As the onus to choose greener, more environmentally friendly products increases, more consumers will be looking for companies that can meet their needs by manufacturing goods produced using sustainably sourced materials. One key indicator for the environmentally conscious consumer when choosing wood based products is the FSC logo, whether you’re refurbishing a kitchen with new base units, replacing garden fencing or laying new flooring.
Companies that have been awarded the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accreditation have to demonstrate that throughout the manufacturing process, their goods have met the standards laid out by the FSC before their products are able to be labelled with this credential.
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Homes in the UK are now responsible for over a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions produced each year through consumption of energy used to run our homes. The only way that we can combat this is to use environmentally friendly products as much as possible.
This is where the UK’s leading heating systems manufacturer Baxi comes in. They have developed a way to combine your home’s heating and power called the Baxi Ecogen boiler. This provides efficient gas central heating and hot water but also generates cheaper electricity for the home, through a process known as Micro Combined Heat and Power or Micro CHP. Also allowing you to manage and control how much heat and hot water you use to help reduce your bills and ultimately your carbon emissions, the Baxi Ecogen could be the ideal investment for reducing your home’s carbon footprint.
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A report launched today by Experian for the ‘Cut the VAT’ coalition, an alliance of 21 organisations including the Federation of Master Builders, the Modern Masonry Alliance, the Clay Roof Tile Council and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, has unveiled that as many as 55,000 new jobs in the building sector and construction industry could be created if VAT on labour for building work and home improvements was cut to 5%.
Creating Building Jobs
The Cut the VAT coalition believes that by cutting the percentage of VAT paid on labour for renovation and property maintenance work from the current 12.5% to 5% would help the current economic situation of high numbers of unemployed people, and would also have a number of social and economic benefits for the UK as a whole, including helping the Government reach its carbon emission reduction targets.
The report anticipates an additional 24,000 construction jobs could be created in 2010 alone, with this rising to nearly 35,000 building sector jobs by 2019. In addition, the report explains that the additional demand for tradespeople to carry out work in domestic properties will have a knock on effect for companies who supply materials to the trades as people decide to upgrade central heating systems, repair roofs, build extensions and rewire homes. As a result of making building work and renovation of properties more affordable for homeowners, this will in turn help people make their homes more energy efficient, reducing energy consumption and saving them money.
Taking place from 2nd-4th March 2010, the Ecobuild exhibition in Earls Court, London, will provide the biggest event for green building, sustainable housing design and construction and should appeal to both tradespeople and companies looking to upskill in microgeneration installation and renewable energy technology. The exhibition should also appeal to home owners wanting to integrate green technologies or products into their home or those looking to self build and create a sustainable low carbon home.
The exhibition first launched in 2005 and has seen visitor numbers double each year, and with the increased popularity of green building and eco retrofitting, the attractiveness of this event could be even greater this year.
Across the three day event, there will be a range of activities for visitors to engage with, including conferences covering topics such as:
- zero carbon buildings
- can the building sector go green
- sustainable construction
- green renovation
- renewable energy generation
- the effect of Copenhagen on development in the UK
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With the global population rising dramatically, more people using cars and densely populated cities producing thousands of tons of carbon emissions it’s time to start changing the way we live. While we can’t change the world single handed in a week, we can change what we do in our own homes and lives which together will make a difference over time.
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As the onus to choose greener, more environmentally friendly products increases, more consumers will be looking for companies that can meet their needs by manufacturing goods produced using sustainably sourced materials. One key indicator for the environmentally conscious consumer when choosing wood based products is the FSC logo, whether you’re refurbishing a kitchen with new base units, replacing garden fencing or laying new flooring.