Wed 2 Apr 2008
Zero Carbon
Hello. My name is Zero Carbon, Show House magazine diarist Secret Squirrel’s green teetotal cousin and your new online e-columnist. I am a superhero, who saves the planet, leaving no footprint – or indeed paw print. My emission, which I chose to accept, is to neutralise the hot air surrounding all things sustainable and eco-friendly. I came down to earth from a planet light years ahead of you, where credit crunch is a chocolate bar and Al Gore is our poster boy. We had green recycling wheelie bins before you had dinosaurs. By all means print this, but unless it is on 100 per cent recycled paper, I will have to kill you. Superman’s nemesis is kryptonite. Mine is the slightest contact with a single flush toilet, which uses an unsustainable 13 litres of water a flush.
My first assignment, after a trip to Ecobuild where Show House was exhibiting, was to fly to MIPIM in Cannes, obviously planting trees as I went to remain carbon neutral. There was an international summit of property industry leaders, chaired by British Property Federation chief Liz Peace, discussing a global green index to measure sustainability around the world. The UK, Japan, USA, Germany, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Australia were all represented. Australia alone has 368 different ways of measuring sustainability. The Global Reporting Initiative is a hugely challenging project. Make it happen world.
Why has the government set the unattainable target for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016? At that time of night most of the housebuilding industry is either in the pub, or having a networking dinner at some swanky restaurant.
Some interesting stats from my friends at Velux, pioneers of the Solar Hot Water System since you ask. I assume this figure is based on three million new homes being built by 2020, four minutes after zero carbon targets have been hit. Apparently within 30 years the new homes being built today will be around 30 per cent of the total housing stock. I like Velux’s idea about linking improved energy efficiency to reduced council tax bills and tax breaks to spend on renewable technology.
So the eco-towns shortlist has been released and, surprise surprise, the Nimbys have already painted their ‘Say No to Eco’ placards. If Tim Henman showed as much bite on the tennis court as his parents have reacting angrily to a new town proposed in their Oxfordshire backyard, nice but Tim might have won Wimbledon. Predictably one-eyed press releases flood my inbox. The CPRE says ‘right idea, wrong place’ and then lists ten tests for what makes the perfect eco-town. In summary if all tests were passed, we would be naming the new towns Utopia, as opposed to U Must Be Joking. The HBF says remember even if all the shortlists locations were developed, the homes would represent less than five per cent of the three million needed by 2020. The Federation of Master Builders claims eco-towns are a red herring, which I thought was a village in West Sussex. “They sound lovely,” says the FMB, “but are really to give the government’s housing plans a stamp of green credibility.” Oh, you cynics. The FMB says concentrate on refitting the 675,000 empty homes in England with green technologies. Yes, but you have got to want to live there.
I need to spread the love. According to the NHBC, homeowners are simply not ready for zero carbon and many do not know what is causing climate change. The idea of airtight – do not even go there cousin Squirrel – puts off buyers, who think it would create an unhealthy environment. More education clearly needed.
Do not want to scare you housebuilders, but housing minister Caroline Flint says all new homes will have to rated against the Code for Sustainable Homes from May 1, which is just days away. “The majority of housebuilders are currently working towards code level three. The government’s continued reference to zero carbon homes (achieving level six) is just not within reach and is misleading the public. Zero carbon homes are not a realistic target in the current market place,” said Chris Coates, managing director of Galliford Try.
I love the concept of the Good Homes Alliance, billed as “a group of developers committed to building and promoting sustainable homes and communities in the UK,” with Kingerlee Homes very much at the hub of this group. If you are not a member, are you therefore part of the Bad Homes Alliance? Committed to being unsustainable and belching carbon? The Bad Homes Alliance – Zero Carbon’s very own Lex Luther.
So much heated and healthy debate ahead. Superman had it easy. Must go. I’ve got a date with a blonde called Carbon Peroxide and I’m hoping tonight’s the night we go to Level 4, if my micro renewables can sustain it.
Got a green issue? Or simply browned off? Email zerocarbon@showhouse.co.uk
Posted by Show House
in Comment on Wed 2 Apr 2008
Are the folks at BRE taking a breather thinking the job is done? You bet not - they are already working on the next version.
I better order some more paper.
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