News Headlines

A message from our Director

So we have entered a new decade – a decisive one according to the climate scientists - the foundations we lay down over the next ten years could make or break the fight against climate change. On the back of a year that has seen some great achievements from our group I am feeling optimistic and we will do all we can to allow others to benefit from our experiences.

For sustainable communities, residents are now moving into the next generation development after BedZED – BioRegional Quintain & Crest Nicholson's One Brighton, planning permission has finally been granted for the 6,000 home development in Portugal and we have just begun work on a project in Australia. Good headway has been made with the Olympics, we’ll be publishing case studies from our reclaimed construction materials work for the construction industry to benefit from and we have advised on the sustainability of the massive media centre. Our recycling service for SMEs in central London – The Laundry – went independent and is now a stand alone sustainable business. These are just a few examples from the year and you can read more in our annual report. Of course there is always a fly in the ointment – ahem, Copenhagen – but more about that further on.

So a happy new year to you. We'll keep you in touch with news of our work during the coming year and of course if you have any comments or suggestions we would love to hear from you.

Sue Riddlestone, Director

Copenhagen Climate Conference - our verdict

In December we went to the International Climate Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) to do our bit by telling delegates that from our practical experience we know we can create low carbon, sustainable communities and production systems and that this can be done cost effectively.

Everyone asks us “What do you think about what happened at the negotiations?” Obviously it wasn’t a great result as a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal has not yet been reached, but the fact that 120 world leaders including Barack Obama and Wen Jiabao attended and are taking this issue seriously, is fantastic - in comparison only the Prime Minister of Japan attended Kyoto. Our impression was that the overwhelming majority of negotiators and world leaders understand the science and to varying degrees, the urgency. They just disagreed about what that complete agreement looks like. Unfortunately the procedural delays meant that they left the serious discussion until too late to get a deal in Copenhagen. As long we all keep the momentum up then this year they could still make the sort of deal which the world needs to stave off dangerous climate change. See what happens next when they come to lodge their commitments in the Appendix of the Copenhagen Accord on 31st January.

For BioRegional, Copenhagen has reinforced the need for what we are doing and the importance of our work with partners in China and the USA – the two biggest GHG emitters. The whole experience gave us a much broader perspective on the issues. We made many useful contacts and it was good to talk with influential people such as Al Gore and HRH Prince Charles.

Find out more about the negotiations and our role there

New research shows how London can move to sustainable consumption by 2050

Ground-breaking research from BioRegional and London Sustainable Development Commission, reveals the full extent of London’s carbon dioxide emissions when including those from imported goods consumed in London. A consumption-based approach is important if we are going to tackle climate change in an honest manner. It means we don’t shift responsibility for reducing the carbon emissions from the goods we buy, often from poorer countries, entirely on to them to solve, or perhaps ignore.

'Capital consumption: the transition to sustainable consumption and production in London’ models a package of measures which would enable London to reduce its carbon emissions from consumption by 90% over the next forty years.The great thing is, it shows in some detail that it can be done. It also shows how the Greater London Authority can catalyse this low carbon transition. We think this is the only plan of its kind in the world and as well as helping to enact it in London we are promoting it tenaciously to other cities.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "This report clearly underscores the scale of the climate challenge confronting
the capital".

Find out more and download the report

Pay As You Save finance for eco-home improvements launches in London Borough of Sutton

The Home Energy Pay As You Save pilots will give households the opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies in their homes with no upfront cost. Householders will make repayments spread over a period long enough to ensure that repayments are lower than their predicted energy bill savings, meaning financial and carbon savings are made from day one.

Find out more

Portugal eco-tourism project gets planning approval – finally

Grand Designs Awards

The Grand Designs Awards are judged by the industry's leading names in architecture, design and journalism, so it is a real honour for BioRegional's experts to be among the judges.

Are you are a talented designer with a great green product that is destined to help save our planet? Maybe your company has designed a revolutionary product that will change the way we live in our homes? Then this is the moment to enter the only awards that count - closing date is 21st February. Visit www.granddesignsawards.com for more information.

Australian project could become become major One Planet Community

Lend Lease have been selected as the developer for the Barangaroo development, the largest development in the history of Sydney and are committed to making it a One Planet Community! BioRegional is part of the development team which includes Richard Rogers and Arup and we developed an Outline One Planet Action Plan for the bid phase. BioRegional will work with Lend Lease to develop a comprehensive Action Plan for the 22 hectare site, and this will then be assessed by the One Planet Project Review Board to ensure that it meets One Planet Community Standards and can therefore join our network. The sustainability standards for the site set by the Barangaroo Development Agency are already very high including a zero carbon option and an 80% reduction in water use. Lend Lease’s proposals go further than this including a target of only 4% of journeys to and from the site to be made by car and the for 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emission associated with all forecasted journeys to and from work.

Creating a One Planet Community at this high profile site is an incredible opportunity to create an internationally recognised sustainability exemplar.

Find out more

New research uncovers barriers to reclaiming building materials

UK’s first environmental think tank for children gets inspiration from BedZED

Want to hear more? BioRegional training and talks coming up...

2nd - 4th March 2010
Ecobuild
Central London
BioRegional will be making a big splash at this major sustainability expo:

2nd March 2.30- 4pm: Designing out waste
Jonathan Essex, Reclaimed Materials Manager, will discuss specifying and procuring reclaimed materials and components at this seminar.

2nd March 10.30 - 12pm: Sustainable homes: learning from post construction performance
Pete Halsall, MD of BioRegional Quintain, will cover a developer's approach to monitoring.

4th March 10.30 - 12pm: One Planet Communities: designing for sustainable lifestyles
Sue Riddlestone, Pooran Desai and others will present at this seminar.

Throughout the event: Fringe work shops
How do you sell a car free development? What's food got to do with it? and more.