The Director of Technical Services presented a report outlining the background to the development of a Green Specification in the form of a best practice guide for designers, which would require sustainable materials and products with recognised environmental benefits, and, where practicable, renewable energy technologies, to be incorporated into all Council building projects.

This Committee had previously endorsed progress of the Carbon Reduction Programme, and a range of measures including:

- Energy Efficiency schemes (improved lighting installations, boiler replacements)

- Energy Awareness and carbon reduction promotions and campaigns

- Automatic meter reading

- Combined heat and power (CHP)

- Launch of Wirral CRed initiative

- Waste reduction and improved recycling service

He reported that his department’s Design Consultancy Division had designed a number of projects in recent years which had incorporated  green materials and technologies, and help contribute to the Council’s strategic objectives and priorities for improvement in sustainability and carbon emission reduction (paragraph 2.6 refers).

The Director reported that the Green Specification had now been completed. It provided advice on best practice for designers to incorporate green technologies and sustainable products and materials into Council building projects, access to current best practice material specifications and an appendix containing examples of typical approved products which would ensure consistency of materials and equipment across the Council’s buildings.  It was a key principle of the guide that energy demand, and thus energy consumption and emissions from buildings, should be reduced before renewable technologies were considered. 

It was proposed that all new buildings and major refurbishments designed by the Council’s Technical Services Department, or consultants procured to provide such services to the Council, should be designed in accordance with the general principles contained in the Council’s Green Specification Guide, ‘Wirral Green Spec’ (Appendix A).  Where relevant and appropriate, the guide would also be applied to all building adaptation, reconfiguration or renovation designs, including works included in the Council’s Strategic Asset Review and Accommodation Strategy.  The guide would be a live document, which would be continually reviewed, revised and updated to reflect changing legislation and good practice guidance when necessary.

In addition, where practicable for the project concerned, all designs would consider the introduction of renewable energy generation technologies.  All future Scheme and Estimate reports presented to Cabinet for approval would include details of any proposed renewable energy facilities, which could be incorporated, where practicable, as part of the scheme, together with the associated costs and benefits.

The Green Specification Guide would also be made available to private developers who were procuring building works in Wirral via the Developers Guide to encourage them to follow similar principles to the Council’s own designers and, therefore, contribute to corporate objectives and priorities.

The increased costs associated with the inclusion of renewable technologies would be assessed by Technical Services Department staff and separately identified in the Scheme and Estimate reports to Cabinet, together with the resulting benefits, such as the potential revenue income via Feed in Tariffs for any proposed renewable energy facilities and likely pay-back period.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92