The Green Register of Construction Professionals

This month we've had great coverage in the media on TGR's training course plus our members' exciting green building projects. Denovo Design's Sun Tunnels project in Ashton will be in April's Sustainable FM magazine and if you can't wait until then visit:

http://www.thehouseplanner.co.uk/rooflights.html

Look at for McCaren Design's eco renovation project in the latest Homebuilding and Renovating, and don't forget to stay up-to-date with TGR's work on our blog page: www.greenregister.org.uk/blog

Lucy Pedler, TGR's Director, has predicted 3 key top trends in green building for 2010.

“For 2010 I think the UK’s construction industry professionals will:

1.   Give much more emphasis on the existing building stock.

2.   Builders will have to become much more aware of issues such as airtightness due to new Part L legislation and clients’ desire to reach higher building standards such as passivhaus.

3.   Developers will need to be more savvy about sustainable building practices as clients/occupants demand higher standards.”

Despite the recession TGR thinks that opportunities exist and this positive attitude is reflected by its member  97% of whom have just renewed their annual membership. Lucy said:

“Our members come from all disciplines of the construction industry and from all regions of the UK. We are committed to providing them with up-to-date training on cutting edge issues at an affordable price. We’d like to thank our partners and members for supporting the work of TGR and we’re very glad that members see huge benefits in renewing their valuable TGR membership.”

TGR believes that struggling professionals who have been hit hard by the recession can give their career a boost by training in green building issues. Their next Foundation course is on 25^th February in Leeds, book online at www.greenregister.org

This course starts with an introduction to The Green Register and an overview of current global problems.  Sessions then follow on Relevant Legislation, The External Envelope including Healthy Interiors, Sustainable Water in the UK and Low Carbon Technologies Parts 1 and 2.  

In addition to the main subjects presented - energy, water and waste minimisation - the topic of Contraction and Convergence as an important social issue is also covered.  

Hilary Philips of McCaren Design said:

“McCaren Design are pleased to be members of the Green Register.  Their induction course provided an independent and objective overview of best practice in sustainable design – an invaluable resource in a field where genuine sustainability and ‘greenwash’ are easily confused.  Through the Green Register events we also have an opportunity to share ideas with other practices all working towards the same goal.  The regular Green Register newsletters keep us informed of further training opportunities and important developments in the field.”

For more information on TGR and their training courses and membership please call the team on 01173773490 or mail@greenregister.org.uk

Green Books is a long-established publisher of environmental titles for the general and professional reader.

Their sustainable building list includes The Green Self-Build Book by architect Jon Broome;  Building with Cob and Using Natural Finishes by award-winning cob builders Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce; and Building with Straw Bales: a guide for the UK and Ireland by the UK's premier straw-bale builder Barbara Jones (new edition recently published).

All their books are printed in the UK on recycled paper using vegetable inks.

They also distribute books produced by US publisher Chelsea Green, whose bestselling titles include The Slate Roof Bible by Joseph Jenkins and Wind Energy Basics by Paul Gipe.

Green Books is offering a 20% discount on all their books to Green Register members.

Members should log in to find out how to claim this generous discount and visit www.greenbooks.co.uk to view the full range of titles available

We often receive feedback that many of you would ilke to see more Green Register courses in the North of England so we're very much looking forward to visiting both Leeds and Manchester in the coming months.

We'll be offering our ever-popular Foundation Course and Sustainable Building & Services course and, in March, Becoming an Eco Refurbisher which has proved such a massive success in Bristol and London - early booking recommended!

Please see our Events Page for further info

A selection of presentations from last months successful 'Towards A Green Heritage' conference are now available to download for free on the RIBA South West website. Please click HERE to view them.

Please visit Lucy Pedler's latest blog entry to read about our massively successful Towards A Green Heritage conference held in conjunction with RIBA South West in Swindon on 26 November - a great day was had by all, including Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud.

The Green Register’s sustainable building course is now available for FREE through the University of Westminster’s innovative Build Up program.
 
Following a successful launch in July, Build Up has seen an upsurge of built environment professionals registering for one of 1,500 free places on offer to help develop their careers against the recession.
 
Now delegates can sign up for training in sustainable building delivered by industry experts The Green Register (TGR). The course will equip delegates with the skills and knowledge they need to meeting the growing demand for green building products and services.
 
Build Up Programme Director, Laura Harding said:
“The Build Up Programme features a range of collaborative projects involving local authorities and not-for-profit organisations that focus on the development of green skills, dealing with low carbon and sustainable community issues. Our association with The Green Register helps strengthen our focus on adapting building practices and individual projects to become more environmentally sustainable.”

The 2-day course is based on TGR’s Sustainable Building & Services course which is the UK’s longest running green building training course. It will provide an ideal, compact opportunity to learn about the essential issues surrounding sustainable building practices and to network with like-minded individuals across a range of disciplines
 
The course is due to take place on the 21st and 22nd of January 2010. Completing this course means that delegates will qualify for Green Register membership. For more details about the course and how to book see www.build-up.org.uk
 
Build Up is aimed at unemployed or under-employed built environment professionals, the program enables eligible participants such as town planners, architects, surveyors, construction professionals, housing professionals, building engineers and urban designers the opportunity to identify and develop skills in key shortage areas, better preparing them to take advantage of the predicted economic upturn.
Build Up offers a range of courses over three strands which concentrate on issues that are sometimes overlooked in traditional educational or professional environments. A key is to promote and develop inter-professional working and new ways of looking at urban issues, with participants being offered courses in networking and career assessment, business skills and community engagement.
The third strand features a range of collaborative projects involving local authorities and not-for-profit organisations that also focus on the development of green skills, dealing with low carbon and sustainable community issues.

The Green Register has just launched a new competition which gives construction industry professionals  the chance to win a FREE ticket to our forthcoming one-day conference ‘Towards a Green Heritage: Contemporary Problems to Age-old Solutions’.

We'd like construction professionals to share their experiences of undertaking an eco-refurb project with old buildings by sending us 3 short paragraphs under the headings of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Entries should be sent to mail@greenregister.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 20th November.

Following the prize draw one lucky winner will be picked at random to receive a free ticket to our high profile event, worth up to £195.50.

We will also be featuring entries on this website - for more information about the conference see the events page.

Towards a Greener Heritage: contemporary solutions to age-old problems

We're all extremely excited about this one day conference to be held in Swindon on 26 November in conjunction with RIBA South West.

Places are filling fast so book yours while you still can - A full schedule, costs and booking form can be obtained by contacting us at mail@greenregister.org.uk - but please do NOT use the online signup for this event, thank you.

The UK has as many historic buildings as in all the countries of Europe put together and we are rightly proud of our architectural heritage. But are we trying to preserve these buildings at the expense of the environment?

Many aspects of historic building preservation are compatible with the principles of sustainable design – making use of local, low impact materials, employing natural, unprocessed materials and using passive solar gain – but there are others that are in apparent opposition. Approaches can differ radically and this conference will seek to explore these challenges using case studies to illustrate where collaboration has resulted in successful, sustainable and sensitively renovated solutions.

The conference will start with an introduction by architect George Ferguson giving a regional perspective. This will be followed by a talk given by English Heritage who will dispel some of the more common myths about historic buildings and sustainability. A comprehensive review of relevant legislation, including PPG 15 and other policies will be presented by Chris Pound, Planner and active representative at UNESCO.

There will be case studies illustrating a collaborative approach to the problem resulting in successful outcomes and the morning finishes with B&NES presenting their ‘Georgian house for the future’ project.

During the lunch break, a talk and tour of the neighbouring award winning Heelis project by Feilden Clegg Bradley have been organised and delegates will be able to reserve a place when booking the conference.

The second part of the day will begin with Ruth Reed, new RIBA President, who will comment on how the RIBA is engaging with these issues and in particular how the Institute has successfully campaigned to lower the VAT level on refurbishment projects.

Challenging workshops will include John Willoughby with his Extreme Refurb programme, Kevin McCloud discussing The Great British Refurb as well as a session with the National Trust who will discuss with delegates the creation of a new building within a Listed building.

The conference will conclude with an open debate with Paul King of UK-GBC, Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs and Ruth Reed followed by a drinks reception (provided by JHAi Approved Inspectors) and the launch of RIBA Retrofit Ideas competition.

A full schedule, costs and booking form can be obtained by contacting us at mail@greenregister.org.uk - please do not use the online signup for this event, thank you.

The RIBA Journal wrote to 50 practices of varying sizes asking them what CPDs they thought were most beneficial for their practices. Among the responses was that of Elizabeth Kavanagh from Stride Treglown who nominated Cath Hassell of the Green Register Network for her CPD on covered solar thermal systems and their ability to reduce CO2 emissions from a dwelling.

For the full article see http://www.ribajournal.com/index.php/feature/article/makers_dozen_AUGSEPT09