Once a baseline strategy for the existing building has been established, expenditure should be considered and applied to the right areas which bring most impact whilst reducing disruption. For example, background repairs can be reduced to essential works to allow expenditure to focus on moments of peak interaction. This has the added benefit of minimising waste from demolition and minimising additional resource use and associated carbon. 

 

To minimise the amount of carbon generated by construction projects, the amount of waste generated by the design should be reduced as much as possible. This should be done for both construction and operation. A fit-out waste management plan should be developed in line with a waste hierachy to identify key fit-out waste streams and additional options for reuse, recycling or other management. Above all, avoid sending waste to landfill. Find ways of using waste from demolition in the proposals. Work with suppliers to reduce packaging and encourage reusable or recyclable packaging wherever possible for construction, and install adequate recycling positions for occupier use to increase recycling of waste on-site. 

 

To minimise the demand and maximise opportunities for re-use, specify low-flush toilets, waterless urinals and/or dual flush WCS. Reduce water consumption during construction - specify the monitoring and limiting of wet trades proposed within the construction process. Identify water metres and propose automatic feedback from BMS for ongoing water consumption monitoring.