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How Londons Olympic legacy

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Distributed within The Sunday Telegraph, produced and published by Lyonsdown who takes sole responsibility for the contents
Sustainable cities
Z Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
Opening shots Jeb Brugmann
TWENTY years ago urban sustainability was considered an
unrealistic fad of local councils responding to green politics.
Today, sustainability is a key value proposition in the global urban
development sector. Its champions reside among the FTSE 100.
The reason is clear. Urban sustainability practices demonstrably
improve the performance of urban infrastructure and properties,
one of the largest categories of wealth on national balance sheets.
Momentum behind the urban sustainability agenda is now so
robust so as to merit another seemingly unrealistic assertion:
in the not too distant future, cities will function like natural
ecosystems, producing large amounts of their own
energy, water, food, and perhaps even materials.
For centuries we have designed and viewed
cities to be colonies of extraction, processing
and consumption of natures resource wealth.
They disposed their wastes, largely unaccountable
for the impacts. The pace of innovation has
been stunning.
Twenty years ago, green city leaders such as
Amsterdam, Barcelona and Boston were
disposing untreated sewage into
their canals and waterfronts. In
those years, urban sustainability
meant end-of-pipe solutions to
treat the residues from natures
extracted wealth.Then, in the
late 1990s, the focus shifted.
Seeking greater economic
value from these resources,
wastes were cycled and reused
within the urban region.
Energy waste supplied district
heating and co-generation systems.
Food waste enriched local agricultural
soils. Waste water was cascaded from
households, to irrigation, to industrial
uses. Demolition wastes from one city, say Hong Kong, were
used to construct new cities, such as along Chinas eastern
seaboard. City management evolved from the management
of flows to the management and optimisation of the stocks of
extracted natural resources. That was just a start.
Todays leading cities are now focused on creating and managing
their own resource supplies. Cities are developing what
scientists call ecological function, whereby they produce
the resources they consume.
The breakthrough from stocks to sources
started with green building. Engineers
and design professionals competed
to create the worlds most optimsed
assets passive buildings where the
occupants are the main source of heat;
buildings roofed and skinned with solar
panels; properties supplied by their own
rainwater collection systems and with no
storm water run-off.
The commercial results were equally profound.
Advanced green buildings had lower operating costs,
provided healthier living and work environments,
and had more amenities like water features and
gardens. The market responded, resoundingly.
Now the focus turns to whole ecodistricts, at which scale
energy, water, wastewater, and solid waste systems can be
more economically optimised together. From the once fringe
experiment of Londons BedZed, ecodistricts are now sprouting
across Europe and North America. They define the advancing
boundary between unrealistic and commercially compelling
sustainability. In Rotterdam, plans for its old Stadshaven district
would see it producing 15 per cent more energy in buildings
than the district consumes, 50 per cent more food than local
residents consume, and 3 per cent more water than the district
itself consumes.
Soon well be generating profits and securing premium
prices for ecodistrict properties. When that happens, well
have discovered an unexpected purpose behind the global
rush to cities. Well be building a new form of ecosystem that
could conceivably support a pending population of nine billion
Earthlings.
In China, a dozen projects for entire ecocities are on the books.
Unrealistic?
Jeb Brugmann is the author of Welcome to the Urban
Revolution: How Cities Are Changing the World
Why our cities of the
future will function like
natural ecosystems
See your future
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J Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
Publisher BradleyScheffer...............................info@lyonsdown.co.uk
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CITIES are where things happen, says
Richard Miller, the head of sustainability
with the UK Technology Strategy Board
(TSB).
Cities are becoming more and more
important economically, environmentally
and socially. And as cities grow bigger you
get more pressures, and at the same time
youve got climate change, waste, and
resource shortages. In short, there are
loads of challenges for cities of the future.
Indeed, in an increasingly urban world
where its predicted that three quarters of
the population will live in cities by 2050,
sustainability can no longer be considered
a mere buzzword for policy makers and
business leaders. For the sake of our future
cities, the concept of sustainability must
now become part of mainstream thinking.
Business has a part to play
There are signs this is already occurring;
the proportion of managers who say
sustainability is a key to competitive success
has risen from 55 per cent in 2010 to 67 per
cent last year, according to research by the
MIT Sloan Management Review and the
Boston Consulting Group.
For a city to be truly sustainable,
economies must thrive for the success of
business and employment, and the quality
of life must continually excel in order to
retain its popularity. But the solutions to
these must be environmentally friendly,
with the cost of ecological neglect taking
its toll on local flora and fauna.
How do we enable 9.5bn people to live
well with the resources of a single planet?
Its that balance of people, planet and
profit, says Miller.
We see that as a huge commercial
opportunity, and a huge challenge round
how you change these things, as they all
interact.
Green growth has been imperative to
city development since as early as the late
1960s. America saw the need for a shift
away from the grow first, clean later
approach when the Cuyahoga River in
Ohio was so polluted it caught fire, spurring
the creation of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
TSB has launched a Future Cities group
in London, working as an independent
collaboration centre to help UK businesses
develop innovative urban solutions for
l arge scal e probl ems and t hen
commercialise them on a global scale. The
group will work closely with Glasgow city
council, who recently won 24m of
government funding for a future cities
demonstrator.
Commercial opportunity
Though a large challenge exists on the
demand side, with the roll out of smart
meters and retrofit programmes intended
to encourage more sustainable living, Miller
believes a major commercial opportunity
exists in helping people do things the way
they want.
Some people come perilously close to
saying if we had different consumers these
problems would go away. We have to
acknowledge the realities of peoples lives,
he says.
People do not set out to waste energy,
because that costs money. They set out to
get what they want, in terms of profits or
lifestyle and things like that. So I think
that the opportunity for business lies in
helping people to achieve what they wish
in a low impact way.
A perfect example lies in transport,
with more people forced to commute by
car, due to a lack of infrastructure for
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By Bonnie Gardiner
Main: Richard
Miller, head of
sustainability at
UK Technology
Strategy Board
Sustainable
cities depend
on the balance
between
people, planet
and prot
walking and cycling, while initiatives such
as smart ticketing and reliable low-emission
buses and trains are expected to help aid
mobility and ease congestion.
The efficiency of road systems also has
a major impact on other sectors like
healthcare, with as much as 20 per cent of
UK road transportation associated with
the health system.
That can extend to the wellness debate,
because if people are healthier, then the
strain on the system is less, youve got
better social outcomes, better economic
outcomes, and better environmental
outcomes, says Miller.
Business World
Dont miss our brilliant new feature
Pages 12 & 13
Driving toward a
zero-carbon future
INDUSTRY VIEW
S
ustainable transport is essential, not
just because it can help cities meet
their emissions targets, but because
in the long term, it will bring cost savings.
By 2030 ve billion people in the
world are expected to live in high density
urban areas. Many of those cities are
committed to improving air quality,
reducing carbon emissions and want
to cut fuel costs. That makes cities the
most receptive market for hybrid buses.
BAE Systems has been powering
hybrid buses across the globe for more
than a decade. The latest generation
of products from its HybriDrive brand
benet from many years experience
and technical capability developed. But
it has always been clear that hybrid is
not the nal answer for urban mobility.
While hybrid-powered buses have
been shown to consume less fuel and
release far fewer harmful emissions than
a standard bus, the eventual aim has to
be absolute zero local emissions from
the vehicle. This has the potential to
radically improve the living conditions
for the growing percentage of the global
population who live in densely populated
areas. The challenge to companies
wishing to make this future vision a reality
is to develop products with clearly dened
and managed technical enhancements,
which enable the journey to progress
incrementally. Making quantum leaps in
the transport industry is rarely a success.
After all, this is a business run on ne
commercial margins. Technical risk is not
something that ts easily in this model.
The key to success therefore is to
develop products that work well from day
one and oer real benets to transport
operators. These products will generate
revenues that can be re-invested in
the next generation of products and
progress the state-of-the-art toward the
goal of all-electric city centre mobility.
Hybrid propulsion, in the city bus
sector, oers the benets of reduced fuel
consumption and harmful greenhouse
gas emissions by up to 35 per cent.
www.hybridrive.com
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4 Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
ZERO EMISSIONS ARE WHAT DRIVE US.
AND SOON THEYLL DRIVE
YOUR PASSENGERS.
The BAE Systems HybriDrive series propulsion system is a
leading edge technology, with a record of proven performance
and excellence in service.
Its the driving force behind the worlds largest feets of low
carbon buses.
Were now introducing the next stages of the HybriDrive
propulsion system story new evolutions that bring further
energy savings along the road to a 100% zero emissions
HybriDrive solution.
Designed to deliver the zero emissions future of the bus today.
www.hybridrive.com
Boriss low-emission vision
Hybrid buses will be a key element
of the Mayor of Londons plans for
an ultra-low emissions zone.
The mayor has asked Transport for
London to draw up plans for a public
consultation for an ultra-low emission
zone to be introduced by 2020, which
would see only zero or low emission
vehicles driving in central London
during working hours. In a statement
in February, mayor Boris Johnson
said: Creating the worlds rst big
city ultra-low emission
zone has the potential
to be a game changing
moment in the quality
of life of our great capital.
My vision is a central zone
where almost all the vehicles running
during working hours are either zero
or low emission. This would deliver
incredible benets in air quality and
stimulate the delivery and mass
use of low emission technology.
BAE leading the way saving
money and improving air quality
Vehicles equipped with BAE Systems
HybriDrive propulsion system
have travelled more than
600m miles, prevented
more than 520,000 tons
of CO2 emissions and
saved over 38m gallons
of diesel fuel to date.
Hybrid and electric public transport is key to a sustainable city
To understand the importance
of resilience, you just need to look at
the stats coming out of the US from
the past five to seven years, in terms
of the amount of damage to urban
infrastructure that theyve had to
withstand as a result of extreme
weather events.
Need for collaboration
The economic impact of such events
is also likely to worsen over time,
with a growing number of people
urbanising, along with a greater
amount of infrastructure in place. As
such, initiatives such as ClimateWise
believe more incentive is needed
for the collaboration of policy
makers, scientists and private sector
investment.
Thats a fundamental part of how
resilience and sustainability needs to
be tackled in an urban environment,
says Bartlett.
The public purse has a huge gap
right now, so there is going to need
to be a real scaling up on investment
from the private sector, and leveraging
that investment in developing or
redeveloping areas which have much
more sustainability and resilience
built into them.
The same notion is being applied
by engineers of smart cities, where
all systems are considered and
interconnected internally and
externally in order to deal with a
crisis.
When you set up a smart building,
youre collecting a vast array of
information including detailed
metering to optimise what youre using
from utilities, energy usage and so
on, explains Katherine Farrington,
communications and security team
lead at engineering consultancy firm
Norman Disney & Young.
The ultimate goal would be
that this information feeds into
smart cities to optimise utilities and
planning for education, healthcare,
government, transport, economy and
the environment.
Farrington cites an emergency
scenario as an example where
interconnected systems result in
greater efficiency.
In a connected city if you had
an incident in the building, you could
call 999 and be able to alert the
hospital with details of the person
involved in the incident. With
interconnected systems, patient
information could be obtained
quickly from the patients local
surgery, to be available
in the ambulance and
at the hospital, she explains. The
hospital can then alert the transport
network to set up all the traffic lights
along the route to be green, to assist
the ambulance to reach the patient and
hospital faster thats why we want
everything to be interconnected.
Investment not enough
Private sector investment in roads is
an important aid to resilience as robust
or flexible building infrastructure
is not always enough. Issues
for business in the event of a
hurricane or earthquake can
include road closures and
halted public transport links,
preventing employees getting
to work, while casualties
are more difficult for
health services to
tend to.
If you rolled
solutions up like that,
everybody benefits from
i nvest ment i nto t hat
infrastructure becoming
resilient, says Bartlett.
Utilities too are important in
natural disasters, to ensure people
are provided with drinking water
or heating, though tight regulations
mean they are more difficult to control.
It matters to everyone using that
service that they stay up and running,
that the grid still runs through the
most extreme weather events, adds
Bartlett.
The resilience aspect would also
have economic benefits for a city, as
it serves as an incentive for companies
to move there, where risks are
managed and reduced, while more
areas are insurable an attractive
option to businesses struggling with
high premiums.
With the demand for an 80 per cent
reduction in carbon emissions by 2050,
buildings now need to optimise their
internal energy and utilities usage.
The way the progression of
buildings and systems has always
been, all communications and control
systems were installed as completely
separate systems that often used
different protocols, nothing would
talk to each other, and if they did it
was really complicated and slow,
says Farrington.
What we design now are fully
integrated buildings which have a
common infrastructure, common
backbone network, common network
interface, providing sustainable,
economic and operational benefits.
Future of integration
With the introduction of an Energy
Efficient Ethernet (EEE), new, smarter
programmes monitor and regulate
anything on an IP network, such as
putting an unused computer, email
servers or telephone to sleep.
Advanced lighting systems can
control light right down to someones
location in the building; metering
and sub metering is employed to
measure use of utilities, and building
security is improving to prevent
internal crises, as virtualisation shifts
disparate systems onto one centralised
energy efficient platform.
Combined heat and power (CHP)
plants are serving as a sophisticated
alternative to coal and gas-fired
power stations to provide local
heat, electricity and cooling. This
approach has been adopted by some
of the UKs most notable buildings,
Londons Olympic venues, left, and
the surrounding complexes
and homes, some of which
have achieved a BREEAM
excellent rating.
C H P g e n e r a t e s
electricit y while also
capturing usable heat
produced in this process.
This contrasts with conventional
methods of generating power where up
to two thirds of total energy consumed
is wasted. The CHP process is also fuel
neutral, meaning it can be applied to
both renewable and fossil fuels.
Despite great progress, cities
are only at the beginning of their
sustainability journeys, with current
plans not enough compared to real,
tangible action.
The efforts by engineers and
policy makers to create intelligent
and resilient infrastructure will only
be realised with the collaboration and
investment necessary, so that cities can
better endure emergency scenarios,
as well as help to prevent them.
S Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
E
XPERTS are claiming that if
cities dont have a resilient
integrated approach to
their overall infrastructure then
sustainability is a dream that
will never be realised.
Sustainability and resilience
can be seen as two sides of the
same coin, says Nicolette
Bartlett, senior programme
manager for the University of
Cambridge Programme for
Sustainability Leadership,
which runs platforms such as
ClimateWise, an international
insurance body for climate risk.
Built on resilience
By Bonnie
Gardiner
An expert look at
how our future
will be connected,
integrated and
truly sustainable
Bartlett: sustainability
and resilience are two
sides of the same coin
Key to sustainable cities
is embracing clean cloud
AS smart cities grow, the amount of data
gathered, stored, and analysed is set to
explode and how we process this data will
play a big role in the future of efficiency
and sustainability.
While proponents of the cloud often rave
about its environmental benefits compared
with in-house data storage, businesses
should still be vigilant when deciding who
will host their data. IT departments should
be challenging their cloud providers green
credentials in order to secure a sustainable
future, according to Greenpeaces head of
IT, Andrew Hatton, below.
The IT expert says that asking these
big questions will encourage companies
to go green and make data storage more
environmentally friendly.
I think, historical ly, many
businesses have approached the cloud
from a cost-saving objective and
thats understandable in the current
climate.
But we want to see organisations
starting to ask big environmental
questions of cloud providers.
The beginnings of green
accountability are there, he says, adding
that the technology is already moving in the
right direction and towards sustainability.
Greenpeace publishes reports to
assist companies in choosing sustainable
providers, and Hatton would like to see
more businesses promoting green processes
in future.But, unlike some initiatives,
environmentally-friendly IT can also yield
financial results for firms in financially
uncertain times.
There are big potential savings in terms
of both money and CO2 in running things
along greener lines, running things more
efficiently and using smarter technologies
to reduce travel and run smarter logistics
operations, says Hatton.
For example, by using services such as
video conferencing we reduce travel, and
that has an impact in terms of the load on
the infrastructure and transport systems
of towns and cities.
This means savings on energy
consumption and pollution, and with
staff able to work from home online,
Hatton predicts that in the future we
may see lighter offices with fewer staff
having to travel on overcrowded trains.
But for Hatton, the real key to the future of
sustainable cities is for green technologies
to embrace a clean cloud.
He says: Its vital that the growth in
cloud is not at the expense of our climate,
and we avoid the use of coal to power these
data centres. Otherwise we are simply
swapping one problem for another.
Wind farm is
second largest
in the world
LAST month the UK saw the
opening of the worlds second
largest offshore wind farm, off
the coast of Suffolk.
The 1.3bn Greater
Gabbard project, made up of
140 turbines, was jointly
developed by SSE renewables
and RWE npower renewables
and will be providing 14 per
cent of the UKs offshore wind
power capacity, delivering
enough power to the grid for
415,000 homes.
Energy and Business
Minister Michael Fallon
hailed the project as further
evidence of the governments
commitment to the fast-
expanding offshore wind
industry, claiming it had
already delivered substantial
economic benefits to the
region.
Insulation is
being le out
in the cold
INSULATION projects to reduce
domestic carbon emissions have
been met with resistance due
to their invasive nature, says a
sustainability academic.
Peter Guthrie, director of
the Centre for Sustainable
Development at the University
of Cambridge, says thermal
insulation is not popular with
residents, despite the high
return on investments and short
payback period.
There has been a high level
of resistance because people
dont want to the intrusion of
tradespeople coming to do the
work, explains Guthrie.
Thermal insulation for
many either has to be
internal, which reduces the
size of the rooms, or external,
which affects the appearance
of the building,
More work needs to be
done on the social attitudes
and the behavioural
approaches in terms of
retrofitting, says Guthrie.
Persuading people to take
these decisions is proving to
be much more intractable
than originally thought.
By Ma Smith
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Why Part L is still Plan A for us
INDUSTRY VIEW
P
art L has long beenthefocal point
for the UK housing industry. A
complex series of strict targets,
Part L oered a robust structure for
the construction industry to work
to as it sets its sights on achieving
the golden standard of having zero-
carbon new-build housing by 2016.
The new Part L regulations will call
for new build homes to be 6 per cent
more e cient. More signicantly, it
shifts the focus on to improving building
materials and developing a fabric-rst
approach to building design. This seems
to be a positive move towards what we
in the construction products sector have
always known that the key to zero-
carbon housing is sympathetic building
design which maximises the inherent
properties of construction materials.
Moving the goalposts
Despite being initially consulted on
in January 2012, the governments
response to the next stage of changes
to Part L had long been delayed. When
the update was received at the end of
July, the goalposts had moved quite
considerably, leaving many wondering
whether Part L was the guiding light they
had previously believed it to be. Some
industry gures have warned that the
watered-down targets and resulting delay
in implementation until April 2014 could
threaten viability of the 2016 goal, but for
those already proactively working towards
this deadline, will it make a dierence?
Concrete has long rewritten the
rulebook for sustainable construction
in the housing sector, having
been used in some of the most
groundbreaking green building
developments that the UK has seen.
Its a material that has already proven
to be able to enhance a buildings
sustainability credentials. In 2009 we
worked with Dr Jerry Harrall of SEArch
Architects to create Unity Gardens a
social housing development of six
aordable, concrete-built homes with the
aim of generating more energy than they
use. The properties not only met these
objectives, but they achieved the highest
recorded standard assessment procedure
(SAP) ratings, and were conrmed as being
the most energy-e cient homes in the UK
by an independent environmental audit.
One of the reasons for this success
is because the basic design relied solely
on natural resources such as sunlight.
South-facing glass walls maximised the
thermal mass e ciency of the concrete
structures, makingcentral heating
unnecessary.Combine this with PV
panels and wind-generated electricity,
andfor the four yearssince moving
in, residents have enjoyed a near-
autonomous existence in terms of fuel.
Look beyond 2016
This resurgence in innovation means that
the industry is well placed to deliver upon
2016 targets, and the furore over changes
to Part L seems somewhat shortsighted.
What we as an industry need to
do is consider a future beyond 2016,
innovating with longevity in mind.
Of course, its good to have targets, but
with the gauntlet of an 80 per cent carbon
reduction by 2050 still ahead of us,
getting bogged down in the ner details
of Part L 2014 could be simply wasting
time when we should be joining together
to concentrate on the bigger picture.
Emma Hines is senior manager
of sustainable construction at
Lafarge Tarmac
sustainablecities@lafargetarmac.com
www.lafargetarmac.com
The industry is still on track for 2016 targets, says Emma Hines of Lafarge Tarmac
Avoid using coal to power data centres
5 Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
The Unity Gardens project created the most energy e cient homes in the UK
Find out how your IT department can help make your business more environmentally
friendly at IT Transformation 2013, where Andrew Hatton will be speaking, at the
British Museum on November 26. Visit www.it-transformation.co.uk
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Solutions
for a more
e cient
tomorrow
Heat pumps are a
cost eective and safe
alternative to heating
INDUSTRY VIEW
W
ith cities becoming increasingly
densely populated and the associated
energy demand growing, the issue
of dwindling fossil fuel supplies is raising more
and more discussion about how homes and
commercial properties will be heated in the
future. However, an innovative and sustainable
solution is already available right before our eyes
in the air around us and the ground below.
Heat pumps are a proven method of heating
in the UK and abroad. They extract heat from
the air or the ground to provide a total heating
and hot water solution for any property. With
vastly superior e ciencies compared with fossil
fuel systems and with no combustible gases,
they are safer and more cost-eective to run.
Reduction in emissions
Retrotting heat pumps in our cities,
whether via boreholes for single or multiple
properties or by installing air source units
can also achieve substantial carbon emission
reductions. Its simply a case of people
recognising the considerable benets of
these systems and incorporating them within
current and future development plans.
One initiative that will boost this recognition
is the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The
commercial variant already rewards businesses
with payments for the heat their systems
generate, while the domestic RHI launches
in 2014. This is a dening moment in history
where an entire country is being incentivised
to fundamentally change the way they heat
their homes and businesses. With just a small
amount of capital and the benet of ongoing
RHI payments, it is now possible to achieve
zero carbon energy
solutions at zero cost.
Power in our
hands
Renewable energy
has the power to
remove the burden
of fuel concerns
from future
generations and
thwart the onset of
fuel poverty among
vulnerable social groups. Forward-thinking
individuals and businesses have that power
in their hands and now is the time to use it.
0808 145 2340
www.iceenergy.co.uk
ENVIRONMENTAL organisations are
opposing plans for airport expansions in
the UK, claiming that it is unsustainable
and unnecessary.
As the debate continues over how to
improve capacity at airports in London,
environmental organisation Friends of
the Earth says that the concept is nothing
more than a political football.
We dont think that the business case
for expansion is being made robustly
enough, says Jane Thomas, senior
campaigner for Friends of the Earth.
This stuff is being kicked around like
a political football. A lot of this is political
posturing, and that costs the communities
and the environment a huge amount, so we
urge politicians to be very mindful of that.
The stress in response to decreasing air
travel for business reasons is not taking into
account the different ways in which people
can conduct business, insists Thomas.
At the moment we are still the
destination of choice. Business traffic is
falling, but its because people are using
video conferences; executives arent
needed to jet around the world. People
are doing business differently and this
new model hasnt been factored in.
Thomas also notes that many regional
companies conduct their business in
Europe, where air travel is unnecessary
with services such as Eurostar and the
upcoming completion of HS2.
An al t er nat i ve
suggestion to free
up airport capacity
would be to scrap
short-haul f lights
around t he UK,
for which there are already adequate
alternatives.
Its ridiculous in Heathrow there are
flights to Manchester, Leeds and Scotland,
says Thomas.
Youve got runways that are used
for long-haul destinations that take on
short-haul flights and thats why the
capacity at Heathrow is 97 per cent; poor
usage of runway.
London mayor Boris Johnson has
long rallied for a new hub
airport to be built in the
Thames estuary, despite
similar proposals being
rejected since 1943
on economic and
envi ronment al
grounds.
I n May, t he
Commons Transport
Committee said that the
Boris Island and other
estuary airport proposals would be hugely
expensive, could harm wildlife and mean
the closure of Heathrow.
The committee and the majority of
airlines are in favour of building a third
runway at Heathrow, while some would
prefer expansion of Gatwick or Stansted.
Aviation is expected to account for one
quarter of the UKs total greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050.
The RSPB, WWF UK and Heathrow
campaign group HACAN submitted a
report to the government, in which CE
Delft found that once a city reaches a
certain level of connectedness, further
expansion is unlikely to significantly affect
the economy.
The governments airport commission,
headed by Lord Davies, has been set up to
examine aviation capacity and the need
for expansion in greater detail, and will
produce its final recommendations in a
report to be published in 2015.
Shipping industry is steering on to a greener path
THE shipping industry is working
towards a greener future with new
environmentally conscious investments.
Despite the lack of a global emissions
deal, the growing carbon footprint of the
industry has led many companies to seek
a more sustainable business strategy.
The sector currently accounts for
around 3 per cent of global emissions,
and is expected to more than double its
output by 2050 if no action is taken.
The I nt er nat i onal Mar i t i me
Organisation (IMO) has introduced
a series of efficiency measures to cut
emissions by 23 per cent by 2030, but
has admitted more solutions are required.
Suggestions for a global market-based
mechanism include a tax on bunker fuel
or an emissions trading scheme.
Rules have also been brought in to
restrict sulphur and nitrogen oxide
emissions.
Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, the Ship to
Grid project will allow river cruisers and
inland cargo vessels to connect to green
energy with the help of almost 200 newly
installed onshore power stations.
Activists
give red
light to
airport
growth
By Bonnie Gardiner
Heat pumps
are a safe
and cost-
eective
way to get
energy
7 Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
Johnson: keen to
build a new hub airport
ALMOST ten years after Athens hosted
the Olympic Games, the glory of medals,
adrenaline and striking infrastructure
burns only as a distant memory for the
people of Greece. Almost all venues
lie abandoned, while the crumbling
stadium houses broken chairs and
a torn running track. As the Greek
economy deteriorates, the importance
of forward thinking goes undisputed.
Following Beijings inspiring mega-
event of 2008, all eyes fell on a patch
of land in east London, where our own
Olympic Park began to take shape. But
as Chinas venues slowly faded into the
background not well maintained
and used mostly by tourists the word
on the British streets was not simply
sporting glory, but of Olympic legacy.
We said from the very beginning
there would be no white elephants on
the park and weve kept our promise,
says Dennis Hone, chief executive
of the London Legacy Development
Corporation (LLDC).
We said wed transform wasteland
in east London into one of Europes
largest parks filled with award-winning
sports venues that people will love,
and we delivered, he adds. We
remain firmly on track to deliver a
meaningful physical and social legacy
for Londoners.
Just over a year since London
2012, I can see myself that the parks
reconstruction is well underway
as I trek across various work sites.
Accompanied by various construction
workers and project managers, liaising
over colour samples and admiring
newly built bridges, I can see the
foundations being laid for 10 tennis
courts, a mountain biking course and
two hockey pitches.
Different countries have done
different parks well, but Barcelona did
quite a good job with regeneration, and
Sydney too, says Jessica Gavaghan,
project manager for the Legacy
Corporation and my site chaperone
for the day. Weve tried to bring it all
together, to have a legacy for the venues,
but also the park, and the village.
The lesson from former host cities
left crippled from the effects of the
Olympics ensured that right from the
start, LLDC would take heed of past
mistakes and work with a legacy at
the forefront of their plans.
This was all designed for the legacy,
but we made it work for the Games
and it worked really well. So now our
job is converting; theres still a lot to
Bonnie Gardiner takes a
tour of the Games venues
to see how sustainability
is coming out on top
S Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
A legacy that will last
long aer Games
glory fades
Main: an artists
impression of
how a nearby
neighbourhood
might look, with
Olympic venues to
the right
Below:
construction takes
place on site
Bottom: A music
event makes use of
the Olympic Park
do but we have a really good place to
start from, says Gavaghan.
Looking to the north, the work is
already complete, with the recently
opened Copper Box Arena playing
host to several events since July.
The green and pristine community
space sees people coming from miles
around to enjoy walking and cycling,
or relaxing in the Unity Kitchen Caf,
while children laugh in the Tumbling
Bay adventure playground. One of 29
playgrounds to be erected in the park,
Tumbling Bay is specially designed to
blend into its natural surroundings,
with a tree trunk playground, sandpit,
ropes course and waterpark.
A perimeter wall restricts access
to construction spaces to the
south, displaying details of venue
refurbishment so people are up to
date on the park plans. A distant
hammering can be heard, and the
occasional worker in a hard hat and
high-visibility vest appears with tools,
but people seem unperturbed by the
on-going work.
I think people understand that its a
big job and its not going to be finished
overnight. Theyre just happy to come
and see whats going on, how things
are progressing, and hopefully theyll
continue to come, adds Gavaghan.
Overall, around 300m will be
spent on transforming all 560 acres
of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,
while construction has already created
more than a thousand jobs, including
60 apprenticeships, with 8,000 more
permanent roles to be created by 2030.
In a few months new residents will
move into the 2,818 homes on what was
once the Athletes Village, as well as a
further 7,000 new homes in five new
neighbourhoods, complete with nine
nurseries and three health centres.
The completed park will offer
sporting programmes for everything
from high performance competitions
to grassroots competitions, no doubt
including school sporting events, with
three schools expected to be built
over the park in the coming
years, including the opening
of Chobham Academy this
September.
As tumbleweed rolls
through the dilapidated
Athens stadium, the future of
all eight of Londons Olympic
venues was secured by May
2013, following the signing of a
deal with iCITY for the Press and
Broadcast Centre. Just a month
earlier saw the Olympic Stadium
confirmed as the future home for
the Rugby World Cup, followed
by Premiership side West Ham United
and UK Athletics.
This puts London further ahead
than any other host city in history in
delivering a lasting legacy from the
Games, while a schedule of summer
entertainment and events will continue
Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
Most sustainable
cities are also most
desirable to live in
IT was in 2008 that, for the rst time in history, humankind
became an urban species. The UN reported that by the end
of the year a majority of the worlds 6.7bn people would be
city-dwellers. Moreover, the urbanisation trend that has
dominated for several centuries is continuing, with analysts
predicting that by 2050, 6.4bn out of a global population
of 9.2bn will live in cities.
Whether this is a blessing or a curse depends on which city
you live in. Well managed cities are crucibles for innovation
and engagement that provide citizens with richly varied
and rewarding lives. In addition, experts believe mega-
cities could hold the answer to the worlds environmental
challenges by concentrating population e ciently in areas
that can then be supported by surrounding agricultural land
or perhaps even sky-scraper farms and rooop gardens.
Poorly managed cities remain some of the bleakest places
on the planet, marred by poverty, poor health, and crime. It
is a dichotomy that makes the development of sustainable
cities one of the most important long term challenges faced
by political and business leaders the world over.
Every few months it seems a new list is published
highlighting the worlds greenest cities and while it
may be impossible to develop truly comprehensive criteria
for measuring the greenness of a metropolis, it is clear that
many of the worlds greenest cities are also the worlds most
liveable and attractive cities. Whether it is New York with its
walkable neighbourhoods and low levels of car ownership,
London with its huge green spaces and Boris Bikes, below,
or Vancouver with its 55 per cent recycling rate and reliance
on clean hydroelectricity, the greenest neighbourhoods in
the world are also some of the most desirable.
This trend will continue as new clean technologies are
embraced. In cities, electric cars are already providing
a clean and cost eective means of tackling deadly air
pollution. Electric scooters delivering your pizza are now
a common sight in New York, while Taiwan is working on
plans to roll out 5,000 electric rubbish trucks.
Similarly, energy e cient upgrades and renewable
energy installations such as solar panels and district heat
networks may require upfront investment, but the payback
is far quicker in densely populated neighbourhoods.
All these benets are apparent in ambitious plans for
futuristic green cities such as the Masdar project in Abu
Dhabi or the Living PlanIT Valley smart city development in
Portugal, where renewables, public transport, and building
and transport management systems are integrated to slash
emissions and environmental impacts.
Planners now envisage cities where buildings
automatically deliver the right temperature, driverless
cars ferry people around with zero risk of accidents, while
all the time the city draw on negligible amounts of energy.
We need sustainable cities and we need to build them fast.
But thankfully these sustainable
cities are just the kind of cities
people like to live in.

By James Murray
By 2050, 6.4bn out of a global
population of 9.2bn will live in cities
VIEW
until the rest of the park opens its doors
to the community in spring 2014.
The Stratford environment is set
to prosper also, with each venue
functioning on green energy as well
as a regeneration of the surrounding
natural habitats. With 252 acres of
open space and 6.5km of rivers and
canals, various wildlife have begun to
reappear in the park since the Games,
and will continue to do so with an
expected 111 acres of biodiverse
habitats including reed beds,
grasslands, ponds and woodlands.
International Olympic Committee
president Jacques Rogge says: London
has raised the bar on how to deliver a
lasting legacy. It has created a legacy
blueprint for future Games hosts.
And, so far, the outlook is positive
for Rio 2016.
The Rio organising committee
is promising its own legacy
will be born from passion and
transformation of a city and an
entire country, fuelled by the
renovation of the Olympic and
Paralympic spirit.
But as weve seen in the
past, promises dont always
equal a reality. Gavaghan of the
Legacy Corporation stresses that:
As successful as London has been,
Rio needs to adapt to its own unique
situations and think about what they
need to improve in their city and what
benefits they can get.
A legacy that will last
long aer Games
glory fades
EXPERT
James Murray is the founding
editor of BusinessGreen.com
He tweets @James_BG
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A
ccording to the UK Green
Building Council, by 2050, 75 per
cent of the worlds population
is expected to live in cities. The built
environment already accounts for up to
20 per cent of water use, 40 per cent of
energy consumption and approaching
50 per cent of natural resource use, as
well as two-thirds of C02 emissions.
So, with new infrastructure
and construction comes a huge
responsibility and an incredible
opportunity to minimise the
impact of the cities of tomorrow.
But its not just new builds that can
make a dierence. In 2050,
80 per cent of all buildings standing
today will still be occupied.
We have to ramp up our eorts as
an industry to drive green solutions if
we are going to meet the governments
target of 80 per cent reduction in CO2
emissions by 2050, says Skanskas
president and chief executive, Mike
Putnam, who is also co-chair of the
governments Green Construction Board.
Today many developers concentrate
on building one property and meeting
minimum environmental
requirements, but we
need to think wider
than that during
development,
Putnam believes. He
supports greater
collaboration:
We need to work
with government,
the supply chain
and competitors to
drive sustainable
construction.
He sees collaborations,
such as the Skanska-
founded, industry-
wide Supply Chain
Sustainability School
as the way forward.
In its rst year, the school attracted
2,400 members and 1,300 companies,
all eager to boost their green credentials
and meet their clients aspirations to
future-proof their developments.
The Journey to Deep Green
Todays construction is about reducing
the use of carbon, energy and water and
sourcing sustainable materials. Some
might believe that a building with
zero net energy usage no more
energy bills is a pipe dream, but
construction rms have already
built successful examples.
I believe that construction
with near-zero impact on the
environment is realistic. Self-su cient
buildings that generate their own
power and are built and maintained
with no net impact on the environment
are the future, says Putnam.
Construction projects focus on
reduction, reuse and recycling the same
mantra we use at home because there
is a charge for the waste sent to landll.
On infrastructure projects, such as
widening the M25, the Skanska Balfour
Beatty joint venture has worked with the
Highways Agency to drive out waste.
More than 2.2m sq metres of materials
excavated were recycled, with more than
97 per cent of waste diverted from landll.
Todays buildings can be powered
by renewable energy, including
geothermal sources, biomass, wind and
solar power. Just outside Helsingborg
in Sweden, Skanskas largest green
o ce development so far Vla
Grd is producing at least as much
energy as it consumes for heating,
cooling and building utilities.
And its not just overseas that progress
is being made. The recently completed
Brent Civic Centre in North London
is soon to be named the UKs greenest
public building. Brent Council had high
aspirations for its new home. Working
with Skanska, its new premises are
set to achieve a 33 per cent reduction
in carbon emissions with an A-rated
energy performance certicate.
In cities of the future, with the right
technology, buildings can channel
more energy back to the National
Grid than they draw down.
The case for green
There are good examples of how
construction companies have introduced
sustainable ideas and technology,
but there remains a perception
by some that building green
is more expensive.
Thats why, for companies
like Skanska and its customers
it is important to focus on the
business case for sustainable building.
Lower running costs are clearly
attractive for asset owners and tenants,
but initial investment can be a barrier.
For construction companies, the
challenge here is as much one of
education as technical know-how.
Particularly on green retrot projects, a
well-informed approach can mean there
is no capital outlay for the buyer. Payback
periods, feed-in taris and government
incentives are all ways to reduce or remove
the sting of a major capital investment.
A 1.4m investment at Skanskas head
o ce in Hertfordshire has cut energy
costs by 145,000 a year, and reduced
carbon by half. The investment is
expected to pay for itself within nine years.
People power
Switching to renewable sources
is pointless, though, if energy
usage is still high, so reducing
consumption is equally important.
Smarter cities will be those that
consider not just the construction phase,
but also how we design and employ
technology and shift human behaviour
to run those cities more e ciently.
Green infrastructure and buildings
deliver their full potential only
when the people who use them do
so correctly. The nature of green
technology means users have a major
inuence on their eectiveness.
Behavioural change has become an
important part of delivering smarter
buildings. At three London hospitals
St Bartholomews, The London Chest
Hospital and The Royal London
Skanskas facilities management team
audits the waste bins every six weeks.
By making sure hospital sta members
put the right kind of waste into the right
bins, the hospitals have reached the point
where they now send zero non-clinical
waste to landll. Theyve also cut the cost
of oensive waste disposal [low-level
clinical waste] by 250,000 in the rst year.
So, smarter cities need smarter people.
Twitter: @skanskaukplc
www.skanska.co.uk
J0 Sustainable cities
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
The business case
for building
smarter cities
By supporting the green agenda in
building and infrastructure projects, the
construction industry is helping the UK
understand the benets of building cities
that are smarter and more sustainable
INDUSTRY VIEW
Leading by example
Pushing the green agenda is easier if
you can prove it works. Putnam argues
that companies should set the tone
by taking the lead on green issues.
Back in 2009, Skanska took the bold
decision to change its 1,200-strong
car eet to low-emission vehicles.
At that time there were only a small
number of cars on the market that
met its ambitious standard.
The average CO emissions for a
new car today in the UK is 133 CO/
km. Skanskas car eet was achieving
this two years ago. The move cut
Skanskas fuel costs by 1.1m.
The company has also converted
its entire eet of heavy plant to be
powered by biodegradable oils,
ahead of any legislative necessity.
We like to take a leadership position
and push this agenda forward, says
Putnam. Were trying to nd innovative
solutions and push the boundaries.
Its important to do what you say, but
also to focus on collaboration and take
a wide approach to being green.
Below: Mike
Putnam,
Skanska
president and
chief executive
I
ndustry is beginning to recognise
the important contribution
of engineers who understand
precisely how a buildings external
surfaces can help moderate energy
use. The faade of a modern building
is fast becoming one of the most
expensive and important elements of
building construction; representing
up to 35 per cent of construction
costs. Faades are a creative
expression of the architect as well
the primary environmental modier,
signicantly inuencing internal
conditions, energy use and comfort.
We all understand that insulation
is important to prevent heat loss from
a building, but this is not a general
rule that applies to all constructions.
Some buildings that have dominant
air conditioning energy use might not
necessarily benet from very high levels
of insulation when cool external weather
conditions might actually help
depress warm internal temperatures.
In the future, building faades will
need to be far more adaptive so that
they work in the same way that the
consumer might remove a coat and
add sunglasses on a hot day. Clearly,
we have the ability to open and close
windows for ventilation purposes,
but varying levels of insulation and
window transparency will be required
to further optimise building energy use.
Specially trained engineers
Faade engineering is a relatively new
science, embracing the need to design
and understand how building faades
contribute to energy in use so that
optimum forms of construction can be
achieved with certainty. This requires
specically trained faade engineers.
The Society of Faade Engineering in
London denes the science as the art
of resolving aesthetic, environmental
and structural issues to achieve the
enclosure of habitable space.
The technical design and
execution of sustainable buildings
now requires properly skilled and
talented engineers as part of a holistic
design approach to inform this part
of a buildings construction in any
properly sustainable building.
Chris Macey is chief executive
of Wintech Faade Engineers
01902 307430
www.wintech-group.co.uk
S
ustainability is great for
government and industry to
aspire to, but the improved
economy and quality of life cant
be fully enjoyed by residents who
dont live past middle age.
The growing health issues of
British people is spurred greatly
from an over reliance on un-
healthy foods, causing sustain-
able living projects to spring up
in various communities.
Social ventures in Manchester
and Stoke are improving employ-
ment and access to healthier food
options by teaching people how to
farm and sell local produce.
Manchester has beneted
from an incubator project for
new organic farmers called
Form Start, with new grow-
ers harvesting their rst crops
in July; while further south the
Urbivore initiative gives school
children the chance to learn a
trade that would oer employ-
ment in agriculture and cater-
ing, while boosting the health
of local communities by selling
locally grown, aordable fruits
and vegetables, all of which can
help cure Stoke of its sick city
status.
The Sustainable Food Cit-
ies Network says good food is a
positive vehicle for dealing with
some of todays most pressing
social, economic and environ-
mental problems, including diet-
related ill-health to food poverty
and waste, not to mention cli-
mate change and biodiversity
loss to social dislocation.
Car sharing scheme a hit in Amsterdam
Addedtothelist of
interestingDutch
developments, Dogberry
hears theyvecomeup
withanewwaytocontrol
transport issues for the
peopleof Amsterdam.
WeGoCar Sharingis a
peer-to-peer car sharing
platformthat allows
peoplewithout cars to
rent themfrompeoplein
theneighbourhoodviaa
speciallydesignedapp.
Thetechnology, which
tracks whois driving
what vehicle, andhow
far, is designedtohelp
owners andrenters
managereservations
andhandlepayments.
Theresult helps companies
inneedof mobilitytosaveon
costs, andpresumablydecreases
crowdingonpublic transport,
whilepeoplearealsomore
inclinedtopurchasecars if
theycanexploit this schemeto
generatemorerevenue.
The density of cities is at the
heart of many sustainabil-
ity challenges such as conges-
tion, carbon emissions, and a
lackof suitable transport and
infrastructure.
But without the number
of active residents, the city
wouldntworknearlyaswell.
The more people that are
squeezed into an area, the
moreservicesthatareawill be
able to sustain, with smaller
towns often not able to jus-
tify services such as night
buses, 24-hour shops and res-
taurants. YetinLondon, these
are typically within walking
distance.
Cities will only continue to
attract people, while those
additional residents become
customers, spurring more
business, competition, and a
greater drivefor innovation.
ResearchbyEY(formallyErnst &Young) has
liftedsomespirits inthecleantechnology
sector, revealingthat globally, theyhave
seengrowthof 18per cent this year.
Cleanenergycompanies areresponding
toaglobal shift inperspective, with
particularlystrongdemandfor enhanced
energyefciencyintheAsian-Pacic
region, whileChinaandtheUSleadthe
worldincleantechnologyrms.
Thenumber of individual rms has also
beenseentoincreasegloballyas more
business folkareset tocapitaliseontheshift.
Listedrenewableenergyrms increased
14per cent, withmarket capitalisation
increasing8per cent, andreported
revenues rising23per cent.
Meanwhile, sources suchas windand
solar might seemixedresults as thedebates
rageonabout their trueeffectiveness.
By Matt Smith, web administrator
u Editors pick
WWF UK - Green Business
bit.ly/1bVHJZQ
Deloitte Sustainable Business
blogs.deloitte.com/greenbusiness
If youre looking for insight and tips
on sustainable business, where
better to start than the World
Wildlife Funds UK blog? While the
Green Business section provides
a starting point, be sure to explore
the rest of the site for inspirational
ideas from beyond the business
world that could be adapted to use
within your policy.
From packaging to supply chains
and e ciency to corporate
responsibility, Deloittes
sustainable business blogs
covers all areas of green company
policy, with insights from key
gures and intriguing gures from
its studies in a back catalogue
that spans several years.
Inspector
Dogberry
Business Green Blog
businessgreen.com/blog
Business Greens site explores
issues surrounding the
environmental enterprise
movement, from new
technologies to help your
business adapt to the
governments impact on
environmental policy. Youre
sure to nd plenty to get your
green creative juices owing.
EnvAudit FREE
How environmentally friendly
is your business? EnvAudit asks
you a series of questions about
your environmental policy and
suggests ways to go greener.
greenMeter 3.80
If your work involves a lot of
travelling, greenMeter analyses
the e ciency of your driving
technique to keep your carbon
footprint as low as possible.
Andrew Winston
andrewwinston.com/blog
Sustainable business expert
Andrew Winston brings both
general discussion and case
studies to the table. As he
explores green business around
the world and examines the
success stories, you may just nd
something that could inspire green
policy in your own business.
Edited by Bonnie Gardiner
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INDUSTRY VIEW
The rise
of the
faade
engineer
Theres a new science
inuencing the
sustainability of our
buildings
Faades can be creative and practical
JJ Sustainable cities
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Sustainably
developing
city
infrastructure
Siemens is working to ensure
that global urbanisation can
support the environment and
provide a better quality of life
INDUSTRY VIEW
T
wo hundred years ago, just 3 per cent
of the worlds population lived in cities.
Today, the total has grown to more
than half, and the trend is accelerating. Every
week, the number of people living in urban
centres grows by around one million. Some
cities already have higher populations than
countries such as Austria, Israel, Chile or
Cambodia. Globally, the level of urbanisation is
projected to rise to almost 70 per cent in 2050.
Due to their increasing economic
importance, cities are the engines that
drive growth, oering opportunities for
development, employment, and prosperity.
Currently, an estimated 80 per cent of
global GDP is generated in cities. Yet the
negative eects of progress are also evident:
noise, limited space, informal settlements,
environmental pollution, and congested
tra c, to name just a few. Already today,
cities account for two thirds of global
energy demand and up to 70 per cent of
worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
As urban populations continue to
grow, sustainable development of city
infrastructure is essential for wealthier
developed cities and for cities in emerging
and developing nations. Infrastructure is the
backbone of a city, ensuring the delivery of
goods and services that promote prosperity
and growth, contributing to quality of life
and the environment. Estimated annual
expenditure on urban infrastructure is
around 2tn worldwide. In emerging
economies, the infrastructure cannot be
built quickly enough to keep pace with
economic and urban development, while in
developed economies, many infrastructure
systems are ageing and in need of repair. In
many cases, they were not designed to cope
with the population and lifestyles they must
now support. In the global economy, cities
and businesses that fail to invest in their
infrastructure will lose out competitively.
Intelligent solutions
However, infrastructure investments are
long-term decisions that will impact on
a citys future development. Key decision
makers in cities, whether they are public
sector bodies, utilities, transport providers
and operators, or private enterprises, require
energy-e cient and intelligent infrastructures
solutions for buildings, transportation,
energy, and water supply to help them
achieve their sustainability goals. They are
not looking for isolated products, such as a
eet of buses but rather overall concepts,
such as how to improve tra c ow, reduce
congestion and emissions and in response
require integrated, intelligent solutions.
Early engagement with infrastructure
and technology providers such as
Siemens at the initial planning stages
is essential for getting the infrastructure
right. Energy consumption and CO
2
emissions can already be drastically reduced
with todays technologies. Buildings, for
example, account for roughly 40 per cent
of the worlds energy use. By intelligently
integrating their lighting, data, climate,
and security systems, this consumption
can be reduced by up to 40 per cent.
Siemens has a long record in automating
systems and has consistently advanced
technological progress in automation. Most
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THE Netherlands is powering ahead of
other nations, not only for its ongoing
successful clean mobility systems, but
more broadly with the Amsterdam
Innovation Motor, which is working to
increase the capacity for innovation in
the Amsterdam area, below.
One such project that is currently
full speed ahead is the Amsterdam
Smart City (ASC) initiative a
unique partnership between
companies, governments,
research institutions and
Amsterdam itself with the aim to
develop low-carbon intelligent cities.
The platform has been underway for
three years, growing to have more than
90 partners, each active in different
energy and open connectivity projects,
with a focus on sustainable economic
investments.
The collaboration of institutions
and infrastructures has formed the
Urban Living Labs, where businesses
and citizens can develop, test and
commercialise green initiatives. Areas
already benefiting from the ASC include
sports parks, shopping, lighting, laws
and regulations, connectivity and
telecommuting.
Drawing inspiration from outside
nations, the AIM also encourages Open
Cities or open innovation methods,
looking to places with a different city
government and business climate.
Working in collaboration with
Barcelona, Berlin, Helsinki and Paris,
themes such as crowdsourcing, open
data, sensor networks and living
labs are explored to encourage
the transfer of innovative
knowledge. But despite the focus
on technology, there is no
shortage of attention given to the
people of Amsterdam, with an
obvious desire to mould young people
into the leaders of tomorrow.
The Amsterdam Human Capital
project focuses on the training,
recruitment and retention of talent in
the ICT and life sciences sectors.
The project recognises that talent is
a critical factor for economic growth,
and nurturing it will strengthen
international competitiveness and
improve sustainability in the long haul.
usiness orld
FIRST established in 2006, Masdar is
a bottom-up completely sustainable
urban development owned by the Abu-
Dhabi Government in partnership with
General Electric.
The commercially driven carbon-
neutral city is being designed by Foster
and Partners in the Abu Dhabi desert,
reliant only on clean technology and
renewable energy, and is said to become
home to 40, 000 people by 2025.
This project will play a huge role in
influencing sustainability around the
globe, though the location is curious,
with Abu Dhabis longstanding reliance
on oil, being home to 8 per cent of the
proven global crude oil reserves. The
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is
also one of the largest in the world.
So why commit billions of dollars
to developing Masdar and establishing
Abu Dhabi as a global centre of
excellence in renewable energy and
pioneering clean technologies?
Simple, they say. For the good of the
planet, and the future of Abu Dhabi.
United Arab Emirates Netherlands
Artists impression of what zero-carbon Masdar City will look like from the air
NEWS...VIEWS...INSIGHTS...OPINION...REPORTS...NEWS...VIEWS...INSIGHTS...OPINION...REPORTS...NEWS...VIEWS...INSIGHTS...OPINION...REPORTS...NEWS...VIEWS...INSIGHTS...OPINION...REPORTS...NEWS...VIEWS...INSIGHTS...
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From left:
The Crystal
building from
the outside.
Inside, visitors
can see the
worlds largest
exhibition on
sustainability
How they do it in Brazil
bit.ly/LebplN
The city of Curitiba, in south-east Brazil, shows
why its a shining example of sustainability.
Video of the week
Sustainable cities
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usiness orld
SETTING the bar for
sustainability in terms of crisis
prevention, Spain recognises that
keeping cities safe is a critical
factor in its economic viability.
In the grim aftermath of a
Madrid terrorist bombing in
2004, the local authorities
created the citys first Integrated
Security and Emergency Centre.
Within it, security and
emergency specialists monitor
various forms of data such as
videos, real-time feeds and GPS
systems, all for the purpose of
co-ordinating the resources and
efforts of the police, fire, highway,
hotline and ambulance units.
The terrorist attack triggered
what has been acknowledged as a
swift, but unco-ordinated medical
reaction, which was deemed
unsatisfactory and in need of a
shake-up to ensure a fast, reliable
and integrated response to
emergencies.
This single, unified view of
status and events has reduced
confusion and enabled far faster
and more effective decision
making. Managers are now better
able to deploy the right assets at
the outset, reducing response
time by 25 per cent.
Meanwhile, the new
dimension provided by the centre
means commanders are now able
to understand the complexity of
incidents which can affect an
entire region, and can better
allocate and deploy emergency
resources in a co-ordinated and
effective manner, taking into
account all of Madrids needs.
By turning to autonomic
sense-and-respond capabilities,
analytics, visualisation and
computational modelling,
Madrids public safety systems
have been made smarter, while
driving a fundamental shift from
simply responding to events to
anticipating and preventing them.
Close behind Madrid, the US
has a number of cities upping their
game to tackle rising crime rates,
such as Memphis where the city
police department has improved
response time by investing in
software for predictive analytics.
Crime rates have reduced by more
than 30 per cent.
Chicago too has advanced its
citywide surveillance by working
with IBM to create an Operation
Virtual Shield, an advanced
intelligent security system.
SINGAPORE, often referred to as the
little red dot is making efforts to
change its moniker to the little green
dot to maintain its competitive
sustainability initiatives.
With geographical constraints
forcing Singapore to move in the
direction of sustainability as early as
the 1970s, the city-state introduced
the worlds first manual urban road
pricing system, while in 1998 it was
the first to use automation.
At the 4th Sustainable Cities
Conference held in Singapore,
Professor Steffen Lehmann, director
of the China-Australia Centre for
Sustainable Urban Development, cited
four areas for Singapore to focus on,
including the problem of rising
consumption, with the aim of
minimising waste and changing
consumer habits, along with biomass,
through anaerobic digestion and
composting, to produce energy and
fertilizer instead of unreliable solar
and wind power.
Also recommended were more
ambitious targets for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, with
current 11 per cent cuts deemed as
merely compliance level, and
retrofitting public housing blocks
rather than demolishing them.
Singapore was recently voted Asias
greenest metropolis in Siemens Asian
Green City Index, and is already
leading the way in water management,
di st r i ct cool i ng, i ntegrat i ng
biodiversity and vertical greenery into
the urban context.
Spain
Singapore
Aftermath of Madrid attack in 2004
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of the companys products, from building
automation systems to trains and power
distribution systems contain embedded
mini-computers that control the device.
They already contain the intelligence
required to automate processes and improve
e ciencies, but because of their ability to
collect and communicate data, they oer
opportunities for further optimisation with
the addition of IT in the upper layers.
Many of these intelligent technologies
save not only energy but money too, therefore
many of them pay for themselves. From the
perspective of a company such as Siemens,
this leads to an obvious conclusion: climate
protection is both good for our planet and
for business. For example, in
London, Siemens developed
the citys congestion charging
system, tra c management
systems, the drive technologies
for the new hybrid buses, a satellite
system for Londons entire bus eet
and a pilot e-charging project. The
result was 20 per cent less tra c, an
annual 150,000-tonne reduction in CO2
emissions and a substantial acceleration of
tra c ows around the city by 37 per cent.
Cities against carbon
In fact, many major cities around the globe
are taking decisive action and setting goals
for climate protection. London aims to
slash its carbon emissions by 60 per
cent by 2025. By the same year,
Copenhagen plans to cut its carbon emissions
to zero. Munich wants to produce enough
renewable power in its own plants to meet
the citys household energy needs by 2014,
and the entire citys energy needs by 2025.
In recognition of the economic
importance of cities and the fact that
technology holds the answer to many
urban challenges, Siemens established the
Infrastructure & Cities Sector. Drawing on
the breadth of the companys portfolio and
expertise, Siemens can develop customised
solutions from one source. Its oerings
include integrated mobility solutions,
building and security technology, smart grids
as well as low- and medium-voltage products.
Central to the sector is the Crystal, a
Sustainable Cities initiative. Located
at Royal Victoria Docks in
East London, the
Crystal explores tomorrows cities today.
The iconic crystalline building is home
to the worlds largest exhibition focused
on urban sustainability and a world-class
centre for dialogue, discovery and learning
(please see page 14 for more details).
The future challenges of cities cannot
be solved without partnerships between
the public and private sectors. In addition
to carrying out R&D to develop new
technologies to address these challenges,
Siemens works with respected experts
to conduct studies on the performance
of cities, to enhance the opportunity
for learning and benchmarking.
Clearly, the worlds cities will continue
to dene growth. However, ensuring that
this growth is sustainable will be one of the
great challenges of the coming decades.
020 7055 6472
www.siemens.co.uk
How IT and automation
can optimise infrastructure
Building controls that adjust heating and
lighting based on a range of parameters
such as occupancy and levels of daylight
to reduce energy consumption by up to
30 per cent. Autonomous systems such as
ventilation, heating, air conditioning, lighting,
safety and security can be integrated into
one system for more efficient operation.
Tolls can be automatically adjusted
to keep traffic moving based on the
volume and speed of traffic as measured
and transmitted by sensors.
Intelligent tra c management systems
integrate data from numerous sources
such as signal controllers and sensors
measuring tra c volume and speed
to manage tra c more eectively and
provide real-time to travellers so they
can choose when and how to travel.

In a smart grid, intelligent devices

protect power lines, ensure power quality
and measure power consumption.
Data generated by these devices
combined with IT applications allow
complex grid balancing, including load
management, forecasting and trading.
E
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R
e
p
o
r
t

Z
o
n
e
Smarter ways
of keeping
the heat in
What part can renewa-
bles play in the future
of our energy supplies?
Essentially renewables have
the ability to fundamen-
tally change the way we
live and work in a way that
will transform our world
for ever. With populations
rising and energy demands
with it, we have to explore
new ways in which to keep
homes and businesses
heated in the future.
Additionally, as we all
grow more environmen-
tally aware, identifying a
method of doing this without
causing further damage
to the environment makes
the conundrum even
harder to solve. Or does it?
Heat pumps which
extract stored solar energy
from the ground or from the
air around us can provide
heating and hot water for any
property. Link these systems,
which, by the way, can be
easily installed in existing as
well as new buildings to solar
panels, and you have some
of the power required to run
them. Youve also taken a
huge step towards being a
carbon neutral property.
But it doesnt end there.
Homeowners and busi-
nesses can now add to their
revenue streams thanks to
new government incentives
which eectively pay people
for heating their homes and
reducing their running costs.
With more disposable
income, the economy can
only benet both locally
and globally. Healthier more
comfortable working envi-
ronments mean employees
can become more e cient.
Fewer sick days equals
greater productivity. Balance
sheets also look healthier
freeing up income for future
expansion and growth. Sud-
denly thanks to renewables,
communities and busi-
nesses look better places, our
cities are thriving and our
environment is protected.
So what part can
renewables play in the future
of our energy supplies?
Lower emissions, long-
term, sustainable energy, a
healthier environment and
security of supply. Simple.
Andrew Sheldon is
managing director of Ice
Energy Technologies
www.iceenergy.co.uk
I
n its rst year, Siemens urban
development centre, the Crystal,
has evolved into a global hub for
urban sustainability, a well sought-
after venue for conferences and
meetings and an East London
landmark. From August 30, the Crystal
will celebrate its rst anniversary
hosting the Sustainable Cities Week.
The Crystal has fullled its mission
of serving as a global centre for
sustainable urban development. It has
hosted a range of impressive events
and international conferences with
high-level audiences. Among them was
the G8 Innovation Conference with
British Prime Minister David Cameron
and London Mayor Boris Johnsons
Low Carbon Awards as well as the TED
conference series TEDx Newham event
and the International Federation for
Housing and Plannings conference.
The Crystal has exceeded even the
most optimistic expectations with
regards to visitor numbers. International
opinion leaders, business groups,
university students and school children,
city planners, urban experts, local
residents and tourists have turned
the centre with the worlds largest
exhibition on the future of cities into
a success story. In August, Crystal
employees welcomed the 100,000th
visitor to the East London landmark.
A week of highlights at the Crystal is
scheduled from August 30 to September
5. The Siemens Festival Nights will bring
the screening of operatic masterpieces
to East London. From Friday to Tuesday,
the public screenings of operas from
the 2013 Salzburg Festival will enchant
audiences outside and inside the Crystal.
The DLD (DigitalLifeDesign) conferences
roundtable on City Livability and Culture
will unite thought leaders and the heads
of iconic cultural institutions on Tuesday
for an evening of lively discussion.
The inaugural C40 and Siemens
City Climate Leadership Awards will be
presented on Wednesday September 4
by Siemens Infrastructure and Cities
Sector chief executive, Dr Roland Busch.
Dr Busch says: Siemens is walking
the talk and has built the Crystal, one of
the worlds most sustainable buildings
which also hosts the world largest
exhibition on urban sustainability. We
are delighted to host the C40 awards, as
Siemens is at the forefront of supporting
cities to address climate change.
On Thursday September 5, the C40
and Siemens City Climate Leadership
Awards Conference will round o
the Sustainable Cities Week, focusing
on best-practice sharing among the
cities and key industry guests.
020 7055 6472
www.thecrystal.org
To think dierently about
water, you need to think
dierently about cities.
Water has always been
central to urban vitality: a citys
identity may hinge on a river or
coastline, and an on-demand
supply and good drainage are
essential. However, the cracks
are showing. Hosepipe bans,
ooding and watercourse
pollution are all signs of stress.
Now, with the climate
changing and the population
growing, urban spaces need
to be transformed into water
management machines. To act
as catchments that lter and
resupply water and become
more beautiful as a result.
This process of water
sensitive urban design
reframes water management
as an opportunity for planning
and design. Australia is 20
years ahead of us here. It has
micro-wetlands in commercial
courtyards, swales along
the central reservations of
streets and city-wide water
recycling. Rainwater is
treated as a resource, with
landscape designed to hold
and cleanse runo. This
provides a new supply, and
cuts downstream ooding
risk and water pollution.
In the UK, AECOM is
pioneering water sensitive
urban design in a masterplan
for the University of
Cambridge. To spread
further, strategic water
management is needed.
Currently one engineer
designs the drainage scheme,
another conducts ood
risk, and another considers
supply and wastewater.
The time has come
for planners, architects,
urban designers, landscape
architects and engineers to
work together in new ways,
with an urgent priority in
mind. Water deserves to be
thought about dierently.

Celeste Morgan is director

of sustainability at AECOM
020 3009 2157
www.aecom.com
In focus: water management in cities
Landmark celebrates
rst anniversary
with Sustainable
Cities Week
Shining
success for
the Crystal

Robert Swan,
polar explorer

The greatest
threat to our
planet is the belief
that someone
else will save it
J4 Sustainable cities Industry view
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EcoReport September
Urban wetlands strategy by AECOM for Melbourne Docklands
The Crystal has had 100,000 visitors in its rst year
The debate
What makes a successful sustainable city?
Chris Macey
Chief executive
Wintech Faade Engineers
Sustainable cities can only be achieved
by constructing truly sustainable
buildings. All buildings consume
energy and have a carbon footprint;
the size of this being dependent on
the energy expended in day-to-day
use. This is largely governed by air
conditioning to offset heat produced
by people, equipment and sunshine
through windows for commercial
buildings and often just heating
and lighting in residential properties.
The energy consumed by heating,
ventilation and lighting equipment
to moderate the internal conditions
is dependent on the energy that
these services consume and also
the flow of heat and light across the
buildings external surfaces, referred
to as the faade, or envelope.
Truly sustainable buildings require
balance between the energy used
by the building and its occupants
(services engineering) and the
energy gains and losses across the
envelope under varying weather
conditions (faade engineering).
The science of faade engineering
and its contribution to achieving truly
sustainable cities is a new imperative
in the whole design process.
01902 307 430
www.wintech-group.co.uk
Jeremy Greenwood
Managing director Readymix
Lafarge Tarmac
Sustainable cities should provide
healthy, e cient and economically
viable neighbourhoods where
people will benet from a cleaner,
greener existence. While in the
current nancial climate we are not
living that reality, an ever-growing
population means the need for
sustainable cities has become
even greater. However, for this to
be realised, the interpretation of
the term sustainable needs to
shift from its perception as a green
buzzword into a statement of how
the demands on a citys resources
are catered for in the long term.
With a nationwide requirement
for more housing and better
infrastructure, the sustainability
of a city should reect not only
how e ciently these elements are
provided but also the longevity of
the services they provide. Whole-
life cost needs to be considered
fully alongside implementation,
potential maintenance costs and
carbon consumption to ensure a
sustainable future is achieved.
sustainablecities@
lafargetarmac.com
www.lafargetarmac.com
Rob Gillespie
Service director
Hounslow Highways
The triple bottom-line of sustainability
has long been defined as development
that delivers economic, environmental
and social benefits. While a long-
term highways contract may not
seem like a typical sustainability
project, on closer examination, it is.
In mid-2012, the London Borough
of Hounslow finalised a 25-year
deal with Hounslow Highways an
organisation made up of VINCI
Concessions, Ringway and Barclays
Infrastructure Fund and secured
long-term funding for the boroughs
highways network and upgrade
of the roads, footpaths and street
lights. With more than 100m being
spent on the boroughs streets in the
next five years, the infrastructure
will not only be returned to a high
quality, but will also be efficiently
maintained for years to come.
Hounslow Highways works with
the councils regeneration teams to
align the project to the medium and
long-term development aspirations of
the council. A successful, sustainable
city requires development that meets
the needs of the present without
compromising the ability for future
generations to meet their own needs.
enquiries@hounslowhighways.org
www.hounslowhighways.org
Lynne Ceeney
Global head of sustainability
Parsons Brinckerho
Like a mirage, the vision of a
sustainable city hovers tantalisingly
on the horizon but hauntingly
beyond reach. Many commentators
focus on smart cities using big data
and integrated technologies. But this
presents massive scale challenges
technologies, governance, goal
alignment, timetables and funding
models, let alone investment.
We need a manageable process
individual building blocks to test the
foundations of policy, investment
and governance. A focus on specic
systems, including energy, transport,
water, and even carbon, allows
us to test design and technology.
Working at the scale of smaller
towns or neighbourhoods can test
integrated planning and governance.
Parsons Brinckerho is at the
heart of this process, delivering smart
systems for energy and transport, and
other critical infrastructure projects.
We are seeing the benets of locality
planning, integrated investment
and infrastructure models.
Retrotting our cities will not be
done overnight. But the right bricks
and mortar should help us reach the
sustainable cities on the horizon.
020 7337 1700
services@pbworld.com
David Handley
Director, RES Advisory
Renewable Energy Systems
In the past year we have seen a positive
change in the renewable energy sector,
driven in part by a corporate sector
better educated on the benefits of
renewable energy. There is no reason
why cities cannot follow a similar,
smart trajectory; it is just a matter of
scale and accessing the right expertise.
Smart cities should be following
the example set by the leading
corporates who have already
completed extensive energy
e ciency programmes and are now
demanding the next step utility-
scale renewable energy generation
assets. These steps would reduce
the communitys carbon emissions
and improve security of their
energy supply, and on and o-site
renewable energy generation hedges
against fossil fuel price volatility.
Imagine a web of renewable
energy sources that combines
technologies integrated within
the fabric of buildings with utility-
scale projects (mainly based out
of town). Embracing renewable
energy at scale both in and
surrounding smart cities can have
a profound impact on emissions,
energy security and cost.
01923 299 292
advisory@res-ltd.com
JS Sustainable cities Industry view
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