How to neutralise your greenhouse gas footprint
With time running out for us to make deep reductions in greenhouse emissions, you may well be wondering what you personally can do to minimise your own greenhouse footprint. The average greenhouse emissions per Australian are the equivalent of 21 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. How can you offset or neutralise your personal share of these carbon emissions in the most cost-effective way? Read also: We can be a carbon-neutral nation by 2050, if we just get on with it There are some places
European Smart Projects Summit: San Sebastian faces the challenges of smart city solutions and sustainable innovation
Project’s Lighthouse City of Donostia/San Sebastian organized last 26th and 27th of March the European Smart Projects Summit, where representatives and experts across 90 cities from 14 SCC01 (Smart Cities and Communities) projects funded by the H2020 Programme shared their experiences and thoughts about the future of Smart Cities. During the first morning, public authorities from San Sebastian welcomed the public and shared key aspects of city. The EIP – SCC (European Innovation Partnership on
IBPSA Webinar 2019 Session 5: Effects of real-time simulation feedback on design for visual comfort
How can we choose the building performance simulation software that helps its users make the best decisions? This presentation explores the psychology of simulation users interacting with two similar simulation tools and tracks the different patterns of design exploration, outcome, and user satisfaction that result. It focuses on the importance of accurate real-time feedback to enhance the abilities of designers and building analysts. In a study, 40 subjects with backgrounds in building design
World Green Building Week 2018 #HomeGreenHome campaign shortlisted for green award
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is delighted to announce its World Green Building Week 2018 campaign has been shortlisted for the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2019.The #HomeGreenHome campaign which reached an estimated 155 million people worldwide in September 2018 is a finalist in the Environmental Awareness Campaign of the Year category. Taking place in the last week of September each year, World Green Building Week is an annual campaign designed to raise awareness of green building
Energiesprong starts net zero energy innovation project for apartment buildings
Energiesprong kicks off Interreg NWE´s Mustbe0 project to make net zero energy suitable for multi-storey buildings in North West Europe After a successful start bringing the Dutch Energiesprong approach for affordable, desirable, long-term performance guaranteed net zero energy (NZE) retrofits to Europe for single family homes (E=0), the coming three years will see Energiesprong develop a market for apartment buildings in North West Europe under a new project: Mustbe0, funded by Interreg NWE. The
As climate changes, the way we build homes must change too
The impacts of floods, wildfires and other catastrophic events are on the rise in Canada. They’re already costing the country billions of dollars in losses, which only stand to grow in the coming years. The Canadian insurance industry defines a catastrophic event as one that exceeds a threshold of $25 million in insured losses — the portion covered by private insurance. Insurance claims due to extreme weather reached $1.9 billion in 2018, including the late December wind storm on British Columbia’s
Linking indoor environmental quality and energy performance in building regulation
People spending 60-90% of their life in indoor environments (homes, offices, schools, etc.), indoor air quality is essential in ensuring health, quality of life and performance of buildings’ occupants. Building policies are increasingly demanding in terms of energy performance and reduction of CO2 emissions. At the same time, people spending 60-90% of their life in indoor environments (homes, offices, schools, etc.), indoor air quality is essential in ensuring health, quality of life and performance
[Urban Resilience] Operational Resilience for intermediate cities
At a time when hazards, both “natural” or technological, cost many lives and billions of dollars, ($190M / per year during the last 10 years), several trends, related among other things to the effects of climate change, urban growth, the technological complexity of territories and the vulnerability of critical infrastructures, bring out the need for new frameworks of thought, and therefore methodologies and tools. Different stakeholders working for a more sustainable city in Europe and over the world
ECOS 2019 - 32nd International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems
ECOS conference aims at disseminating advanced scientific and engineering knowledge on energy conversion and efficiency The overall objective of the conference is to introduce scholars of the subject, policy makers, and interested groups to cutting edge research that benefit society. It is also intended to initiate discussions among international scholars from multiple disciplines, on the current state of energy related research including impacts of energy use and conversion on critical resources
Symposium 'IEA activities on energy in buildings and communities'
ave the date for the symposium ‘IEA activities on energy in buildings and communities’ on 11th of June 2019 in Brussels. During this event the activities of the International Energy Agency (IEA) will be presented and focus will be on the energy reduction in the built environment and the reduction of CO2- emissions. The symposium will explain the context and approach of the IEA from different perspectives. Special attention will be paid to the Belgian and Dutch context. The results of a diverse
Launch of TerriSTORY®
TERRISTORy.fr: a reference web-tool for territories in transitionThe energy and environmental transition is an opportunity for the territories to regain a new perspective towards development. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region in partnership with ADEME* relies on TerriSTORY® to contribute to achieve this goal. This reference web-tool developed by the Regional Energy and Environment Agency (AURA-EE) aims to enable such transition. The official launch of TerriSTORY® will be held at the Region’s stand
RICS World Built Environment Forum Summit 2019 : The Future of Investment in Real Assets
Construction21 is proud to be partner of the World Built Environment Forum taking place in New York, on May 13th. Technology is transforming every aspect of our lives. How can we harness new technology to mobilise private capital investment to meet the growing global demand for new infrastructure, new real estate and the renewal of existing assets? In the context of investing in the built environment, our summit will explore: • The changing nature of work and workplace • The impact of algorithms
The future of renewable infrastructure is uncertain without good planning
In 2005, a small hydropower plant was installed in the Sukajaya district of West Java, Indonesia. This was an off-the-grid project, owned by the community, that provided electricity locally through a mini-grid to about 150 households mainly for lighting. But after 10 years the plant was discontinued when the community was connected to the recently expanded central grid. By Vikas Menghwani, University of British Columbia; Hisham Zerriffi, University of British Columbia, and Sandeep Pai, University
7th European Conference on Renewable Energy Systems (ECRES2019)
The purpose of the ECRES is to bring together researchers, engineers and natural scientists from all over the world, interested in the advances of all branches of renewable energy systems. Wind, solar, hydrogen, hydro-, geothermal, solar concentrating, fuel-cell, energy harvesting and other energy-related topics are welcome. Historically, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth conferences were completed successfully in Alanya/Antalya (2012), Antalya (2013), Kemer/Antalya (2015), Istanbul
Three ways cities can help feed the world, without costing the Earth
Climate change is underway, and human activities such as urbanisation, industrialisation and food production are key contributors. Food production alone accounts for around 25% of global carbon emissions. Ironically, the changing weather patterns and more frequent extreme weather events resulting from climate change also put the world’s food supplies at risk. By Silvio Caputo, University of Kent Food production drives deforestation, meaning there are fewer trees to absorb carbon dioxide, which contributes
