NHBC Foundation celebrates 5 years of leading industry research and announces exciting plans for consumer study in 2011

In celebration of our 5th anniversary we hosted a debate last week with leading industry figures from the private sector and the Government to discuss the future of sustainable development.

The debate covered a wide range of issues, but one theme quickly became clear: winning hearts and minds of home owners is the way forward to ensuring a sustainable future. Essentially, it became clear that more needs to be done to convince homeowners that investment in sustainability is both desirable and important.

The panel speakers, chaired by broadcaster Kirsty Young, comprised: Andrew Stunell OBE, Communities Minister and Hazel Grove MP; Tom Dacey, Group Chief Executive of Southern Housing Group; Paul Morrell OBE, Chief Construction Advisor to the government; and Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive of Barratt Developments.

The participants agreed that existing and planned incentives would most probably need to be bolstered with some form of compulsion to adopt sustainable technology, as well as much wider engagement with home owners to educate and ‘sell’ low carbon lifestyles.

Imtiaz Farookhi, Chief Executive of NHBC and Board Member of the NHBC Foundation also announced that the Foundation plans to fund further consumer research in the coming year that will address some of the key areas of concern raised during the debate.

The NHBC Foundation Advisory Board will be evaluating proposals for further research to understand consumers’ current views towards low and zero carbon homes and how attitudes may have evolved since 2008. As with all our research we will be particularly focused on mitigating any risk from new technologies and building techniques to ensure low and zero carbon homes perform to a high standard and meet the needs of homeowners.

Imtiaz also emphasised the essential role of the NHBC Foundation, and NHBC itself, in protecting the consumer amidst the rapid changes expected in coming years.

A video of the event with highlights from the debate will be coming to the NHBC Foundation home page soon. http://www.nhbcfoundation.org/

Celebrating five years of the NHBC Foundation

This year we celebrate five years of the NHBC Foundation. Originally established by the NHBC in partnership with the BRE Trust in 2006, the aim of the Foundation was to facilitate research and development, technology and knowledge sharing, and capture industry best practice to encourage improvements in the new-build housing sector.

Now over 30 guides and reports are available on the website, which provide invaluable information for house builders. Publications have focussed in particular on the challenges associated with government’s 2016 zero carbon homes target. Titles range from, ‘Zero Carbon: what does it mean to homeowners and housebuilders?’, to the more technical, ‘Efficient designs of piled foundations for low-rise housing’ and ‘Indoor air quality in highly energy efficient homes: a review’.

To mark the anniversary and to look towards the future for housebuilding the NHBC Foundation will be holding an industry panel debate on the 20th of January 2011. The debate will be chaired by television presenter Kirsty Young and will feature four senior industry figures:

• Mark Clare, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments

• Tom Dacey, Group Chief Executive of Southern Housing Group

• Paul Morrell OBE, Government’s Chief Construction Advisor

• Andrew Stunell OBE, Communities Minister and Hazel Grove MP

Key topics affecting the future of the house building industry will be discussed amongst the panellists. Topics include concerns surrounding sustainability and zero carbon housing, the importance of ongoing research and development and the general state of the housing market in light of recent reductions in funding.

We will be producing a film of the event so please visit the NHBC Foundation home page again soon to see some of the most high profile professionals in the housebuilding industry discuss their hopes and concerns for the future.