Sustainability Series
Week 1: Saving carbon through design
Blog: Introduction to Week 1
There are a multitude of ways that we can save carbon through design and to kick off our 2026 Sustainability Series, the focus will be on showcasing case studies and methods for achieving carbon savings in concrete projects. A highlight of the week will be our in-person 'Sustainability in Practice: Inspiring Projects, Practical Insights' event on Thursday 24th September in London. I'm looking forward to hearing more about two fascinating projects - The Octagon - an ambitious new build in Birmingham - and 76 Southbank - the repurposing of an iconic London building. The event is also an opportunity to catch up with colleagues across the industry so I hope to see you there.
The need for new, energy efficient homes is widely recognised and this week's webinar curated by Helen Raymond, Senior Sustainable Design Architect, aims to highlight the latest developments in housing standards and practices. These include limiting thermal bridging, achieving Passivhaus requirements and implementing the Home Energy Model and the webinar aims to help designers and developers navigate the evolving requirements.
The Concrete Centre has a wealth of resources to assist with lower carbon designs and I have signposted some key resources below to help you save carbon in your concrete projects.
Emily Halliwell, Senior Structural Engineer, MPA The Concrete Centre
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Sustainability in Practice - Inspiring projects, practical insights (in person seminar)
Date: Thursday 24 September 2026
Time: 18:00 - 21:00
Venue: Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place, Regent's Park, London NW1 4LE
Join us for the flagship in-person event in this year's Sustainability Series, where leading architects will share the stories behind two exemplary buildings that demonstrate different approaches to sustainable design using concrete.
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Designing Energy Efficient Homes (webinar)
Date: Wednesday 23 September 2026
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Venue: Online
As housing standards continue to evolve, designers need practical solutions that deliver high levels of energy performance while remaining buildable, cost-effective and compliant with changing regulations.
Join us for this webinar exploring the latest developments in designing energy-efficient homes.
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Spotlight on: saving carbon with precast concrete
Offsite Concrete Construction offers a unique range of benefits for designers looking for a sustainable and material efficient option for their building or structure. To maximise the benefits it is essential that the manufacturing and installation process is understood by the design team and new guidance from The Concrete Centre is available to support early, informed conversations between project teams and precast concrete manufacturers. Early collaboration helps to align design ambitions with manufacturing processes and to more effectively realise opportunities for carbon reduction and material efficiency.
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Spotlight on: future of masonry housing
The Future Homes Standard will come into effect in March 2027 and has the potential to transform the design of masonry housing. Utilising thermal mass, improving airtightness and avoiding thermal bridges are all key to improving the energy efficiency of a building. With the Home Energy Model (HEM) replacing SAP and a drive towards using air-source heat pumps and solar power, the design of housing will need to evolve to implement new approaches. Our recent Concrete Futures article delves in to what to expect from the next generation of housing.
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Spotlight on: carbon comparisons
To achieve the greatest carbon reductions, assessing the whole life carbon of a project or scheme is key. To assist with this, The Concrete Centre has a range of resources to help with carrying out carbon comparisons at different stages. Concrete Frames Explained introduces the range of concrete frame types available and gives guidance on developing material efficient, lower carbon designs. For more detailed comparisons of carbon, our free Concept tool enables you to quickly assess a wide number of frame options, providing cost, carbon and construction time comparisons. The TCC-BS 8500 Tool aims to simplify the specification of concrete to BS 8500 – within this, there is a carbon calculator giving indicative carbon figure based on the cement type and limiting values.