Built Environment Declares survey report: “Businesses declare sweeping support for tighter regulation and planning systems to achieve net zero goals”
With the crucial COP26 UN Climate Change Summit taking place in Glasgow, leading architectural, engineering, planning and construction companies are demanding the government introduce a carbon tax/law on ecocide to tackle the climate crisis and say VAT should also be reformed to promote refurbishment over new-build projects. Uniting as the umbrella group Built Environment Declares - in which Architects Declare is a partner - they say these changes are needed to meet the UK’s net zero carbon targets and the wider response to the climate crisis.
They are also pressing for changes to building regulations and planning systems such that:
“We are strongly committed to making changes in our own practices, but changes in regulation, taxation and legislation are essential to achieve the rapid and profound reduction in carbon emissions legislated by the UK Parliament.”
In the lead up to COP26, a survey of attitudes across UK built environment professional firms has measured the level of their concern and commitment to change. This survey was returned by over 200 UK businesses, including architects, contractors, building services, civil, and structural engineers, interior designers, landscape architects and project managers strive to “...meet the needs of our society without breaching the earth’s ecological boundaries will demand a paradigm shift in our behaviour”.
The survey took the form of a questionnaire to discover the level of a signatory’s commitment to specific changes in their own practice, in regulation and in legislation. The short report and results are available here.
8 November 2021
Architects Declare supports new LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide
Architects Declare fully support the LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide and applaud the hugely talented team behind this well-timed publication. We acknowledge the importance of prioritising the retrofitting and re-use of the existing built environment over demolition and new build if we are to have any hope of meeting Net Zero Carbon targets for 2050. Whilst we appreciate the challenges that successful low carbon retrofit presents the architecture profession, like LETI, we believe that our industry has the collective knowledge and expertise to step up and meet this head-on.
With careful reasoning, backed up with meticulous research and (as with previous LETI publications) exemplary infographics, LETI provide us with the tools to deliver on ambitious Net Zero carbon targets which will not be met without carbon emissions from the UK’s 28 million homes being reduced by over 70%. LETI present us with clear working methods and explanations for ‘Why retrofit’, ‘What is Retrofit’, and ‘How we do it”, supported by accessible case studies and the brilliant “Home Retrofit Specification” for different house types. The guide makes the case for the social, health & well-being benefits of retrofit, whilst arguing the case for the huge opportunities a national retrofit programme will present the whole of the UK in the form of 100,000’s of new jobs and “a £309bn boost to the economy”.
The issue of retrofitting our homes has never been so high-profile, and recently, so controversial. Recent developments have not detracted from the fact that decarbonising our housing stock is a huge priority if we are to meet Net Zero Carbon targets and try to slow down the Climate and Ecological Emergency, whilst creating climate-resilient, healthy and affordable homes for everybody. This guide makes the case, and crucially, provides clear deliverable working methodologies that can be understood by clients, tenants and the whole design team.
The LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide was launched on 21st October 2021 is available to download here.
21 October 2021
Architects Declare, Global Climate Strike & Climate Justice
In today’s Fridays for Future global climate strike, architects are among those demonstrating their commitment to action on the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency. A focus of this year's action is Fridays for Future's call for 'intersectional climate justice' - meaning that "the climate crisis does not exist in a vacuum. Other socio-economic crises such as racism, sexism, ableism, class inequality, and more amplify the climate crisis and vice versa."
The climate emergency is not a single issue. Different people, communities and regions experience its impacts differently. Architects Declare - a network of architectural practices committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency through an 11-point declaration - is seeking signatories’ views on a proposed twelfth point to highlight this:
Declaration on climate justice
"We will seek to - Support those who are working for climate justice and strive to ensure equity and an improved quality of life for all.”
Architects Declare launched in May 2019 with a commitment to promote and build momentum around our original 11 declaration points, and since then over 1,100 architectural practices across the UK have declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. Over time, however, it has become clear that the issue of climate justice is not sufficiently prominent and many have raised this imbalance. The increasing attention to the injustices of impacts globally - including within the UK - suggests that our declaration should redress this.
Today, while some Architects Declare signatories are supporting their employees in gathering for public events around the UK, others are making time 'in-house' to discuss and research the actions that their practices are best placed to take on our urgent priorities. We welcome whatever support practices are able to show, including to the call for climate justice as part of our response to the emergency.
Our consultation with signatories ends on 8th October and the result will be reflected in the new Architects Declare Practice Guide that we have developed to support all signatories in their actions. This will be released at the RIBA and Architects Declare Built Environment Summit on 28th & 29th October.
24 September 2021
New Steering Group members
Architects Declare has welcomed seven new Steering Group members to join the existing team in developing our next phase of urgent action, leading up to COP26.
After an open invitation for applications, we interviewed many candidates and were extremely impressed with the level of commitment and knowledge displayed. We are excited to announce that our new members are:
Alasdair Ben Dixon - Collective Works
Anna Lisa McSweeney - White Arkitekter
Anna Woodeson - LTS Architects
Craig Robertson - AHMM
Duncan Baker-Brown - BakerBrown
Kevin Logan - Maccreanor Lavington
Zoe Watson - Levitt Bernstein
We would also like to officially welcome Tara Gbolade from Gbolade Design Studio, who joined us earlier this year.
Membership terms for all volunteers to the Steering Group will be between one and three years. In this spirit of rotation one of our original members, Peter Clegg, has now left after two years. We are very grateful to him for his time and valuable guidance.
Following responses to our funding request to signatory practices, and ticket sales from our April event, we have also engaged a Manager. Mark Goldthorpe will be working for Architects Declare two days a week, running our various workstreams.
5 July 2021
RIBA and Architects Declare announce expert advisors to Built Environment Summit
18 industry experts have been selected to help shape the first Built Environment Summit (BESt) that will take place from 28-29 October 2021. Grouped into panels corresponding with the six conference themes, they will help review open call submissions and programme the two-day event:
Panel for Theme 1: The Significance of the Built Environment
Chaired by: Hélène Chartier, Head of Zero Carbon Development at C40 Climate Leadership Group
Panel for Theme 2: The Environmental Footprint of the Built Environment
Chaired by: Jane Anderson, Director of ConstructionLCA Limited
Panel for Theme 3: How to affect change in the Built Environment
Chaired by: Duncan Baker-Brown, Founder of BakerBrown
Panel for Theme 4: The Built Environment Industry’s Capabilities
Chaired by: Nigel Tonks, Director and Senior Adviser to Climate Champions Team of Ove Arup & Partners
Panel for Theme 5: The Industry is Committed to Change
Chaired by: Caroline Pidcock, Director of Pidcock PTY
Panel for Theme 6: The Industry needs governments’ support to change
Chaired by: Pooran Desai, CEO of OnePlanet.com
The international open call for research will close on Monday 5 July at 9am (BST).
Thu, 28 Oct 2021, 09:00 – Fri, 29 Oct 2021, 17:00 BST Click here for details and to book.
24 June 2021