Green Book Live

Green Book Live is a free online database and information resource designed to help the construction industry, specifiers, designers and consumers identify products and services that can help to reduce their impact on the environment and show commitment to environmental best practice

Construction plays a significant and beneficial role in the UK's economy. It contributes around 10% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and employs approximately 3 million people in 350,000 firms [The Social and Economic Value of Construction, Prof. David Pearce OBE, nCRISP 2003] , however the industry currently has a major impact on the environment. It consumes 420 million tonnes of construction products per year [DEFRA, 2003] and produces in the region of 150 million tonnes of material waste [Construction Industry Mass Balance: Resource Use, Waste & Emissions, Viridis 2002] , around 45% of the total waste produced in the UK.

UK homes account for 27% of the total UK CO² emissions, and 52% of total UK energy consumption is directly attributable to buildings. Manufacture and transport of building materials accounts for another 10% [Environment Agency, 2005] . Making changes to the materials, products and production processes used in the construction industry could significantly reduce their impact on the environment. Areas of importance include the extraction of raw materials, material waste, transport of products and materials, energy consumption, heat loss and emissions from manufacturing processes and buildings.

Greening the built environment is not as simple as specifying products and services that claim to be ‘green'. Green claims are very easy to make, but considerably harder to substantiate. Certification of products and services ensure that not only are ‘green’ claims substantiated, but that they meet performance standards appropriate for their intended use. Green Book Live brings together listings from a number of organisations and delivers comprehensive information on a wide range of green products and services from commercial building products and services to domestic energy efficiency products including;

Licensed BREEAM Assessors: (BRE Environmental Assessment Methodology [http://www.breeam.org BREEAM] )

Microgeneration products and installers: [http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=4 Microgeneration Certification Scheme] (ClearSkies)

[http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=13 Competent Persons for Building CO² Emission Rate Calculation]

[http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=15 Energy Saving Recommended] Energy Saving products

Construction Product Life Cycle Assessment: [http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=9 Environmental Profiles]

Environmental Management Systems: [http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=122 ISO 14001 Certified Companies]

[http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=12 Recycled Building Products Network]

Tools for better waste management: [http://www.greenbooklive.com/page.jsp?id=14 SMART Waste]

References

External links

* [http://www.greenbooklive.com www.greenbooklive.com] is a product of [http://www.breglobal.com BRE Global Limited] , part of the Building Research Establishment Group.
* [http://www.bre.com BRE Group Official Website]
* [http://www.bretrust.org BRE Trust] - Owners of the BRE Group
*Green Book Live is supported by The Energy Saving Trust ( [http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk Official Website] Official Website): Including information and advice on how to be more efficient in your home.
* [http://www.breeam.org BREEAM] - The world's longest established and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings.