SUSTAINABILITY POLICY

As part of our Sustainability aims and in accordance with our Environmental Policy, RenoBuild will:

• Seek to obtain materials from totally sustainable sources, or at least where the environmental impact is low, whenever the opportunity arises

• Develop, propose and implement sustainable process and product solutions

• Develop and implement practices across the supply team that prevent pollution, responsibly use resources, and minimise detrimental impacts that our activities could have upon the environment

• Establish and develop sustainable relationships, based on mutual trust, with all parts of the supply team, including respect for the workforce – recognising that integrated teams perform better and safer to everyone’s benefit

• Inform and support our local communities and stakeholders

• Protect our assets and those of our customers, employees and stakeholders

• Provide appropriate training for our employees, to ensure that Safety, Quality and Environmental responsibilities and considerations are included in all aspects of our business

Whenever the opportunity arises RenoBuild will promote the use of materials from sustainable sources. RenoBuild will always seek to obtain materials from sustainable sources and where possible, offer sustainable alternatives if not specified. With traditionally procured projects this is often difficult, as the specification will have already been established by others and locked into the design. However, designers are becoming increasingly aware of this issue and actively include the use of sustainable materials in their design solutions. The opportunity for RenoBuild to seek alternative materials, processes and through-life energy efficiency occurs mainly when we are involved in design and build projects, where the early consideration of energy conservation and sustainability can often bring considerable benefit to the end users. For example, the RenoBuild partnering project at Mason Moor, Southampton, for Swaythling Housing Association, involved the construction of timber framed and clad dwellings, using timber from sustainable sources together with solar power and water conservation measures. RenoBuild fully support the use of low energy materials taken from sustainable sources, for the benefit our end user clients by promoting energy efficiency to provide healthier and more comfortable living conditions together with lower maintenance costs.

Examples

• Ecological characteristics of buildings
A grey water recycling system was incorporated into a recent tower block refurbishment scheme for Sandwell MBC. This utilised bath water for toilet flushing, thereby reducing the demands for freshwater.

• Community Design
A problem basement area within a tower block refurbishment for the Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was transformed into a hairdressing salon and community room for elderly residents. This not only provided additional facilities, but also removed a nuisance to the community within the block.

• Energy Use
By harnessing solar energy from the south elevation of an existing building background heating was provided to the building through the winter months. By the application of this passive solar design the demands on the ‘traditional’ heating system and fuels is greatly reduced.

• Material selection
Using high-performance timber windows in lieu of the more common uPVC, due to the timber’s much lower embodied energy.

• Waste Minimisation and Recycling
At the design stage dimensions should utilise standard components without cutting where possible (e.g. floorboards, plasterboard). Prefabrication should also be utilised where possible to reduce waste, energy and on-site construction times. In addition demolition materials (crushed brick and concrete, timber etc) are either recycled into the project where possible (temporary roads, compound) or alternatively collected by local waste management companies for recycling. Again twofold benefits are realised – the cost and environmental impact of the new materials is avoided and the land fill tax that would otherwise be levied on waste materials carted to tip.

• Water Use
All our new build social housing projects now incorporate 6ltr flush cisterns, thereby reducing the water used and discharged into the drainage system.

• Transport
Wherever possible we look to utilise local labour and suppliers. This produces the two-fold benefits of reduced travelling distances (and associated pollution/fuel consumption) and sustaining the local economy.

• Training
Construction projects provide the ideal opportunity to provide training for the local community in skills that can then be used elsewhere in the community to sustain the local built environment