Sustainability & Construction Newsletter #30
Mitsubishi Electric Living Environmental Systems UK
Cooling, Heating, Ventilation and Controls
Welcome to the 30th edition of our Sustainability & Construction newsletter! As we approach the end of 2023, it is a great time to reflect on the remarkable decarbonisation journey we have been on together.?
One of our defining accomplishments this year was our collaboration with key players in retrofit, breathing new life into existing structures and transforming them into models of energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. This partnership illustrates the potential of innovation and collaboration as driving forces in our industry.
Our 'road to net zero' roadshow, which took us across the country, generated enthusiastic responses, sparking crucial conversations about the imperative of a net-zero future. Our recent podcast featuring Chris Skidmore MP, Chair of the Independent Government Review on Net Zero, emphasised the significance of collective action and innovation in our sustainability endeavours.
Additionally, the Built Environment has taken a remarkable stand this year. Despite the cost-effectiveness of carbon offsetting, our industry has chosen to aim higher. It's a testament to our shared commitment to a sustainable future, recognising the need not just to mitigate but to prevent environmental harm. This momentum is mirrored in the soon-to-be-adopted UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, uniting future building endeavors on a path toward a 1.5°C trajectory.
We hope you have enjoyed our fortnightly newsletter this year; please contact us if you have any questions or have a news story that you would like to add to our newsletter in the future. From the entire Sustainability and Construction Team and the wider Mitsubishi Electric Network, we wish you all a restful holiday season and a fantastic 2024.
Latest Mitsubishi Electric News:
The latest instalment in the greatest climate show on Earth, COP28 has finally reached its gripping climax in Dubai. Now that the final scenes have played out and the first reviews are in, Jim McClelland asks the critical question: Did the drama deliver, or disappoint?
Oxford council has taken a series of bold and courageous leadership-giving decisions in its drive to boost the city’s green credentials and achieve net zero carbon emissions targets a full ten years before the national target.
Frustration and hope on the road to net zero. As the curtain starts to descend on 2023, how was it for you? It was certainly another unpredictable and confusing year for the environment.
Mark Carney is a Canadian economist and banker who served as the governor of The Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the governor of The Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. Carney's actions as Governor of the Bank of Canada are said to have played a major role in helping Canada avoid the worst impacts of the financial crisis.
CIBSE Journal quotes Chris Newman's, Zero Carbon Design Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, article. Using a boiler to top up peak space heating in heat pump systems can save CO2 and costs, says Mitsubishi Electric’s Chris Newman, who gives examples of two configurations.
Before considering any type of HVAC solution. It is important to first address the underlying requirements of the building in line with the overriding goal of achieving Net Zero green house gas emissions by 2050.
We are thrilled to announce that Mitsubishi Electric has won 3 industry awards for Ecodan CAHV-R450YA-HPB Commercial Air Source Heat Pump, which is designed to help businesses decarbonise their heating as we move to Net Zero.
Latest Industry news
Events and studies make it clear that we collectively need to do more to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change. In the UK, this means taking actions that will contribute to the legal target of achieving net zero status by 2050.
Reaction to chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt’s 2023 autumn statement has been broadly more positive than negative from across the construction industry, judging by comments received.
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29 million homes need to be retrofitted to enable the UK to hit its 2050 carbon emissions targets. For this to happen, the retrofitting industry needs to grow by ten times its current size. NatWest Group has partnered with the Supply Chain Supply Chain Sustainability School a new retrofit FREE training programme to provide the required knowledge and skills for supply chains and the wider industry in retrofit.
Prioritising people throughout the building lifecycle. To ensure a just and equitable transition to a decarbonised and resilient future, it is critical that we protect and enhance the lives of people at all stages of the building and construction life cycle.
Staying abreast of legislation is a crucial part of the net zero transition, but it can be a confusing one, particularly in the construction sector. Over the last few years, standards and policies have emerged to bring clarity and consensus to the industry, and to answer the question of what net zero truly looks like for the built environment.
REHAU Report Shows How Offsite Construction Can Overcome Skyrocketing Demand on UK Building Industry
With pressure for major construction projects growing across the UK, a new report is encouraging mechanical services contractors, specifiers and developers to accelerate the uptake and deployment of offsite construction techniques, particularly when it comes to building services.
Every year, members of the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) submit data on their managed UK commercial real estate portfolio into the Real Estate Environmental Benchmark (REEB).
An update on the built environment sector’s progress towards meeting our net zero trajectory, launched at COP28.
Construction Voices
Here we invite industry leaders to share their valuable insights and expertise on creating a sustainable built environment. This week we welcome Spencer Maynard, Divisional Manager for Mitsubishi Electric’s Living Environment Systems.
Wherever you start from, we can help you get to net zero
Earlier this year I joined Mitsubishi Electric to head up the division responsible for delivering sustainable heating, cooling, and ventilation to UK buildings.
I recently reached my first 100 days in the role, so I thought this was a good time to reflect on where we are as a business and as an industry, as we near the end of 2023.
I’ve spent over 20 years in the construction industry, and I saw joining Mitsubishi Electric as an extension of my personal interest in helping find ways to deliver modern comfortable and functional buildings that respect the environment.
The UK was the first major economy to set legally binding targets for net zero and this means rethinking the way we use energy as well as producing that energy in cleaner, greener ways. Nearly half of all electricity is now produced from sustainable sources and this will increase even more.
How we use that cleaner energy must now become our focus and this is where we, as a manufacturer of energy-consuming HVAC believe we can really make a difference.
Despite recent changes in government policy on how we get to net zero, the destination and the timescale is set in law. However, net zero has also been called a destination without a road map so whilst we know where we are heading, there is nothing detailing the exact ways of getting there.
Coupled to this is the fact that we will all have different journeys as we are all starting from different places. One thing is clear though and that is the ongoing need for equipment to keep us warm in winter and cool in summer.
These heating and cooling systems are major consumers of energy in any building so changing these to more sustainable systems will have a dramatic impact in helping transform society without fundamentally changing the way we all want to live.
The buildings and homes that we work, rest, and play in, account for around 40% of energy use and produce a third of the UK’s carbon emissions. If we can find ways to lower energy consumption, we can help everyone reduce their carbon footprint.
Focusing on reducing energy for heating and cooling is not just the sensible thing to do, it is also becoming the only thing to do as legislation drives building owners to comply with ever stringent energy performance standards. Government is also introducing the new Future Homes Standard and Future Buildings Standard and these will continue to put pressure on companies to reduce emissions further.
We know that we can help businesses find ways to quickly reduce carbon emissions and develop a route map to net zero. The starting point is always assessing what you currently have on site and examining the maintenance regimes to maximise efficiency.
Then it’s a case of deciding how to reduce carbon further while maintaining or increasing comfort levels for occupants and now, that means looking to remove gas from your building.
There are proven, low-carbon technologies available right now so we work with companies to help them make the business case for sustainable upgrades. That may mean a light upgrade in the short term and a deeper retrofit project when finances allow.
At Mitsubishi Electric we see our role as helping people as much as we can, so that regardless of where you are starting from, we can all arrive at net zero together. That is why we have just become Gold Sponsors of the new UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. It is also why we will attend Futurebuild next year alongside the UK Green Building Council, and why we are contributors to the important work they are doing on retrofit as this will be a major challenge, and a significant opportunity for us all in the years ahead.
We hope you've found the content of this newsletter useful and relevant. In each edition, we'll focus on bringing you the latest news and topics around sustainability and construction. If there are any news articles you would like us to feature, or if you would like to be a guest contributor for Construction Voices, please get in touch with us .
Find out more about our new Sustainability and Construction team here .
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