It's easy being green

Westlea Housing Association is at the forefront of environment-friendly housing design. The Wiltshire-based registered social landlord, which manages nearly 6000 homes, is happily exceeding environmental building regulation requirements and achieving the government goals set out in last year's energy white paper, while reducing tenants' fuel bills by up to half. That's a lot of brownie points, and the techniques used are easy to copy.

Although solar energy, high-insulation standards and geothermal heating systems feature in the homes it builds, Westlea also makes maximum use of less technologically advanced and more affordable energy-saving features, like low-flush toilets.

The key is to think green from the moment a new project is discussed, says Westlea's building services manager, Stephen Parker. "So many energy efficiency gains can be made by designing special features into the structure of a building."

New Westlea timber-frame homes are laid out to maximise natural light and exposure to the sun's heat. South-facing walls have larger windows, smaller windows face north and the roof is oriented to make solar panels more useful. Environment-friendly materials are used wherever possible: all new-build projects use recycled rubber tiles on terraces and eco-friendly paints, while galvanised steel gutters and clay drains reduce the amount of PVC used.

But Westlea is not just concentrating on new build; it is also improving the environmental performance of its existing buildings. A current project is to install solar water heating on 98 flats, which should provide up to 70% of their hot water for free.

The RSL has also realised there is tremendous scope for reducing tenants' water consumption. Putting in water meters makes tenants aware of how much water they are using and are, in any case, usually installed in new-build affordable homes. Spray taps and low-flush toilets help to reduce consumption. Encouraging the use

of showers rather than baths also helps. Westlea is in the process of installing showers in 100 flats, an effective but relatively inexpensive measure.

For a green agenda to be successfully followed, there must be support at the executive level, Parker says. "The drive to get greener needs a champion at the top of your organisation, as all major change needs direction and costs money. Your chief executive has to be committed." Westlea's board has pledged to match funding provided by the government's Clear Skies programme to install energy-saving systems in existing homes.

Westlea's story
Westlea's drive to get greener started in 1998, when the board of directors and housing services team decided it wanted to bring about meaningful and lasting change to reduce the running costs of tenants' homes. Producing more environment-friendly homes went hand-in-hand with this.

Westlea's first move was to get advice from institutions such as Sustainable Homes and the Somerset Trust for Sustainable Development.

So many energy efficiency gains can be made by designing special features into the structure of a building Stephen parker

It also contacted Integer, a body that has brought together developers, architects and planners, for housing projects with advanced technological and environmental features.

In partnership with North Wiltshire council, Westlea designed and built two houses in Cherhill, Wiltshire, using Integer principles: they were built in timber frame, sourced from sustainable forests, and included insulation made from recycled newspapers, roof-mounted solar water heaters and grey water recycling (a system that uses bath water for flushing toilets).

Westlea says that since the homes were completed in 1999, the solar hot water system and high insulation have halved tenants' fuel bills. Water use has dropped by 30%.

The project taught Westlea a huge amount about constructing greener homes, says Parker. "All our subsequent schemes have been heavily influenced by the experiences we had with Integer. It's paved the way for large-scale change in how we build," he says.

Westlea has been careful to choose contractors that are willing to take on its environmental objectives. Two years ago, it chose Gloucester-based EG Carter as its main contractor for all the housing group's development projects until 2005. The two companies have a partnering-style contract, in which the contractor is expected to make efficiency gains year on year.

Although EG Carter was not very experienced in building energy-efficient homes, it was chosen because it was eager to learn greener building techniques from its partner. Says Parker: "Sometimes [EG Carter] have had to be pushed, but on the whole, we've worked together very well as they've been willing to learn from our experience in this field."

How to choose a contractor
For RSLs with less experience of developing green homes, Parker suggests either hiring a contractor with a record of environmentally friendly work, or choosing a keen, less experienced company and then hiring a consultant with eco-experience to oversee the project. Engineering consultancies, construction organisations such as the BRE, Westlea and other housing groups all offer this type of consultancy.

Westlea is also looking at ways it can run its own office of 200 staff with less impact on the environment. Its fleet of works vehicles now use low-sulphur diesel initiatives, and the association is trying to encourage staff to use transport efficiently, for example through car sharing. Westlea's office has been assessed by the BRE environmental assessment method and given a "good" rating, which helped give Westlea an idea of where it can make further environmental gains.