To achieve sustainable design, material selection, and construction are no different to those required to achieve any other aspect of good design. The process relies on an understanding of the potential environmental issues, to compliment and contextualise what is already known among these professional experts.
Sustainable construction has straightforward aims: to minimise waste on and off site; reuse materials and make use of those reused or recycled; avoid complex components that are difficult to recycle at end of life; and choose construction systems that can be delivered by local operatives by existing or new skill sets.
Design is a holistic process that seeks to create the best solution across a broad range of requirements, which includes social and economic sustainability as well as environmental responsibility. A good designer will always look first at exploiting the opportunities of the site and the client's brief to produce a building which, as far as possible, works passively to minimise energy and resource use. The next step is to incorporate technologies for minimising resource demand that are appropriate to the site, the building occupants’ needs and their capacity to manage and operate them. Also, designing to enable future change of use, easy maintenance, and eventual disassembly and reuse will lengthen the lifespan of a building and minimise its overall impact.
EAUC-Scotland's Sustainable Construction Topic Support Network (TSN) is open to all, providing an opportunity for those working in or with the further and higher education sector to share ideas and questions and to get together to hear from particular speakers or discuss topics of interest.
Soft landings: Keeping it REAL At the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol, Soft Landings is all about keeping it REAL: Realistic – Embedded – Active...
The Enterprise Centre: Celebrating localism and low carbon futures at UEA The University of Anglia’s (UEA) Enterprise Centre (TEC) is one of the UK’s most...
Sustainable refurbishment of the Cockcroft Building, University of Brighton In repurposing the Cockcroft Building for the University of Brighton, one of the largest retrofits...
Actively reducing energy use by going ‘passive’ Presented with the challenge of building a fit-for-purpose, early-years childcare facility for the children of its...
ESRI - The Energy Safety Research Institute – The first BREEAM OUTSTANDING Educational Building in Wales The Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) is a 3900m2,...
Mainstreaming sustainability South Lanarkshire College, East Kilbride, constructed the first building in the UK accredited as “Outstanding” BREEAM (2014) for...
“The Pavilion” Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is one of the largest and most popular universities in the UK. Nearly 27,000 students study with us across three...
AECOM, in partnership with the EAUC, delivered this webinar looking at how higher and further education organisations can integrate their findings from climate change risk...
This webinar, first presented on the 20th July 2016, is the second of two adaptation presentations delivered by Adaptation Scotland. Part one provided an introduction to...
This guide, written by AOSEC (Association of South East Colleges) is a product of Building for the Future - an inter-regional collaboration, part-funded by the GROW EU...
This webinar, first presented on the 13th July 2016, is one of two adaptation presentations delivered by Adaptation Scotland as part of the three-part EAUC-Scotland...
This webinar took place on 30th June 2016, with the video providing an introduction to the Carbon Scenario Tool background, structure and capabilities, and a live demonstration...
This Exchange presentation is from the “Learning and Legacy: The Role of Education in Creating Healthier and Happier Cities” EAUC Annual Conference 2016, presented...
This Exchange presentation is from the “Learning and Legacy: The Role of Education in Creating Healthier and Happier Cities” EAUC Annual Conference 2016, presented...
In October 2011, Bryce Hutchinson, Senior Building Information Officer, from the Facilities Management Operations department of the University of Technology in Sydney approached...
Dan Fernbank, Energy Manager, University of Reading posted the following message on the Members’ network. “We’re currently reviewing our application of...
To say Liverpool Hope University’s hospitality and catering department has gone through a period of change over the last five years would be something of an...
This example is from Interface's Net-Works programme, an inclusive business model that collects discarded fishing nets from coastal communities and recycles them.
The students arriving on campus these days are very discerning. Their goals differ from those of the previous generations. And they bring a strong sense of community,...
Interface, global modular flooring manufacturer, and Dulux Trade, leading paint manufacturer, were enlisted to help to bring to life the industrial...
Global modular flooring manufacturer, Interface, has helped Birmingham City University (BCU) create a contemporary, open-plan culture for its...
“£5 billion spent on new buildings each year, these buildings use 2-3x more energy than designed” - 2014 Green Construction Board Report Building on...
In April 2016, EAUC-Scotland invited Adaptation Scotland to run a workshop on Adaptation aimed specifically at Scottish universities and colleges. The workshop was designed to...
Andrew Bryers, Energy, Environment and Sustainability Manager, Aston University emailed the Members’ network asking, “As you may have read in an earlier email to...
Sustainability is one of the key enablers for UCL’s large scale transformation program as it undertakes a major refurbishment and expansion of its estate.
Part of the ambition of the School of Ponts Paris Tech to "be the world reference for research, innovation and training in key areas of sustainable development", the...
Think global, act local! Become an ambassador in sustainable construction and save the climate. The program Bachelor in Construction attaches great importance to...
On Thursday 10th December 2015, the EAUC-Scotland Sustainable Construction and Education for Sustainable Development in Further Education Topic Support Networks met at South...
In response to growing ethical concerns, the construction industry is rightly being called upon to take a stand and articulate its position on ethical sourcing. Coming up with...
This tour of the 'University of Edinburgh's Sustainable Energy Centre' was given as an afternoon workshop at the EAUC-Scotland Conference 2015 by David...
This presentation on 'The Green Vented Salon' was given as part of a morning workshop on Living Labs at the EAUC-Scotland Conference 2015 by Christina...
The 2015 Green Gown Awards Winners’ Brochure which explores the journeys all these institutions have taken.
The Winners' Brochure for the International Green Gown Awards 2015 which brings together the finalists and winners of these Awards which are growing globally.
University of Tasmania IMAS Building: more than just a building The IMAS building was constructed to provide a contemporary new home for the Institute for Marine and...
The GreenSkills Training Centre is an award-winning catalyst for change in the built environment. A training facility for students studying sustainability courses, it is the...
This case study shares more about the University of Aberdeen's new passive house nursery.
When refurbishing the Water Sciences Department at Cranfield University, Tracy Flynn, Development Project Manager, wanted to create a flexible space that would provide staff and...
The University of East Anglia's Enterprise Centre is targeting Passivhaus and BREEAM Outstanding, has created new industry locally and nationally, and has made...
The Higher Education Carbon Challenge report gives an overview some of the trends in carbon emissions and carbon performance of UK higher education institutions.
Since 2012, the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge has been developing LED lighting capable of growing a wide range of plants under controlled...
Creative Energy Homes: Low-Energy and Zero-Carbon Housing – a living test-site for energy efficient technologies A long-term development of seven “Creative Energy...
In the past decade, The University of Dundee has seen a lot of redevelopment taking place on campus. Green space has been created right at its heart with the new Campus Green, a...
With a 10 year construction programme about to start, UCL took a new approach to managing deliveries on its heavily constrained Bloomsbury campus
The sensitive and beautiful restoration of historic Drake’s Place Gardens and Reservoir, and development of related activities, has been undertaken with - rather than for...
In 2014/15 investments of £2.1m have covered a range of technologies and buildings, including plant replacement (boilers and chillers), lighting upgrades including main campus...
The street lighting infrastructure at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Campus included several hundred high pressure sodium (SON) lamps with ageing control gear.
Crome Court is UEA’s newest and most energy-efficient accommodation block. The BREEAM Excellent project came in £800,000 under budget, and as one of the first projects in...
The Brighton Waste House is the first permanent carbon negative public building in Europe to be constructed from approximately 90% waste and surplus material
The Bright Building is a unique sustainable building using innovative construction techniques and technologies
In 2013, 50 Shakespeare St was a building on death’s door. It was built in 1887, damaged during the war and butchered by decades of use by the local council as a registry...
A guide to enable you to undertake a walk-through survey, to help identify ways to improve your organisation's energy efficiency
Energy efficiency and carbon saving advice for the further and higher education sector.
Presentation from the Sustainable Campus Excellence Awards 2015, University of British Columbia.
A computer room used by the Faculty of Science and Technology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge had its aging air conditioning system replaced with two Cool-phase systems
The first Cool-phase New Generation install was at Avondale Park Primary School on August 20th 2013
Monodraught’s Cool-phase systems in the Science Lecture Room at Bournemouth University provide intelligently controlled low energy ventilation and natural cooling
One new COOL-PHASE unit has been installed in the ICT Room at Alderman Knight School to provide natural cooling within the area.
In partnership with the Department for Education and the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Salix is launching a research pilot project for a limited amount of...
The Matter of Landscape: Sustainable design strategies for RMIT City Campus A series of complimentary project-based teaching and learning initiatives across the RMIT...
Legal update for EAUC Members (June 2015).
North Hertfordshire College approached d+b facades with regard to cladding an old 1960’s building. From the first contact to completion they worked with the...
The University of West London has invested £50 million to improve students' learning and social experience as part of Future Campus, an environmentally sustainable...
The University of Reading £250,000 energy efficiency overhaul of fume cupboards in 2 large teaching laboratories is achieving substantial savings of £90,500 and 343...
This is one of the UK’s first University Training Schools (UTS) which is being developed in partnership between the DfE and the University of Birmingham allowing teachers...
This new build facility houses specialist research into plant science and food security and incorporates greenhouse, laboratories, preparation rooms, office accommodation and...
The Julian Study Centre (JSC) has raised the bar for sustainability on a campus which has a reputation for energy efficient award winning buildings, and is the first aiming for...
The Enterprise Centre (TEC) will be the UK’s greenest commercial building, targeting both BREEAM Outstanding and Passivhaus Certification. At £13.4m and with 3,400m2...
These are the member responses on carbon targets sent to EAUC Members in December 2014.
The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI) is housed in a £10.5million refurbishment of an 18th Century Old Royal High School at the University of Edinburgh....
The redevelopment of Durham Business School demonstrates how embracing sustainable technologies within existing buildings can deliver value, improve environmental performance...
Peninsula Library – The Zero-Net-Carbon Challenge The Monash University peninsula library upgrade is a challenge we have undertaken to retrofit an existing university...
Refrigeration and Lighting Retrofit This year WSI made further energy savings with two large retrofit projects. One being a large scale internal and external lighting...
Our Sustainable Construction TSN Group visited Glasgow School of Art on 29th April 2015 for a tour of the Mackintosh Building and discussions on the low carbon...
The Green Gown Awards Australasia Winners’ summary 2014 provides a summary of the projects recognised by this year's Awards, the International Awards and the ACTS...
The refurbishment of Nescot College included the addition of a dramatic raked gable end
View the photographs taken at "Challenging Connections" Annual Conference 2015.
We wanted to get some useful sustainable business tops tips from each of our 2015 EAUC Annual Conference sponsors - these are the tips from Salix.
A case study from British Gas about how BMSI has helped the fast-growing University of Brighton to reduce costs and improve control.
A blog post by Will Jenkins, Carbon Credentials about the Role of Tertiary Education in the Transition to Sustainable Cities
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how the University of Brighton has adopted sustainability as one of its core goals, as reflected in the institution’s Strategic Plan.
This presentation is the final Keynote from day one of the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by Leeds City Council, ASDA and...
This presentation was the Keynote for the Further Education Summit, part of the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by Leeds College of...
This presentation is from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by University of Leeds and falls under the Leadership and Governance...
The EAUC Annual Conference 2015 programme in full!
This presentation is from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by BRE Global and falls under the Estates and Operations Stream.
This TSN was organised in association with The Academy of Hair, Beauty, Sport & Fitness at Fife College, and hosted at their Halbeath Campus in Dunfermline on the...
The survey and accompanying report, which is based on the views of internal and external facilities managers (FMs), says 60% of respondents believe their organisation is...
The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) Sustainability Survey, now in its seventh year, provides a barometer on the facilities management (FM) sector’s...
The aim of the proposed amendment was to embed in the Scottish Building Regulations a requirement for the sustainability labelling of new buildings.
Plymouth University present their 2014 Sustainability Report.
AUDE's winter 2015 issue includes new £50m state-of-the-art building goes ahead at UWE and first zero carbon Business School in the UK to open at Essex.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how South West College continues to grow with an ever-evolving sustainability movement across campuses in Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen...
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how Southampton Solent University is working ever harder to achieve the emission reduction targets set in its Carbon Management Plan.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how d+b facades UK are transforming the estate through innovative design and builds.
Part of the mini case study series, "Approaches to fair trade in educational institutions in 2015".
With the Bridging the Centuries Project JPA Furniture helped Pembroke College Oxford achieve their aim to create an inspirational and impressive venue
University of London present their 2014 Annual Sustainability Report
This is the fourth in a series from Bill Mollison's "Global Garden", centered around urban life.
This case study focuses on Managing Facilities and Estates following research in 2014 into the way the FE sector in Wales is embracing the concept of sustainable development
The 2014 Green Gown Awards Winners’ Brochure which explores the journeys all these institutions have taken.