Background We had a fascinating meeting with innovative off-site home builder Agile Homes. They shared with us some of their great innovations. Here’s what they told us about their approach to the Future Homes Standard, flexible “needs-led” design and a novel...
Great news for residents and the environment! The long-awaited review of the Decent Homes Standard is finally here [1], and it brings with it a significant focus on environmental improvements. Even better, this updated standard will apply to both social and...
Overheating is back in the news [1]. As the UK faces potential heatwaves, it is an apt time to look at some figures. In this blog we’ll look at Met Office Projections, the difference between regions and what can you do to reduce overheating in your homes and...
Why this matters Through our SHIFT assessments, we’ve found that new build homes still have some distance to go before they can be considered truly sustainable. Our scoring system evaluates: The number of sustainable features in a home How effectively those...
[1] Background On the International Day of Happiness each year the United Nation’s (UN) annually release the updated World Happiness Report, which provides insights into global wellbeing and regional happiness rankings [2]. But how is happiness linked to...
Introduction England’s waste recycling rate was 44% between 2023-2024, but how does your local area perform compared to this? Some areas in England are known for having a better reputation than others when it comes to waste production, but do the official statistics...
The Climate Change Committee has recently released its seventh carbon budget, and this is how it could affect your property portfolio. Carbon budgets get released every five years by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to advise the Government on the necessary targets...
We had an interesting meeting with Rendesco who develop heat pump networks. They shared their particular unique selling points with us, including lower install costs than other alternatives. Here’s what the said: Business Development Manager, Zoe recently joined...
Our governing institute, IEMA, kindly published our article on evaluating the degree to which materials are responsibly sourced [1]. Here’s what we wrote. When using UK-based suppliers, it is easy to assume you are not using materials produced unethically or at the...
Governments have been encouraging businesses to incorporate sustainability for decades. New research has found that over the past 10 years, global ESG regulations have increased by 155% (1). Many companies see this as costly compliance work, that “burdens companies”...
Summertime overheating is a key risk for the elderly, as heatwaves coincide with increasing mortality rates [1]. The 2003 ten-day heatwave across England and Wales, caused a 33% increase in deaths for those aged above 75 [2]. The...
Before Millie’s time here at SHIFT Environment, she completed her BSc in Environmental Biology at the University of Nottingham. During her final year, she grasped the opportunity to work alongside academic professionals on an ongoing project, launched by the...
Following our various environmental reports, many of our clients have gone on to install solar PV panels. That is a great thing and an even a better thing is to monitor the performance of those panels. We had a chat with Solar...
Hydrogen fueled maintenance fleet We recently had a query from a landlord looking to reduce emissions from their maintenance fleet (DLO). They requested a comparison of the emissions produced by travelling 12,000 miles in an average van of different fuel types,...
Building for a Net Zero future: What clients need to know The construction industry is evolving, with an increasing focus on sustainability and carbon reduction. Two key pieces of guidance - the LETI Client Guide for Net Zero Carbon Buildings[1] and the UKGBC’s...
Introduction In a recent blog we highlighted Government’s proposed changes to the EPC regime: Consultation on a new domestic and non-domestic EPC regime | SHIFT Environment We have now submitted our formal response. Here is what we said: Chapter 2: What EPCs measure...
Introduction The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero have released a consultation document [1]. The aims are: Better quality data will be particularly beneficial for businesses or landlords who...
Background COP 29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024. In essence, COP is where global leaders gather to make decisions on actions to combat the climate crisis. This includes efforts to limit global temperature...
In the course of our assessment work we look at supply chain sustainability in large organisations. We came across a particularly good example from Southern Housing and they very kindly shared their thoughts about the assessment. Here’s what they said: 1. What...
Chilworth Manor Vineyard and sustainable wine SHIFT Environment are known for our specialism in social housing. We also do work outside of that sector and here is one example. We recently worked with Chilworth Manor Vineyard to measure the embodied carbon footprint of...