David E. Shiers

“Green” developments: Environmentally responsible buildings in the UK commercial property sector

Within the past ten years, the design, procurement and management of “green” buildings has evolved from something of a “fringe” activity into a new and increasingly popular approach to the provision of commercial property. Many UK Government agencies, and international corporations, now include green buildings as part of their property portfolios and green issues are already influencing many aspects of the property development process. This paper explains some of the background to this more environmentally responsible approach to property, identifies the potential benefits to owners and occupiers and discusses some of the building‐related environmental issues which could provide a basis for ongoing research. The paper concludes that the way commercial buildings are conceived, located, designed and managed is changing, often incorporating new technologies, to meet a new set of project‐specific and organisational environmental objectives.

Social responsibility: key terms and their uses in property investment

Purpose – Corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance (CG) and socially responsible investment (SRI) are now established terms among most large corporations, particularly in the field of investment. The aim of this paper is to explore the issue of social responsibility (SR) in property investment in the UK.Design/methodology/approach – A review of existing literature across different disciplines sought to explore the scope and boundaries of these issues. This was followed by a review of the approaches to, and reporting protocols of the activities of the five largest property investment management companies in the UK.Findings – The study revealed a significant variation in the way UK property investment management companies define and use SR‐related terms, both within and between companies in the same industry.Originality/value – The potential for confusion, difficulties in communication (both within and between companies) and dilution of the true meaning of these terms is significant for t...

The “green” refurbishment of commercial property

Reviews current key areas of acknowledged best practice in “green” design and building management systems including the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method, Eco labelling and “green” building materials profiling systems. Identifies and discusses specific problems and “green” refurbishment techniques using examples drawn from recent case studies from commercial portfolios: energy and resource use; internal environmental services and systems; planned “green” maintenance programmes and techniques; “green” building management issues; and cost analysis of “green” refurbishment; cost effectiveness, viability and recovery of investment. The examples cited are from recent case studies undertaken by the Environmental Research Group at Oxford Brookes University as part of an ongoing collaboration with a number of major commercial property owners.

Sustainable construction: the development and evaluation of an environmental profiling system for construction products

There has been a rapid increase in the number of low environmental impact or ‘green’ buildings constructed in recent years, due to factors such as the UK governments Sustainable Development Strategy, new environmental legislation and perceived operational and business advantages. Consequently, the demand for up‐to‐date information, guidance and design ‘tools’ to help property professionals procure greener buildings also continues to grow. The development of a new edition of one such tool: The Green Guide to Specification, was based on research designed to evaluate user needs and current design and specification practices and expectations. Many property professionals do not use environmental tools on all projects because of time considerations and the disruption caused by having to take an ‘extra step’ in the design and specification process. Specifiers would only use such tools either when instructed to do so by clients or because of the specifiers own organisational green agenda. For environmental tools to be more widely used, information should also be embedded within commonly used specification programmes such as the National Building Specification (NBS) as well as in stand‐alone versions.

Construction law and environmental harm: the liability interface

Construction professionals are increasingly exposed to risk deriving from legal responsibility for environmental harm. To assess the levels of exposure to this risk, those involved in property need to understand the impact of environmental issues upon construction law. Construction law literature and specialist environmental law sources on construction can provide a basis for study. The main themes found in these sources are planning law, environmental protection, waste and waste management and contamination, including water pollution, and these are reviewed. A study of the litigation reported in the principal specialist construction law sources reinforces the significance of these themes through the identification of the case law embodying them. There are other areas of impact and potential impact: visual/aesthetic harm, harm to acoustic amenity, the use and removal of deleterious materials (such as asbestos) and other ‘indirect’ risks.

Indicators of the impact of environmental factors on UK construction law: developments in the new millennium

In examining the impact of environmental issues on construction law, recent construction‐related legislation and litigation can be seen as indicators of the growing importance of specific property‐related environmental issues. Through reference to relevant literature and law reports, several recent legal developments can be identified relating to energy production and consumption, water inundation, the physical qualities of buildings, excluded materials, noise and disability discrimination and, finally, waste disposal and contamination. Recent law relating to energy consumption in buildings is evidence of the ever‐widening set of legal obligations regarding energy efficiency. Similarly, recent litigation relating to nuclear waste and wind farms may be more typical of future energy cases than those relating to traditional fossil fuel production processes. Noise represents another form of environmental pollution and has been seen in a number of cases. The impact of the built environment on people with disabilities is now recognized in Part M of the Building Regulations which places additional disabled access requirements on all building owners, landlords, employers and service providers. Property professionals, local authorities and statutory authorities need, more than ever before, to be aware of their current legal obligations while remaining constrained by resource and financial management regulation.

Implementing new EU environmental law: the short life of the UK Site Waste Management Plan Regulations

Using an analytical framework based on current implementation theory, this research examines the transposition of the EU Waste Framework Directive into UK law and local government development control procedures. The study which forms the basis of this paper was commissioned by the UK Government to evaluate the effectiveness of the construction Waste Management Plans introduced as a legal requirement in 2008. It was found that its implementation had largely failed and that these new laws had been ineffective. Subsequently, in March 2012 the UK Government announced its intention to withdraw these Regulations. In the context of current deregulatory pressures, but with the continuing need to minimise construction waste, this research concludes that more attention should be paid by central government to their current ‘top-down’ implementation procedures in order to better roll-out new environmental legislation in the future.