HR GO Trades News
UK to Test Low-Carbon Technologies in Social Housing Units
The launch of a £17m government initiative to trial different low-carbon housing technologies will boost the mammoth task of making Britain’s homes greener. 87 social housing units will be retrofitted with different packages to make the homes more energy efficient. This will trial low-carbon housing projects which will be monitored for two years by the Energy Saving Trust which will collect data on internal and external temperatures, humidity and CO 2 emissions.
Engineers’ Report Says Building Industry will Struggle to Meet Zero-Carbon Government Targets
According to a report published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the building industry will struggle to meet requirements to make all new buildings zero-carbon by 2020 due to a lack of skilled workers. The UK government has committed the country to cut its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
Construction Decline Slows
According to the latest market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors construction workloads are continuing to fall, but at the slowest rate for over a year and a half. Surveyors are reasonably positive about the next 12 months with 9% more respondents expecting output to rise than fall, the first positive reading since the first quarter of 2008.