A number of expert stakeholders representing different strands of the construction industry came together recently to discuss the challenges and potential solutions around Scotland’s net zero housing ambitions.
The landmark roundtable event was hosted by timber windows and doors manufacturer NorDan UK at the firm’s Livingston training and innovation centre.
As part of Scotland’s plans to become net zero by 2045, the Scottish Government has proposed policies to reduce carbon emissions in construction and housebuilding. However, with the scrapping of 2030 greenhouse gas emission targets, coupled with well documented sector skills and labour shortages, roundtable attendees were asked to consider how realistic the goals are.
Project Scotland was in attendance for what was a lively and captivating discussion about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
David Russell (director at energy and sustainability consultancy Carbon Futures), David Milton (head of development at affordable housing landlord Hillcrest), Nicola Jackson (group net zero projects lead at Robertson Group), Mike Stevenson (technical specification advisor at NorDan UK), Graham Acheson (certified Passivhaus designer and director at architect Smith Scott Mullan Associates), James York (architect and Passivhaus designer at Collective Architecture), and Graham Meldrum (sales director at NorDan UK), explored issues including the main barriers to delivering the targeted 110,000 new affordable homes by 2032, the increasing role of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), the potential impact of the introduction of a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard, and the role of collaborative working and knowledge sharing.
The discussion highlighted the importance of upskilling the workforce to increase the uptake of MMC. Creating the right balance of delivering new build housing with bringing existing stock up to scratch, uncertainty around new standards, the need for firm guidance (including a dedicated Scottish definition of net zero carbon), and the role of embodied carbon also featured prominently in the discussion.
While the challenges are plentiful, the overriding message was that Scotland has a ‘unique opportunity’ if it gets this right, to future-proof the nation’s homes, reduce fuel poverty, and deliver properties of higher quality that result in happier and healthier occupants.
NorDan’s Mike Stevenson spoke exclusively to Project Scotland afterwards.
“There’s a lot of things on the horizon at the moment such as the Scottish Passivhaus equivalent and net zero,” he said. “It’s all well and good NorDan having a view of what’s going on out there, but we thought this would be an opportunity to bring a collective representing across the construction sector to express their views and highlight the challenges – but also the opportunities – that come from that.”
Mike revealed he’s been generally encouraged by the Scottish construction sector’s response to sustainability challenges but would like to see a greater focus on embodied carbon.
“Net zero is generally perceived to be looking at operational carbon – that’s the carbon generated from the point at which you move into a building,” he added. “I think we’re making great strides and there’s a lot of good innovations and learnings taking place. The bit that concerns me is that there’s no eye on the embodied carbon – the carbon generated from manufacturing materials and products. You might think I’m bound to say that because we’ve got a sustainable product, but it’s more than just about the window. It’s about all the products and practices involved in retrofitting a home or building new. My understanding from all the investigations I’ve done is that we cannot hit net zero without looking at measuring and taking steps to reduce embodied carbon and I just think it’s the elephant in the room. It’s not spoken enough about. I’ve been on many webinars and seminars, and it’s very seldom raised.”
Mike also expressed concern that the climate emergency has slipped down the political agenda, both in the UK and America.
Despite this, the construction sector is pressing ahead with transformative change. Mike hailed the industry’s ability to adapt, though he acknowledged there are apprehensions in some quarters about potential costs and capabilities.
“It’s like anything, there’s a core there that are absolutely up for that change and are driving that change,” he stated. “There’s still an element of the industry that doesn’t like change, whether it’s adoption of Modern Methods of Construction, new building practices, or more onerous building regulations. But industry is fantastic at adjusting. When an opportunity is put there, the industry rises to it. I’m encouraged. I would like to see it move quicker and, it was mentioned in the roundtable, education and helping people understand these topics better through training and CPDs (would be beneficial).”
Mike concluded by saying that collaboration is ‘absolutely key’ to meeting the net zero challenge, with early supply chain engagement on projects of paramount importance.
“As I said earlier, NorDan is the expert on windows. Why not tap into that? It’s a complex subject. An architect, a contractor, a QS, a consultant, can’t know everything there is to know about windows. We should be asking the questions that these people don’t necessarily think to ask, so that we get tenders going out with good specifications and it’s more likely to perform as designed. That only comes through engagement with the supply chain early on.”
• A further report of the roundtable discussion will appear in the March edition of Project Scotland.
