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2012 Construction Commitments – ‘A Winning Business Strategy’
At the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) supported 2012 Construction Commitments Conference businesses learnt about the opportunities and benefits that the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games can bring.
The Melton Mowbray event coincided with the revealing of the design for the Olympic Stadium in London. Speaking at the 2012 Construction Commitments conference Rob Knight of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) urged East Midlands businesses to join them in delivering the infrastructure for the Games. He announced that a new service to help businesses access supply chain opportunities is to be launched in January 2008. CompeteFor is an electronic brokerage service which allows main contractors to advertise sub-contracts and below whilst suppliers will be able to upload the services and products they can deliver.
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Constructing Better Health Occupational Health Standards for the UK Construction Industry
The Constructing Better Health Occupational Health Standards for the UK Construction Industry have now been published. The purpose of the standards is to provide key stakeholders with a best practice guide for work-place health and fitness for work requirements within the UK Construction Industry.
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Midlands Highway Alliance announces Contractors for £98m Framework
The Midlands Highways Alliance (MHA), made up of ten councils and the Highways Agency, has selected four contractors to service the key contract in a package of several new highway construction and maintenance frameworks. The successful contractors for the MHA Medium Schemes Framework are Balfour Beatty/Birse (Joint Venture), Carillion, Osbornes/Aggregate Industries (Joint Venture) and Tarmac. The winners of the contract were unveiled at the MHA’s Programme Board Meeting at the Loughborough Innovation Centre on November 9th.
By working together, the MHA aims to reap efficiency gains of up to 10%, speed up the procurement process and deliver schemes to a higher standard. The spend through the framework is expected to increase up to £150 million in following years as public bodies are placed under greater pressure to realise efficiency gains in the face of spending constraints.
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Leicestershire County Council wins Highways Magazine Excellence Award
Leicestershire's innovative approach to highways and transportation has been recognised at a national awards ceremony. The County Council scooped the prestigious 'Most Innovative Local Authority of the Year' Award, at the Highways Magazine’s Excellence Awards.
As well as exceptionally high levels of customer service, the Council was also complimented on ground-breaking collaborations with other local authorities and modern approaches to contracting services.
The judges said Leicestershire had provided an 'excellent submission, which illustrates how collaborative working, innovation and customer focus are embedded in the organisation.'
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New legislation for greener, more affordable housing
A new Bill which will drive forward the Government’s pledge to build 3 million greener, more affordable new homes by 2020 to help first-time buyers and families has been published by Housing Minister Yvette Cooper.
New measures in the Housing and Regeneration Bill include legislation to remove barriers to councils building their own social housing, stronger action where tenants are unhappy with the management of their estates, and new rules for councils to tackle anti-social tenants.
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Rewarding your Vision for a Sustainable Future
The Holcim Awards competition is now open for entries and will close on February 29, 2008. The competition celebrates innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects from around the globe and provides prize money of USD 2 million per three-year competition cycle.
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Putting the Spin on Climate Change
According to a study by Hill and Knowlton, (Canada's industry leader in public relations, public affairs and strategic communications) the announcement from US Chief Scientist, Professor John Marburger, that it is more than 90 per cent certain that climate change is a man-made phenomenon supports the overall view presented in the UK media.
The three month study of 1,479 climate-change articles in the UK media, released by Hill and Knowlton and analysis partner ComMetric, demonstrates a clear media bias towards the position that greenhouse-gas emissions from mankind are to blame for global warming. Individual views, however, still remain divided.
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Improving Resource Efficiency in Infrastructure Projects
The Infrastructure Forum are conducting a small trial in the East Midlands (Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire) with the Government programme Envirowise, on how infrastructure projects can become more resource efficient. If you currently work in the region and would like to put forward a project, please read the text on the link and return the expression of interest.
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Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme (CEEQUAL)
CEEQUAL is an awards scheme assessing the environmental quality of civil engineering projects - a civil engineering equivalent to BREEAM for buildings. Promoted by ICE, BRE, CIRIA and a group of committed industry organisations, its objective is to encourage the attainment of environmental excellence in civil engineering projects; and thus to deliver improved environmental performance in project specification, design and construction.
CEEQUAL uses a rigorous points-scoring-based assessment, which is applicable to any civil engineering project and includes environmental aspects such as the use of water, energy and land as well as ecology, landscape, nuisance to neighbours, archaeology, waste minimisation and management, and community amenity. CEEQUAL awards publicly recognises the achievement of high environmental performance. Awards are made to projects in which the clients, designers and contractors go beyond the legal and environmental minima to achieve distinctive environmental standards of performance.
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RICS Awards 2008
What more effective marketing tool is there than the publicity of entering, let alone the recognition of winning, one of the property industry’s most important and prestigious showcases?
RICS Awards consistently attract talented property developers, engineers, planners, architects, and of course, surveyors all looking to promote their high profile projects and clients.
The awards are just part of the way RICS promotes best practice and consumer interest. And are just one more reason why governments, businesses and society look to RICS to provide property advice.
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Waste Culture Questionnaire
Envirowise are asking construction related organisations to complete a questionnaire to help them gather intelligence from the industry to assist with the development of their future strategy with regard to the support and assistance they are able to offer construction related organisations
Follow the link to download, all information will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
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Interested in Trialling a Baler?
Construction projects to trial the use of balers, for compacting and baling packaging waste on-site are currently being sought. Throughout the industry the use of balers is often advocated as best-practice and there is circumstantial evidence that there is an economic and environmental benefit. However, it has not been proven and as a result the take up has been limited.
The fundamental aim of this trial is to further investigate the use of on-site balers and to develop a case study. All the financial costs, including the hiring and transportation of baler, will be 100% funded by this project.
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Designing out Waste is a Waste of Time?
The East-Midlands Construction Resource Efficiency Club will be hosting a high profile debate to explore the issues all industry professionals are currently experiencing with designing out waste. This area of discussion will continue to gather increasing importance as landfill taxes are increased in an endeavour to divert waste away from landfill sites (current predictions estimate that within the East-Midlands our landfills could be full in 7 years).
By taking part you will hear 5 short presentations form a range of professionals including; Suppliers, Contractors, Developers and Architects followed by what we anticipate will be a lively and informative debate surrounding the topics raised.
Taking place on Wednesday 30th January at the Innovation Centre, Loughborough University, follow the link to find out more:
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Sustainability ‘Speak’
On 13 December 2006, the Code for Sustainable Homes - a new national standard for sustainable design and construction of new homes was launched. CLG have supplemented this with a technical guidance manual published in October 2007. It sets out the requirements for the Code, and the process by which a Code assessment is reached.
Details can be found at code for sustainable homes technical guide
CLG have also produced a booklet that gives businesses advice on heating and hot water systems and their controls, it covers boilers, space heating systems, water heaters and Hot water systems
Details can be found here Read more link
Code for Sustainable Homes ~ December 2006 (DCLG)
- The Code measures the sustainability of a home against design categories, rating the ‘whole home’ as a complete package.
- The design categories included in the Code are:
- energy/CO2
- water
- materials
- surface water run-off
- waste
- pollution
- health and well-being
- management
- ecology
- The Code uses a sustainability rating system – indicated by ‘stars’ (*), to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a home.
- A home can achieve a sustainability rating from one (*) to six (******) stars, depending on the extent to which it has achieved Code Standards.
- One star (*) is the entry level – above the level of the Building Regulations, and six stars (******) is the highest level – reflecting exemplar development in sustainability terms.
- A one star (*) rating is otherwise known as a ‘Code Level 1’, a two star (**) a ‘Code Level 2’, etc, to a ‘zero carbon home’ (ie zero net emissions of CO2 from all energy use in the home) at six stars (******) a ‘Code Level 6’.
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Resource efficiency – how to build better profits
Are you a small to medium sized enterprise in the construction sector and based in the East Midlands? If yes, then you could be just one telephone call away from receiving a £10,000 grant to help you improve your resource efficiency.
Resource efficiency involves the most efficient use possible of raw materials, energy and water. Increasing legislation through the introduction of mandatory site waste management plans and growing waste disposal costs are forcing construction companies to manage their raw materials in order to minimise waste. Resource efficiency can help you meet new legislation and it will also save you money!
For a FREE consultation on your resource efficiency and access to expert advice call Business Link today on 0845 058 6644 or download the brochure below for more information.
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Free training for Small Builders throughout the East Midlands,West Midlands and South West of England
Envirowise are delivering free, government-funded training sessions to small building companies (50 or less employees). The training will focus on helping companies to reduce the amount of waste that they produce to save money and help the environment.
The training is presented in two relaxed 20-30 minute sessions on separate days. They are delivered at a time most convenient to the companies so that the working day is not interrupted, for example at lunch time or during breaks. Free refreshments (drinks, sandwiches etc.) can also be provided for all those attending. Trainers can travel to any site in the East Midlands, West Midlands and South West of England.
Read more: envirowise-small-builder-training-campaign.html
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Resource Efficiency Training for Small Builders
We are pleased to be able to inform you of new training events being run by Envirowise across the north of England and Yorkshire and Humber. The training is designed to help small builders to reduce the amount of waste that they produce. The training will run from Jan-April 2007 and dates, times and locations are very flexible.
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Resource Efficiency Club: Carbon Accounting Workshop
During October members of the East-Midlands Construction Resource Efficiency Club took part in an event to explore the issues of Carbon Footprinting for the construction industry.
Facilitated by Ian Nicholson of Responsible Solutions and The Carbon Coach, Dave Hampton, participants were given an introduction as to why carbon management is becoming increasing important to the construction industry, with an overview of the practicalities of carbon footprint analysis. A case study was presented illustrating the environmental and financial savings which can be borne by the industry through pro-active carbon management, and an overview of the requirements of Energy Performance Certificates, just one of the instruments that the government are using in an effort to reduce the nations green house gas emissions (A recent WRAP publication estimates that reducing waste by 10 tonnes this will save around 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.)
The legislation the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy certificates The legislation for introduction of Energy Performance Certificates and Display Energy certificates was laid in Parliament in March 2007, and will come into force in a phased manner as outlined in the table obtainable here
If this is an issue for your business, or if you require any additional information then follow the link below:
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Sherwood: 'The Living Legend' Granted Detailed Planning Permission
The aim of the project is to create a world-class and environmentally friendly visitor complex for Sherwood Forest to celebrate its ecology and folklore. The project is short-listed for Big Lottery support, subject to a TV vote later this year. The design of the new visitor centre, produced by Make architects, is based on an oak tree and it will stand proud at 100ft high. Visitors will be treated to amazing views of the Sherwood landscape from the tree top viewing gallery. The proposals include a small wind farm in order to create a development which is carbon neutral in operation.
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Construction Resources and Waste Platform
The Construction Resources & Waste Platform (CRWP) is managed by AEA and BRE, and is funded by the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme. The main priority of CRWP is to ensure the construction industry has a say in how funds are allocated to improve their ability to be resource efficient. It also aims to improve the understanding of what services and support is available to the construction industry to help it become more resource efficient.
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