.co.uk/events
T 01923 664800
E events@bre.co.uk