CIBSE publishes sustainability toolkit

The pack consists of an Introduction to Sustainability;Guide L: Sustainability; and the online Sustainability Engineering database. The three new items, which will be of value to anyone with a professional interest in the subject.

Guide L: Sustainability contains a number of key actions which relate to design, construction, commissioning, building handover and operation.

The Introduction to Sustainability explains the origins and meaning of sustainability and the drivers to contribute to a more sustainable built environment. This can be easily accessed by all, including clients, contractors, planners and legislators. The introduction is an overview of the full CIBSE Guide to Sustainability which sets out some fundamental principles of sustainability and emphasises the importance of influencing the brief and adopting a strategic approach. It looks at opportunities that are open at the early design stages of a project and includes summaries and case studies of sustainable techniques and technologies

Accompanying these is the sustainability engineering gatabase. The on-line tool is a searchable online database of good practice guidance. It allows users to generate a shortlist of measures related to a specific sustainability issue and pick the ones which are suitable for their particular building, along with references to relevant guidance documents, not just from CIBSE, but from BSRIA, BRE and CIRIA among others.