Biodiversity: engineering nature’s blueprint

With developments soon having to create a 10% biodiversity net gain, Ashley Bateson, Chin Chen and Robert Winch discuss why nature-based solutions are vital in reducing climate risk

Leading the line: interview with CIBSE President Adrian Catchpole

To ensure engineers can meet net zero challenges while adhering to the building safety regime, CIBSE President Adrian Catchpole FCIBSE is launching bold initiatives to increase competency, tackle poor procurement and attract talent to the industry. Alex Smith reports

Beyond the fabric first approach

Fabric first is not necessarily the right approach when decarbonising heat, says CIBSE’s Engineer of the Year Stephen Hill, who considers the best approach to achieving net zero from a building and infrastructure perspective

Heat in a box: the local route to green hydrogen

Producing hydrogen using local renewables and innovative storage could see carbon-neutral hydrogen soon being used to heat buildings, according to Baxi and H2GO, who are behind a government trial of the concept. Alex Smith reports

Hardship and housing

Households hit hardest by the cost of living crisis are those most likely to live in unhealthy homes. UCL’s Professor Anna Mavrogianni considers the relationship between the built environment and health inequalities

Accelerating change: digital tools and innovation

The use of emerging technology will speed the delivery of net zero buildings, according to CIBSE President-elect Adrian Catchpole, who was one of the speakers in a CIBSE seminar at the ASHRAE Winter Conference in Atlanta. Tim Dwyer reports

Efficient lifting: improving chiller performance

Reducing the ‘lift’ in a refrigeration cycle can cut a chiller’s operational energy use significantly, according to Trent Hunt, in a presentation at last month’s ASHRAE Conference in Atlanta. Tim Dwyer summarises the paper