Bradfords puts the spotlight on sustainability

Bradfords Building Supplies has once again put the spotlight on sustainability at the second of its ‘Building Sustainable Communities’ event series on May 26. Created to inform, engage and inspire the South-West, the latest event focused on practical advice and examples of sustainable construction methods in practice.

The programme included an update from TrustMark on government grant schemes, trade accreditation requirements and support for SME trades in carrying out retrofit work, while HSBC’s Sustainable Finance Team discussed how banks and financial institutions are gearing up to support the move to the low carbon-built environment.

Inspiration came from Galion Homes through its holistic approach to sustainability, plus insight into improving energy efficiency by harnessing the PassivHaus philosophy was shared by architects, SE3 Design.

With the self-build community, a key group driving environmentally responsible building efforts, the National Custom and Self-Build Association’s session explored support for self-build projects including mortgages and tax relief. In addition, a selection of suppliers leading in the field showcased some of the options available to support sustainable building.

‘Building Sustainable Communities’ took place at Somerset County Cricket Club, with satellite events held at Bradfords’ branch in Ross-on-Wye and Redruth Rugby Club, to help expand its reach across the region.

Giles Bradford, head of sustainability at Bradfords Building Supplies, said: “The challenge we face here is one that we all have to address together.  Pockets of expertise aren’t going to deliver a sustainable built environment at the scale required to meet the targets that have been set.  Whilst we had an agenda for this event, just getting parties from the whole supply chain in the same room is really important.”

“As well as leaving with a host of practical advice and tips, it was encouraging to see so many of our customers and colleagues motivated by the inspiring examples of sustainable construction in practice.

“We all need to act now to address climate change, but for home builders and renovators, understanding how to make sustainable choices for their projects – and where to go for support – can seem very daunting. We hope our event has helped to signpost the support available, as well as highlighting the scope and potential for building sustainably.”

Created in partnership with TrustMark, the event was sponsored by Marshalls. Additional sponsors included Polypipe Building Products and Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation, ROCKWOOL and Xtratherm.

Simon Ayers, chief executive at TrustMark, said: “It was good to see this event so well-attended and people from across the supply chain engaged in finding solutions. It’s really important that trades understand what support and help is available for both them and their customers and how to access it. It’s also vital that work carried out meets the standards required, particularly for retrofit work, and that trades are aware of the accreditations they need to be fully compliant. Events such as this are extremely helpful in improving understanding across the industry so that we can all move closer to the end goal.”

Chris Griffiths, head of product sustainability at Marshalls, added: “It was great to be part of another great event from Bradfords. There’s a real appetite from the team to help their customers build more sustainably so we’re happy to support that – but from my point of view, it made me aware of the synergies between suppliers, and made me think about how we could better work together to solve the same problems.”