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The UK government has committed to reducing the nation's carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Buildings currently use almost half of the UK's generated energy and they are now the focus of an unprecedented drive to cut energy use in our homes, offices, schools, libraries – in fact in almost every building, public or private. Delivering Sustainable Buildings: an industry insider's view offers peer-to-peer insights and advice from a leading practitioner in this field and brings together in one book an overview of the main issues to consider when creating energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. A resource to dip into for practical advice, which is both highly readable and also backed up by in-depth technical knowledge, giving the important points to note and common pitfalls to avoid.  Based on observations of an author with hands-on experience of dealing with the various elements of the building services engineering industry, the book gives a unique insight into the particular challenges faced by designers, project managers, contractors and installers working to deliver lower carbon and sustainable building projects and operation. There is a lot of guidance on sustainable buildings available from reputable sources including BRE, CIBSE, B&ES, ECA and BSRIA. This book is different in that it speaks directly to contractors and practitioners, with practical messages dealing with real on-site challenges, offering practical advice based on experience. Many contractors are now faced with a business choice of offering services related to issues of the energy hierarchy, minimising energy use, providing good building automation and controls and then looking further at microgeneration/renewables.  Here they must decide what technologies might be suitable for their businesses, as well as considering what level of training is required before they or their employees can start to work with these technologies.  Delivering Sustainable Buildings: an industry insider's view will help specialist contractors and facilities managers understand sustainable buildings at the strategic level (legislation, finance, training) and then to offer practical advice on various aspects of sustainable buildings (water use, energy-efficient building services, commissioning and keeping the building maintained to optimum performance) to their clients.

Getting the balance right for using legislation and regulation to help meet the goals on carbon reduction, and lessen our collective impact on climate change, is crucial. For the legislation to work, it needs to be enforced. Governments who make legislation without enforcing it devalue the whole point of making the law work to help deliver sustainability. One of the mainstays for creating a sustainable built environment and delivering sustainable buildings will be making the building regulations work. Prioritising the upgrading and refurbishment of buildings will need to be the bulk of the work over the coming decades. All of this needs a joined up government approach and a reconciliation of all the competing interests. At the same time the construction industry needs to respond to the challenge and work more closely together. All the professional institution and contracting associations are in a strong potion to help, but also need to communicate better between themselves.

Exactly how do we make the right, sustainable choices? There needs to be a combination of realistic selection and decisions based on good technology deployment, taking account of whole life cycle, embodied energy and sound engineering. We must cut through the green‐wash and hype that often clouds decision making and leads to people making costly mistakes, which can actually have a negative impact on achieving a sustainable outcome. Short termism is the enemy of sustainability. This applies to our use of natural resources, how we generate energy and how we control and use it effectively, throughout the buildings life.

An economic and financial system adapted to encouraging and incentivising sustainable development is a fundamental requirement. New schemes such as the green deal and renewable heat incentive must be made to work with the minimum amount of bureaucracy throughout the supply chain and industry. Engineers and building professionals need to do more to communicate with financial professions. We need to collectively elevate the profile of building services engineering and show the positive elements of excellent financial returns for energy efficiency projects and the long term benefits of a sustainably built environment.

Keeping up knowledge and skills is a vital component for anyone working in the built environment. Technologies are evolving and new techniques are being developed. A resurgence of skills will be driven by the development of the market for low carbon and renewable technologies, which will grow significantly in the building services sector. The role of the sector skills councils, for example SummitSkills, has never been more important in meeting these challenges. Their role is explored, alongside the role of manufacturers, in promoting the skills necessary to carry the process forward. Trade associations can have an active role in providing education for their members in specialist roles. They have a good history in this area and opportunities for raising standards are very appropriate as we move towards the low carbon economy. Competent Person schemes will become more relevant in helping meet this challenge, as the government encourages and incentivises low carbon technology take‐up. An example is the green deal, which is examined, as the future practicality is still unclear.

Water is as equal and as important an issue as energy. It is a vital resource that hasn't been given the priority that it should. Similarly to energy‐use, water will be a more expensive and precious resource in the future. Water‐use should be managed and integrated as part of a resource management strategy and system for the whole lifecycle of a building. A sustainably built and operational environment will need to manage both the extremes of a shortage of water and then too much water, especially with the changing climate and ever more common occurrences of extremes in weather patterns.

Accurate and appropriate specification of the main plant and building services is a key part of delivering a sustainable building. Looking at the entire lifecycle and energy use of all components will form a major role in this process, making sure that all systems are integrated for maximum interoperability and are fully controlled by the building's energy and management system. The development of low carbon and renewable technologies must be designed and specified to fully integrate with all existing main plant and services in the building. Where possible the full use of free cooling, passive solar gain, solar mitigation/shading, and natural ventilation should be prioritised to meet the sustainable design and operation of the building. All elements will need to comply with the building regulations and appropriate standards, as well as going through the process of full commissioning and testing. Over the longer term the best practice of on‐going continuous commissioning and a planned preventative maintenance programme, will ensure that an energy efficient and optimum functioning building is maintained. The vital role of the contractor will be fundamental to this process.

It is difficult to overstate the enormity of the challenges ahead. These are posed by climate change, resource depletion and energy demands, resulting in the need for all of us to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle. The idea that we need to ‘save the planet’ is mistaken, the planet will carry on as it has always done. What we need to do is save ourselves. The question is: can we do it in time? This book has set out some of the issues and choices we must make, with the goal of stimulating debate and making the links between building services professionals, environmentalists and other interested parties. As an industry, those of us directly concerned with designing, constructing, commissioning and maintaining the built environment, need to find better ways of communicating and making the links. Education and raising awareness will be vital in taking these issues forward. After all, it’s in all our interests both professionally and personally to try and make this happen.

So much of what is discussed in this book is taken for granted as parts of our everyday lives in the developed world, yet millions of people across the globe have no readily available access to clean water, electricity, or fuel for heating and cooking. In this chapter I explore the possibilities of sharing our expertise – technology transfer and the practical knowledge we can offer to the developing world. Organisations like Practical Action and engineers without borders have a significant role to play in helping with these programmes. We can also learn a lot from examining the technologies and skills developed by our ancestors and past civilisations. Much of this knowledge is being rediscovered and can be employed to good effect in helping in education and skills development. Business and exports can also be enhanced as we develop more skills and technologies in our own country, to help with promoting efficient use of natural resources across the world. We are experts in energy and water management, and as we refine our own knowledge we cannot only help ourselves, but others as well, in terms of greater efficiency, and boosting our respective businesses and economies.