Small businesses in the UK’s sustainable construction sector are lacking vital support to enable the transition to greener building practices, according to a new survey of green entrepreneurs by the University of Hull.
The survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the green construction sector found they were being hampered by inconsistent policies and lack of access to funding. Poor planning rules and a shortage of skilled labour in sustainable building practices were also cited as hindrances.

All new buildings will have to be zero carbon by the end of the decade and to help meet the UK’s target to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050, a mass retrofit of the UK’s existing housing stock is urgently required. Estimated to be worth £500 billion, this represents one of the biggest opportunities for jobs and growth in the UK.

Hanson Structherm has been awarded the international environmental standard ISO 14001.

Certification followed auditing by CPC (Construction Products Certification) and confirms that the company’s environmental management system meets the requirements of the standard. This includes maintaining and improving the system and on-going environmental performance as well as ensuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

The company has been providing innovative building solutions to the construction industry for almost 30 years including external wall insulation and the Fastbrick insulated brick slip cladding system.

Organisers of Ecobuild, the world’s largest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment, announces today the line-up for its highly acclaimed conference programme returning to London’s ExCeL from March 5-7, 2013.

The Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, Lord de Mauley; Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Resource Management, the Local Environment and Environmental Science and Rhian Kelly, Director for Business Environment at the CBI are amongst a plethora of top industry names signed up for 2013. Ecobuild also has commitment from The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to provide ministerial speakers to be announced soon.

Experimental concrete that patches up cracks by itself is to undergo outdoor testing.

The concrete contains limestone-producing bacteria, which are activated by corrosive rainwater working its way into the structure.

The new material could potentially increase the service life of the concrete - with considerable cost savings as a result.