Date: 13 September 2006
Venue: Manchester
Speakers: Jim McClelland, Sustain' Magazine; Owen Jenkins, CIRIA; Steve Hunt, Taylor Woodrow; Jon Bootland, Sustainable Development Foundation; David Roberts, Igloo Regeneration

Description: Although many would agree that, by applying best practices, construction and the resulting built environment can be sustainable; there is a spectrum of views on the degree to which the business case for sustainable construction has been proved. Advocates stress that the information, skills and technologies are available, and can be harnessed for little additional cost or effort especially using whole-life value techniques. Sceptics argue that there is too much, often conflicting information, that case studies demonstrating sustainable construction are highly selective and financial benefits are difficult to quantify.

The majority of practitioners sit in between these positions. This event looked at the topic from both perspectives. The presenters explored ten reasons often quoted as the reasons for pursuing a more sustainable approach - approached from both angles. Having presented the extreme cases, further presenters gave their views based on case studies and work with a range of stakeholders, quoting successes and barriers.

Note: CIRIA Core and CIEF members may request electronic copies of these notes free of charge by email to: enquiries@ciria.org.