Archives for August 2024

We are delighted to release our 2023-2024 Carbon Footprint Report & Reduction Plan. We have made significant headway since our inaugural report last year and have reduced our overall carbon footprint – all whilst achieving a 42% increase in our turnover and a 60% increase in our headcount.  Some of the headlines:

✅ An overall reduction of 14% in our Scope 1-3 Emissions, bucking company growth trend
✅ A 27% reduction in carbon footprint per employee
✅ Retrofitting heat pumps into our London office
✅ Bespoke database to track the Scope 3 emissions of our projects
✅ 3/4 of the way to a fully electric company fleet by 2025
✅ A ban on international air travel (unless a project critical site visit) and total ban on domestic air travel

Read our full report here.

Last week we posted about the recent news from BRE regarding the pre-release of the BREEAM UK Non-domestic Version 7 manual.

Envision has now completed a detailed review of the changes, which you can read here.

Some key features are:

Key drivers –

• Increased importance is placed on embodied carbon and the use of life cycle assessments (LCA’s) on projects, specifically aligning more with the LETI embodied carbon templates and the use of data in kgCO₂e/m₂. 
• Maintain the level for health and wellbeing, aligning with new standards for natural and artificial light, which previously focused on outdated methodologies. 
• Re-focus the weighting of energy and carbon on grid emission factors, increase the use of prediction of operational energy consumption data, and push for the electrification of buildings.

RIBA Stage 2 requirements remain – RIBA Stage 2, or concept design, credits remain within V7, with some being required to achieve Outstanding ratings. Therefore, please get a BREEAM assessor on board for your projects as early in the process as possible as early action will continue to be important for higher ratings.

New minimum standards – many minimum standards remain from the existing V6 standards, with some additions particularly with Excellent and Outstanding ratings:

• There is a huge drive towards completing Life Cycle Assessments for projects, with an LCA required to be completed at any stage for an Excellent and every stage for an Outstanding. 
• A form of TM54 analysis is now required for an Excellent and Outstanding rating. 
• A new requirement for natural light, and achieving good daylight factors, is a minimum requirement for an Outstanding rating. This will penalise buildings with deep floor plates which do not offer good daylight penetration. 
• The water consumption baselines have been increased, meaning achieving the required improvements over the baseline for Good ratings and above are now harder. There is also a slight change in the % required to achieve credits.  
• The impact of refrigerants, and their emissions, has been included as a mandatory for Excellent and Outstanding ratings. 

Scoring – There are no changes to the weighting process for V7, however the threshold for ‘pass’ and ‘good’ ratings have been reduced by 5% each (40% and 25% respectively). 

Simple buildings – The ‘simple buildings’ approach has been removed from the UK scheme.

EU Taxonomy alignment – Across the scheme there is a much better alignment with EU taxonomy requirements, with overlap between evidence for BREEAM and evidence for EU taxonomy. 

Ultimately, as always expected from the BRE, the V7 scheme is a step change than the previous V6, with the aim to always push forwards sustainability in the built environment and ‘raise the bar’ for sustainability as a whole. Our detailed review of the changes within each category for BREEAM V7 can be found here, but if you would like to understand how BREEAM V7 will impact you, and your future developments, please get in touch at contact@envisioneco.com.

Please note that developments won’t be assessed against Version 7 for some time (Envision will give you as much warning as possible on timescales for this), however the pre-release gives us a great opportunity to plan for these future changes in development projects.

We politely request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this position.

We are currently seeking a Junior Sustainability & Energy Consultant to work within our sustainability & energy team, based in our office in London. The position is an immediate start.

The Company

Envision is a leading sustainability, energy and building services design consultancy that provides specialist support towards sustainability within the built environment.  We were founded in 2012 by directors of a multi-disciplinary planning and engineering consultancy and have steadily grown into a well-established company.  Unlike many sustainability consultancies that have developed as a ‘support service’ to larger practices, Envision specialises in providing end-to-end support to its real estate clients. We pride ourselves on fostering a flexible, creative and fun working environment.

We bring together a range of technical disciplines to advise clients on their ESG policies, to manage their real estate portfolio and develop sustainability and energy strategies for new and existing developments. We combine this with our expert team of building service engineers to deliver low carbon solutions for our clients.  

As part of our sustainability offering, our services include the provision of a full range of environmental assessment methods for both new and existing developments, BREEAM (including In-Use), Home Quality Mark, CEEQUAL, WELL, FitWel and Building with Nature. We also undertake Whole Life Cycle Assessments, which feeds into our strategies for achieving Net Zero.  

We take pride in our pro-active approach, supporting our clients with close and tailored support.  Our pragmatic and hands-on approach means that we are retained by the largest UK property funds, publicly listed developers as well as leading constructors.

The Role

This is an excellent opportunity for a Junior Sustainability & Energy Consultant looking to take the next step in their career. You will join our growing team to work on a diverse range of projects in the UK and internationally. The role is very wide ranging, working on building physics, Net-Zero strategies, ESG, BREEAM and whole life cycle carbon assessments.

Working closely with colleagues of various disciplines in our London and Oxford office(s), you will help to deliver energy & sustainability projects – developing concepts, reports and meeting clients. You will ensure the successful delivery of innovative sustainable and low-carbon design solutions to quality standards and deadlines. You will receive continual support from more senior members of staff, along with access to our in-house training programme allowing you to continue your professional development.

This role will enable you to have an impact across a variety of sectors such as Education, Logistics,  Commercial, Healthcare, Retail and Residential, and ensure that over time you have the opportunity to assume greater levels of responsibility and autonomy. Specific work deliverables expected to be delivered by the consultant in this role will include:

1. Planning-Stage Energy & Sustainability Reports
2. SAP & SBEM Energy Modelling
3. BREEAM & Building Accreditation Support
4. Dynamic Simulation Modelling (TM52, TM59, TM54, Daylight)
5. Net-Zero Strategies  
6. Exposure to Life Cycle Assessment

About You

Educated to degree level in the built environment, sustainability or environmental science, the successful candidate should be highly motivated, possess excellent communication skills and look to develop their ongoing professional qualifications.

Essential Requirements:

• Good knowledge of energy & sustainability related statutory legislation, standards, and drivers in the construction industry.
• An understanding of environmental assessment methods (e.g. BREEAM, WELL & Home Quality Mark).
• Good knowledge of at least one area within regulatory and dynamic simulation modelling (e.g. SAP, DesignBuilder, TAS, DesignBuilder).
• Proficiency in MS Suite and its functionality for calculations.  
• Given the collaborative and client focused nature of this role, good communication skills and experience of using your initiative to overcome challenges are essential.
• Strong analytical skills and proficient in mathematics and English.

Salary: £29k+
Benefits: Company health insurance and pension, social events, flexible working, 25 days
holiday.
Contract: Permanent
Location: London

Preferential:

• Good knowledge of the principles of Net Zero Carbon and its application in the built environment.
• BREEAM accredited
• Good knowledge of ESG strategies.
• Hold a full UK driving licence.

How to Apply

Please send your CV and a short description of your career expectations, any relevant experience and pertinent information about yourself by email to joinus@envisioneco.com