Guidelines for project managers: Making vulnerable investment climate resilient

Posted on: 26 April 2013
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The European Commission has published a new set of guidelines aims to integrate climate resilience into the standard project lifecycle appraisal commonly practiced by developers. The step-by-step guidelines will encourage practical application of climate adaptation measures by practitioners by providing clear guidance on how to implement resilience measures. The guidelines are not intended to replace existing project development processes, instead it is hoped that they will complement existing frameworks in order to help manage the additional risks that climate change poses.

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City-Level Decoupling: urban resource flows and the governance of infrastructure transitions

Posted on: 25 April 2013
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Building upon previous work of the International Resource Panel on Decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth, this report examines the potential for decoupling at the city level. While the majority of the world’s population now live in cities and cities are where most resource consumption takes place, both the pressures and potentials to find ways to reconcile economic growth, wellbeing and the sustainable use of natural resources will therefore be greatest in cities. Analysing the role of cities as spatial nodes where the major resource flows connect as goods, services and wastes, the report ‘s focus is how infrastructure directs material flows and therefore resource use, productivity and efficiency in an urban context. It makes the case for examining cities from a material flow perspective, while also placing the city within the broader system of flows that make it possible for it to function. The report also highlights the way that the design, construction and operation of energy, waste, water, sanitation and transport infrastructures create a socio-technical environment that shapes the “way of life” of citizens and how they procure, use and dispose of the resources they require.

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Infrastructure needs assessment of Scotland

Posted on: 16 April 2013
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In March 2013, RICS held a roundtable comprising a range of Scottish members to establish what Scotland needs to prioritise in order to deliver growth through infrastructure. This aim of this scoping exercise was to provide a detailed analysis of the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP), and more specifically, which programmes and project contained within the plan were most likely to make the greatest economic impact. Register on the RICS website to view the document.

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The Low Carbon Routemap for the Built Environment

Posted on: 15 April 2013
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The Green Construction Board has developed the Low Carbon Routemap for the Built Environment to serve as a visual tool enabling stakeholders to understand the policies, actions and key decision points required to achieve the UK Government target of 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment against 1990 levels by 2050. The Routemap also sets out actions, together with key performance indicators that can be used to deliver and measure progress in meeting the 2050 target. The Routemap covers both infrastructure and buildings sectors, and addresses segments of operational and capital (embodied) carbon emissions.

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Global Energy Basel: The Sustainable Infrastructure Financing Forum and Summit. Basel, 22-23 January 2013

Posted on: 11 April 2013
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The main topic of the summit was to discuss the obstacles keeping mainstream finance out of sustainable infrastructure. A report of the conference is available online.

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Mainstreaming Innovation

Posted on: 3 April 2013
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A consortium of nine Scottish universities, led by Glasgow Caledonian University, will deliver a joint one-year pilot project “Mainstreaming Innovation”. The project aims to reduce carbon emissions through research and application of integrated sustainable infrastructure in the existing built environment that could be replicated on existing and new building estates (e.g. housing, education, healthcare and other building estates). It is a follow-up of the project CIC Start Online whose focus was on sustainable building design and refurbishment. The ouptuts of the CIC Start Online project can be searched through Knowledge Base on the project website which will remain accessible. The project will support development, testing and application of innovative low carbon technologies for improving: landscaping and biodiversity; energy efficiency in existing buildings; energy generation from renewables, storage and decentralized systems; water harvesting, saving, recycling and flood prevention; waste reduction, reuse and waste-to energy; low and zero carbon transport; and ICT/BMS systems for monitoring, reporting and management of low carbon infrastructure.

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Beyond banks and big government: Strategies for local authorities to promote investment

Posted on: 2 April 2013
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A new paper from think tank the IPPR North argues that while there has been much debate about how banks and central government can facilitate lending to enterprise and spending on infrastructure, the role of local government has received little attention. The report argues there are several established and emerging finance options available to councils that could more effectively deliver investment in infrastructure and housing. The paper:outlines the nature of the UK’s investment problem; provides an overview of some of the current and emerging finance options available to local authorities; looks at international case studies which could be applied in the UK; and makes some recommendations about new financial tools for local authorities.

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Built Infrastructure for Older People’s Care in Conditions of Climate Change (BIOPICCC)

Posted on: 13 March 2013
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The BIOPICCC Toolkit provides a series of resources to assist local authorities, partner organisations, and neighbourhood and community groups with local level resilience planning. Specifically, the resources are designed to support users to develop plans to make health and social care services for older people (aged 65 years and older) more resilient to the effects of extreme weather.

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Urban planning for city leaders

Posted on: 12 March 2013
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Urban {Planning for City Leaders is a UN-Habitat initiative to provide local leaders and decision makers with the tools to support urban planning good practice. It aims to inform leaders about the value that urban planning could bring to their cities and to facilitate a collaborative dialogue between leaders, policy makers and planners about urban development. This guide offers practical advice in this respect.

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Local Infrastructure Fund: Prospectus

Posted on: 27 February 2013
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The Local Infrastructure Fund prospectus formally invites organisations to come forward with land and property schemes that meet the fund criteria and which government can invest in, on a recoverable basis, to deliver economic growth.  The Local Infrastructure Fund’s main objective is to provide an immediate economic boost, mobilising long-term private finance while providing a longer-term return on investment to the taxpayer.

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