Sustainability is defined as minimising the impact of our current actions onto future generations. In terms of buildings, this involves designing, upgrading and maintaining buildings to a standard as close as possible to zero carbon, a move the Irish government is widely recognised to have embraced. Indeed the introduction of stricter requirements under the building regulations (to carbon neutral by 2013) and the introduction of mandatory building energy ratings (BER), similar to those given to appliances on a scale of A to G, will drive investment in this sector. Furthermore green public procurement, or clauses obliging contractual parties to introduce green materials and methodologies, will garner further momentum in our forecasted period to 2011. The impact of the financial crisis on this market however remains to be seen but as the buyer’s market tightens, it seems likely that those consumers still ready to buy or rent will opt for “greener” properties when given the choice, especially in the commercial sector as energy efficient buildings normally mean energy savings. In terms of housing, the Construction Industry Federation predicts upgrades and extensions to homes are likely to benefit from a lessened appetite to buy property. In the residential sector, in current value, over €1 billion is expected to be spent by homeowners to 2011 in green retrofits while from 2006 to 2010 over €300 million can be earmarked to the commercial sector (mostly for CHP).

Gerry McCaughey – the ex Kingspan Century CEO – talks exclusively about the practical business realities and challenges of sustainable construction at the recent CMG Events’ National Sustainable Building Conference 2009. Listen to him speak, by MP3 by clicking here  or by WMA by clicking here.

2013 to mark start of carbon neutral era With Green Party politicians at the helm of both the energy (responsible for most grants-in-aid) and environment (responsible for the building regulations) portfolios since 2007, the momentum behind the green building agenda has by all accounts gathered steam. Regulatory drivers include the building regulation technical guidance document relating to energy use in buildings (Part L). Indeed, as this report went to print Minister for the Environment John Gormley had announced his intention to bring forward the date for carbon neutral regulations to 2013, pushed up from his original 2016 deadline. This will involve the uptake of microgeneration on a much wider scale, as seen below.

Lionel McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Forum on Public Procurement talks about how sustainability is being integrated into the procurement process. He shows how to improve your score card when it comes to ‘green’ tendering as well as outlines what ‘green’ procurement issues are coming down the tracks. He spoke exclusively at the recent CMG Events’ National Sustainable Building Conference 2009. Click here to see his presentation.

- Greener Homes Scheme Phase III 2008-2009: €8m for 2009 Subsidises the cost of installing geothermal heat pumps, solar panels and biomass boilers and stoves for homeowners. See hotspots map. www.sei.ie/Grants/GreenerHomes - Home Energy Saving Scheme 2009: €50m for 2009* Subsidises homeowners’ BER as well as building fabric upgrades such as attic insulation and cavity wall insulation. The pilot phase included other initiatives such as low emissivity glazing but after extensive public consultation SEI decided to roll out the programme on insulation only for 2009. However, as a demand-led initiative there may be scope for glazing to be introduced at a later stage. www.sei.ie/hes - Warmer Homes Scheme: €50m for 2009* Energy efficiency improvements in lower income households in the private sector. The same criteria apply as for the Home Energy Saving Scheme as detailed above, i.e. grants for insulation only in a first stage. www.sei.ie/Grants/Warmer_Homes_Scheme - Low Carbon Homes Programme 2009-2011: €9m earmarked Grants of up to 40% of eligible expenditure for housing developments. Must exceed building regulations of 2005 by at least 70% and achieve a BER of at least A2. Subsidies on solar photovoltaic, micro-wind and micro CHP serve as demonstration projects. www.sei.ie/Grants/Low_Carbon_Homes_Programme *In February 2009, a national insulation scheme was announced, under which the Home Energy Savings Scheme 2009 budget went up from €20 million to €50 million. Furthermore, the Warmer Homes Scheme’s original 2009 budget of €10 million was grouped with local authority grants to make up the €50 million here stated.

The above is an extract from the CMG Business Information Report 2009 - 2011: Trends, Forecasts and Business Opportunities. To order your copy, click here>> Updates will be published as and when they occur.

- Accelerated Capital Allowance 2008-2010: Fiscal incentive Unlike “cash in hand” grants, the Accelerated Capital Allowance (ACA) amortises the entire capital cost associated to purchasing energy efficient equipment in the year of purchase, instead of that amount being written off over a typical eight-year accounting period . The savings made are therefore dependent on inflation and the company’s cost of capital. www.sei.ie/aca - CHP Deployment Programme 2006-2010: €11m earmarked Funding is available for up to 40% of qualifying CHP feasibility studies and for up to 30% of eligible small-scale (≥50kW and <1MW) fossil-fired CHP projects. www.sei.ie/chpgrants - ReHeat programme 2006-2010: €26m earmarked Support of up to 30% of eligible costs is available for biomass boilers, solar thermal collectors and heat pump capital investment projects and support of up to 40% (or €5,000 per technology) of eligible costs is available for feasiblity studies (capped at €300,000). To apply, click here.

The above is an extract from the CMG Business Information Report 2009 - 2011: Trends, Forecasts and Business Opportunities. To order your copy, click here>> Updates will be published as and when they occur.

Head of Sustainability and Innovations with Sainsburys David Penfold asks what can be learned from the experiences of designing and building the UK’s greenest retail store? In his exclusive presentation at the recent CMG Events’ National Sustainable Building Conference 2009, he outlines what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to integrating sustainability in retail outlets. Click here.