BioRegional win prize double whammy at Observer Ethical Awards

BioRegional MiniMills (UK) Ltd won Invention of the year at the Observer Ethical Awards in June. The MiniMill uses straw to make paper, which helps relieve pressure on the world's forests and also provides a revolutionary treatment to efficiently turn its waste into energy and chemicals for re-use in paper making.

The Observer Ethical award was presented at a ceremony in central London, which rewarded those doing their part for the planet. There were thousands of nominations for the category, which sought entries from original, inventive and ethically motivated consumer products. The MiniMill particularly impressed the judges with the series of innovations that have been developed over the last ten years, leading to the construction of the working model. The panel, comprised of celebrities and experts in sustainability, recognised the revolutionary implications for paper making that the MiniMill offers.

Sue Riddlestone, Managing Director, said:
“We are delighted that the MiniMill has been recognised by the Observer Ethical Awards. Wheat straw has been used to make paper in the UK within living memory. The clean technology provided by the MiniMill allows this excellent paper making material to be used again, without harming the environment”.

Carshalton Lavender also won Conservation Project of the year for their three acre community heritage lavender field in South London. In 1996 BioRegional worked with local partners to set this project up and handed it over to the community group in 2004. There has been a popular community harvest at the field for the past 8 years and the project has helped to reconnect the area with its lavender growing heritage.

More information on BioRegional MiniMills

More information on Carshalton Lavender

New report published to encourage building contractors to reclaim more construction materials

Our construction materials reclamation team has put its 10 years of industry experience into a new report encouraging building contractors to reclaim more construction materials.

The report aims to build on past reclamation successes, to outline specific steps that will encourage
and inspire contractors to increase the levels of reclamation on all demolition projects.

Its overarching themes for facilitating reclamation include:
- reclamation or pre-demolition auditing;
- allowing sufficient time and space;
- clear communication of the benefits and improved planning and management.

The report also includes fourteen case studies that set out the cost and carbon savings that have been achieved through increased reclamation, on sites in the UK and overseas. The benefits were greater where a reclamation led approach was taken rather than a demolition led approach.

The report has been funded by Defra's Business Reuse Fund.

Download the report from our website

Our reclamation team has also launched a new Continuing Professional Development training course to help the construction industry to reclaim and reuse construction materials, more info below.

If you're having a BBQ this summer - choose local charcoal to boost butterflies and rural employment and cut transport emissions

Get with the programme! New training in zero carbon homes, reclaiming and reusing construction materials and

Zero Carbon Homes CPD

This one-day event covers BioRegional’s solutions for sustainability and shows how Zero Carbon Homes can be delivered. In-depth seminars by experts in the field from BioRegional, Fulcrum Consulting and Cut the Carbon will cover energy efficiency and energy generation, for single dwellings and for communities, for new build as well as existing housing stock.

Gordon Brown announced: “Within 10 years every new home will be a zero carbon home, and we will be the first country to make this commitment.”

The new course was launched on the 29th June at the BedZED eco-village in south London. The aim of the first session was to gain feedback from the expert invitees to ensure that the course content would be of the highest standard and of most use to the industry.

The launch was attended by CABE, Department of Communities and Local Government, Housing Corporation, Environment Agency, National Energy Foundation, Adapt Assessment (energy assessors) and planners from London boroughs, architects and housing associations. 100% of attendees thought that the training would be useful in their work.

“I just wanted to add again how great I thought the CPD was and just to remind you I would like to hear it all again.” Magda Devaris, Adapt Assessment

"As pioneers in the field of providing Zero carbon Homes, I loved the platform for honest opinions and frank discussions on issues ranging from biomass and CHP to implementation in new and existing buildings". Manmohan Dayal, Planning Officer, London Borough of Merton

Course dates:
Friday 28th September 2007 / Friday 30th November 2007 / Friday 25th January 2008 at BedZED more info

Zero Carbon surgery, where an expert panel answers questions from the group

Working out carbon footprints

Reclaiming and Reusing Building and Construction Materials CPD

The training will cover the advantages of reclaiming and reusing construction materials in terms of overall construction process, costs and carbon savings. This will highlight the value of reclaiming construction products and introduce the business case for Building Material Reuse Centres and Large-Scale Reclamation Yards.

The day will start with seminars and then break up into discussion groups before coming back together as a group at the end of both the morning and afternoon sessions.

The workshop is approved by the Chartered Institution of Waste Management and will provide one day towards the Institution’s Graduate Structured Education & Training Programme, or 6 hours of Continuing Professional Development.

Course date: Monday 10th September 2007 at BedZED more info

Recycling scheme targets muti-tenancy buildings with excellent results

The Laundry, our recycling scheme for businesses in London, recently won funding for a research project with the Waste and Resources Action Program to run a trial scheme for multi-tenancy buildings.

The service has become a highly successful addition to our existing offering. We now have 20 buildings on board, signing up 105 SMEs who weren’t recycling before the Laundry approached them. We have collected 6.4 tonnes of material since the scheme began just six months ago. The scheme works really well for facilities managers wanting to arrange a building-wide scheme, because it encourages buy-in from tenants, and the costs and administrative efforts are between The Laundry and the business tenants themselves.

The Laundry's Manager, Rachel Fleming commented:
“We have set out to prove that recycling can be cheap, easy and more fun than throwing your rubbish away. We were really pleased to hear that 100% of the SMEs who joined the scheme said that they would recommend us to a neighbour – a brilliant result from the team’s hard work”
www.thelaundry.biz

We're walking the talk - BioRegional's own Sustainability Action Plan

At BioRegional we have always strived to improve our environmental and social impact as an organisation and we have our own Sustainability Action Plan to formalise this aspiration. We have a small working group to manage the plan, but all members of staff can contribute, and we have suggestions towards each of the ten One Planet Living principles.

We offset our carbon emissions from all air travel, and on recent overseas trips several
members of staff travelled by train. Staff minimise packaging, buy recycled products and recycle and compost all waste possible. Our monitoring shows that we are diverting 84% of our waste from landfill and are using less than half the best practice figure for both energy and water.

We print double-sided with two pages to a sheet and continue to sign up to the Mayor’s Green Procurement Code. Our cleaners use eco-cleaning products. We have further improved our lunch club, where members take it in turn to provide lunch each week, by using food grown in the show home garden or on BioRegional’s mini-allotment plot. We’ve also set up a cake bake pool where keen bakers take it in turn to make birthday cakes – good for health and happiness!

The charity also has an Environment Policy, an Equal Opportunities Policy and we are a living wage employer. We’re continually reviewing our policies and finding new ways to reduce our ecological footprint.

BioRegional Consulting selected as sustainability consultants on major new projects

WRAP studies
Our consulting company, BioRegional Consulting, have been commissioned by WRAP to undertake two studies aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of the construction industry.

i) Reclaimed Products Guide: This guide will outline the main materials that can be reused directly in construction projects, where they can be sourced and implications for the design.

ii) Recyclability Metric: An indicator of the future recyclability of both products and projects will be developed. This could then be used to set targets for the recyclability of projects to promote the Design for Deconstruction agenda.

Both projects will involve stakeholder consultation and if you are interested in participating, please contact: Hayley Bell 020 8404 6080 hayley.bell@bioregional.com

Redevelopment of the former Maze prison site in Northern Ireland
BioRegional Consulting ran a One Planet Living workshop and has helped to develop the sustainability chapter for a bid document for the redevelopment of the former Maze prison site in Northern Ireland. A new stadium, International Centre for Conflict Transformation, exhibition centre and up to 2,500 residential units are planned and the team are keen to use the One Planet Living principles to ensure that the new community is truly sustainable.

Brownfield site in Haringey, London
BioRegional Consulting are also developing the sustainability strategy for a 1,300 unit brownfield development in Haringey. A holistic sustainability strategy with a particular focus on energy, water, transport and biodiversity has been produced.

The Maze Prison before demolition

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