Cities and Built Environment

September 2011 Activities Throughout September, 2degrees will be bringing you a range of content and activities relating to sustainability in the built environment. New this month are our Essentials guides, which offer concise information and insights into some of the key topics within sustainability. Join us for webinars on topics including how the US is responding to legislation to rate the energy performance of buildings and how this will affect businesses; how German low energy standards are being used to upgrade existing housing and how the UK aims to meet its target to make all new homes zero carbon by 2016. We will also be reporting live form the B4E Climate Summit 2011, which brings together world leaders, CEOs, senior executives and industry experts to share ideas on tackling the environmental challenges facing the world today.

2degrees Essentials

In September 2degrees will be bringing you its Essentials guides. As the name suggests, these are concise guides giving a handy overview of some of the key topics within sustainability, together with a list of useful resources for further learning. Within the Cities and Built Environment groups we have Essentials guides on building environmental rating schemes, the smart grid and the UKs Green Deal. New to the our line-up of contributors this month is Robert de Jong of the Urban Land Institute who will covering issues including public and private partnership and energy. We will also be bringing you more from our regular contributors, including the latest from the US Green Building Council on the build up to the Green Build Expo and the work of the London Climate Change Partnership.

FROM THE WEEK BEGINNING

SEPTEMBER 5

TH

Thought Leadership

FROM THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 5

TH

Cities and Built Environment

September 2011 Activities

Building Energy Performance Rating: What it means for US businesses

States and cities in the US are breaking new ground with policies to rate the energy performance of buildings and provide that information to consumers. These policies will impact on billions of square feet of floor space and influence the real estate decisions of thousands of businesses, tenants, owners and investors. This webinar will look at the recent review of US rating and disclosure policies by the Institute for Market Transformation which provides an insight into policy trends across states and cities and how stakeholders

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7

TH

3:00 P.M. (BST) / 10:00 A.M. (EDT)

can anticipate and prepare for the impact that energy performance policies are likely to have on them.

B4E Climate Summit 2011: Innovation, growth and the clean industrial revolution

The B4E, Business for the Environment, summits bring together world leaders, CEOs, senior executives and industry experts to share ideas and commit to solutions, which address the most urgent environmental challenges facing the world today. During this years event in London we will be bringing you live streaming of selected sessions, a write up of building and construction

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12

TH

session and podcasts with speakers.

The Route to Zero Carbon Homes

The UK has set an ambitious target for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016. By bringing together experts from the Zero Carbon Hub and the Home Builders Federation, this webinar will explore the zero carbon definition and the approach for delivering homes to the standard. Together with a clear understanding of the challenges the requirements bring and some of the solutions and technologies for achieving it, you will also get a unique insight into how low and zero carbon homes have been successfully delivered in Canada and the lessons that can be applied in the UK.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 14

TH

3:00 P.M. (BST) / 10:00 A.M. (EDT)

Cities and Built Environment

September 2011 Activities

Passivhaus: Applying the low energy standard to social housing refurbishment

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20
TH

The German low energy standard is gaining ground in the UK and also stirring interest in the US. Originally intended for new builds, it is now being applied to refurbishment projects. In this webinar we look at a recent scheme to refurbish a social housing project and explore the approach taken, the lessons that have been learned and how it might be applied to other projects.

3:00 P.M. (BST) / 10:00 A.M. (EDT)

Environmental Implications of the UKs Draft National Planning Policy Framework

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27
TH

The UK government has published its new draft planning framework which will inform the planning system and all new development in England. Key to the proposed reforms is to make the planning system less complex and more accessible, and to promote sustainable growth. But what are the likely environmental implications and how will it affect cross-boundary issues such as energy supply and biodiversity?

3:00 P.M. (BST) / 10:00 A.M. (EDT)

Improving the Energy Efficiency of Traditional Homes

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30
TH

This podcast with Rachel Coxcoon of the UKs Centre for Sustainable Energy will look at the recent work carried out to identify the steps which can be taken to improve the energy performance of traditional homes, especially those in conservation areas.

Coming up next month:

In October, we will look at the issues surrounding electric vehicles including the different approaches

Athat are being taken to roll-out charging infrastructures, the technologies and standards being used guide to improving the energy effi
and where the funding is coming from. Well also look at the refurbishment of commercial offices and what the important factors are when trying to reduce carbon emissions, both in terms of embodied and operational energy. Also be on the lookout for the following activities: o o o Responsible sourcing of construction materials How to make cities less vulnerable to water What the UKs renewable heat incentive means for businesses