Ecobuild latest: Clients are still getting to grips with the green agenda, delegates told

Clients are getting to grips with sustainability but some still don鈥檛 know their own sustainability policy, according to architects and developers.

Speaking in a Q&A following an Ecobuild conference session on innovative design, architect Rab Bennetts, founder of Bennetts Associates, said some larger clients don鈥檛 know their own sustainability policies and rely on architects to explain them.

He said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e finding bigger companies worry about recruitment. They鈥檙e being asked what their sustainability policy is and they have to have an answer.

鈥淭hey sometimes don鈥檛 know and they ring up their architect and ask 鈥榳hat鈥檚 our sustainability policy?鈥欌��

However, he added that clients are 鈥渘ot hostile to sustainability鈥� and said they are 鈥渧ery willing when you properly explain everything to them.鈥�

Paul Williams, director at developer Derwent London, agreed clients are keen on improving their sustainability.

He said: 鈥淲hen I see some of our customers/tenants, sustainability is high on their agenda. For one client, for their sustainability tick list BREEAM was high up on the list.鈥�

Also speaking at the conference was Lydia Dutton, project manager at developer Argent, who revealed that London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith 鈥� who was attending a UKGBC event 鈥� said he is looking to follow the example of Bristol when it comes renewable energy in the built environment.

Answering a question on how renewables can help close the building performance gap, she said: 鈥淶ac Goldsmith said the leader of the city of Bristol has opened all of the roofs (of council-owned buildings) to renewable energy鈥� with solar PVs.鈥�

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 something that as a model might be able to be developed across the UK.鈥�

Topics