The processes needed to achieve sustainable design, material selection and construction are no different to those required to achieve any other aspect of good design. They rely on an understanding of the issues, an ability to respond to site and client specifics and a wider understanding of the cultural, regulatory and technical context.
Sustainable construction as a process has a set of simple goals: minimise waste on and off site; reuse materials and make use of reused or recycled materials; avoid the use of complex components that are difficult to recycle at the end of life; and choose construction systems that can actually be delivered by local operatives either through existing or by introducing 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 design in technologies that minimise resource demand, that are appropriate to the site, the building occupants’ needs and their capacity to manage and operate them. Designing to allow future flexibility, changes of use, easy maintenance and eventual disassembly and reuse will lengthen the useful life of a building and minimise its impact at the end of its life.
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. Find out more about the TSNs here.
SDG Accord Report 2022 - Case Studies
Construction of the future
Reimaging the learning environment
Agile workspace ‘out, but In’
University of Oxford new ways of working
Returnable and reusable container system for food takeaway in Cambridge
Community Solutions Programme
Down to zero: Cynon Taff Community Housing Decarbonisation Project
Launch of the second annual SDG report; ‘Progress towards the Global Goals in the University and College sector'.
We recognise that as an SDG Accord signatory, institutions have great stories to tell on how SDGs are being integrated within their community. As part of the institutional SDG...
Heritage & Carbon: how historic buildings can help tackle the climate crisis
Case Study - Salix and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard
City, University of London - UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development Report 2020
Sustainability Leadership Scorecard (SLS) Annual Report 2020
AASHE recently released the 2020 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication that recognizes top-performing colleges and universities in 17 sustainability impact areas and overall...
Awareness of climate change is at its highest ever and continues to grow, as are pledges to tackle a climate emergency by countries, companies and Universities. With an...
The University of St Andrews are utilising the Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency (NDEE) Framework to carry out improvements on their university buildings. They have...
The Salix ‘Love our Colleges’ webinar is aiming to support colleges in England and Wales with their energy efficiency projects, resulting in a wide range of benefits...
BREEAM UK New Construction 2018 update
Sustainable refurbishment of heritage buildings - How BREEAM helps to delivet
Strategic approach to the selection and procurement of construction materials and products
BREEAM UK Strategic Ecology Framework
UN Sustainable Development Goals and the BREEAM Family of Standards and Tools
The Case for BREEAM Communities
Delivering Sustainable Buildings: Savings and Payback
University of London - Zero Carbon Estates Handbook
Sustainability: our sector’s current best chance of responding to the urgent demands of climate science – new report A cross-sector partnership advocating for a...
In 2018 Aston was awarded the second GOLD rating under the SKA HE scheme and is working toward its third GOLD. The principals of the scheme are within all the main...
Greening Universities Toolkit V2.0
The Benefits of Urban Greening
On Tuesday, 16th April 2019, the EAUC-Scotland Sustainable Construction Topic Support Network held a virtual meeting to discuss the current issues and opportunities...
Challenge of learning conceptual design of sustainable concrete-framed buildings at universities
The University of Edinburgh's Social Responsibility and Sustainability Department have published the institutions progress since 2012. The 2017-18 Report is now...
The University and College facilities designed today have a life span of decades, covering fundamental changes to who will access these institutions, the research and teaching...
November 2017 was the second year for Scottish universities and colleges to submit their Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD) reports as named 'major players'...
Building Pathways to Zero Carbon in Higher Education
The EAUC-Scotland 2018 Conference, A Decade of Progress, celebrated successes from the decade past, and visioned the decade ahead, to coincide with the EAUC-Scotland...
Celebrate Camberwell!
Catching fire for carbon reductions
Leicester for Life
From coal to cloud - Newcastle University Urban Sciences Building
Towards zero waste – mainstreaming waste minimisation and recycling
Campus Transformation – a campus for the 21st Century
New College new learning
This interactive workshop explores how collaboration can be used to measure and communicate the benefits provided by campus greenspace.
As a practical case study in answering such questions, an ongoing examination of the Sustainability Hub at Keele University is presented.
Guide to the Intelligent Campus
Smart Minds = Smart Buildings – A ‘neural network’ approach for energy efficient buildings Researchers and students from the School of Mechanical...
Nurturing the Future – University of Tasmania, Inveresk Student Apartments The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk Apartments project is an innovative,...