At BuilderScrap.com we like to think we know about carbon offsetting. All respondents in the omnibus survey were asked how much they knew about carbon offsetting. Figure 13 summarises responses to this question compared with data from the 2007 Defra survey.

Respondents’ perceptions of how much they knew about carbon offsetting have decreased since 2007. In the current survey a little over a third (37%) of respondents said they knew at least a little about carbon offsetting’ down from 43% in 2007. The proportion of people saying they knew nothing and had never heard of the term had increased from 35% in 2007 to 40% in 2009. Respondents who said they knew at least a little about carbon offsetting were asked whether they had ever paid into a scheme personally. This question was followed up using a stages of change response scale to assess the extent to which respondents had considered paying into such a scheme. The results for both questions are presented in Table 34.

Of those who knew at least a little about carbon offsetting, 6% said they had paid into a scheme at some point in the past (the equivalent of 2% of all respondents). This represents a statistically significant increase from 3% in 2007.

The second question presented in Table 34 was asked after providing all respondents with a description of what carbon offsetting was, to help assess willingness to act. This suggests a slightly different picture, with 14% of those who knew at least a little about carbon offsetting saying that they were at the maintenance stage of carbon offsetting (having either ‘done this before and intending to do it again’ or ‘done this before though not as much as I’d like’). This may reflect a difference in what is understood by ‘paying into’ a carbon offsetting scheme rather than ‘using’ a carbon offsetting scheme. One third of respondents (33%) were at the pre-contemplative stage (having either never heard of it or thought about it), while around one quarter (27%) had thought about it but rejected it and 17% were contemplating it but had not yet used a scheme. Only 2% of respondents who knew at least a little about offsetting had used a scheme previously but stopped.

As anybody who’s watched the television adverts about climate change knows travel, transport and in-particular car ownership are hot topics.

BuilderScrap.com are continuing to post about the current Defra report on attitudes to environmental issues. As part of the survey, respondents were presented with three statements about travel and transport. Respondents were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each of these. The findings are summarised in Figure 12 and Table 33.

About half (49%) agreed that they would only travel on a bus if they had no choice with 21% strongly agreeing with this. Just over one third (37%) disagreed with the statement.

Nearly half (44%) of respondents agreed that ‘people who fly should bear the cost of the environmental damage that air travel causes’, with less than one third (27%) disagreeing with this.

In contrast, over half (55%) of respondents disagreed with the statement “for the sake of the environment car users should pay higher taxes” (including just over one quarter, 28%, who strongly disagreed).

The results from the current survey are broadly consistent with those from the 2007 Defra survey, with a small increase in the proportion of respondents who agreed that ‘I would only travel by bus if I had no other choice’ (up by 3%).

Thanks to our colleagues over at BuilderBusiness for this article. 

As the economy starts to show tentative signs of recovery, many involved in the industry will be wondering how they are going to get an edge over their competitors throughout 2010.

Keeping a focus on the job in hand is quite rightly the number one priority however it doesn’t mean the other elements of running a successful business can be let to slip. So builders wanting to make the most of 2010 will be interested to hear of a new club that will provide them direct and easy access to a whole host of services, information and advice.

Called Builderbusiness Club, those who sign up online at builderbusiness.co.uk will automatically become part of the UK’s biggest buying group with members also getting free access to a range of building support services.

The brainchild of builder Adrian Wild, who, with over 25 years experience of running a design and build company is all too familiar with the frustrations and pitfalls of the construction industry and knows how important it is to have the right suppliers, support, tools and finance in place at the right price.

Being first to enquire on a new planning application, finding the best van insurance, getting advice on how to improve your image, getting help on securing finance or making sure your VAT payments are up to scratch are all areas this new club will benefit builders.

Club Helps Builders Keep On Top Of New VAT Rules

An example of how the club is already helping builders is with the new rules on VAT that are being introduced by HM Revenue & Custom (HMRC) from 1 April 2010.

The new legislation means that from the new financial year, some businesses will have to file their VAT returns online and pay any VAT due electronically.

The new rules will apply firstly to businesses that are VAT registered and have a turnover of more than £100,000 and secondly to all businesses that are newly registering for VAT, whatever their turnover.

It means any builders that fall into these categories will have to make sure they fully understand how to comply with the new legislation.

Fortunately Builderbusiness Club members can get hold of what has been labelled as the best accounting software package on the market for builders with added benefits exclusive to the club.

Called Construction Industry Accounts (CIA) it’s an accounting software package designed to handle the new 2007 CIS Scheme, Invoices & Job Costing, Retentions, Applications (Stage Payments) and Certifications

It also helps builders file their VAT returns quickly and makes electronic payments by using the VAT Online service.

Developed specifically for the building industry this fully integrated software package means that only one entry is needed to update all relevant areas. So when it comes to submitting VAT returns or paying VAT, because everything is available at the click of a button it will make the process infinitely easier.

Adrian added: “Construction Industry Accounts is an absolute godsend for those who are looking to keep a close grip on their accounts, want to know how much they are going to make on a job and want to keep up-to-date on their VAT.

“Anyone wanting to make their lives easier in April need to start planning now how they are going to ensure they don’t give HMRC a reason to come knocking. It also links directly to HBXL’s EstimatorXpress estimating software so once an estimate has been produced the revenue and profit generated is automatically updated onto CIA.

“To be able to offer this through Builderbusiness Club is just one example of how it is going to help members mange their business more effectively, generate more profits and ultimately come out of the recession stronger.

“Our mission is to provide a dependable and trusted resource for both builders’ projects and business. Working with the FMB and many other trusted names, we think Builderbusiness Club is great news the building industry.”

Builderbusiness Club member offer – when you buy CIA accounting software £1950 ex VAT, members will also get a FREE copy for their accountant plus four hours online training (worth £220 ex VAT)!

In addition, as well as a free copy and training members will also get a free PAYE payment model worth £699 and is available until February 2010.

CIA is available through HBXL which acts as a re-seller of the software.

To sign up to Builderbusiness Club visit www.builderbusiness.co.uk

To find out more about CIA visit www.hbxl.co.uk/accounts

The government must toughen its approach to cutting landfill – with firm targets for companies and food waste recycling for homes, say MPs.

The excellent BBC News website had brought us a fantastic article on how we’re actually performing against our national recycling and landfill targets. We love this at BuilderScrap.com because our primary aim is to reduce waste sent to landfill.

Policies focus on household waste which makes up 9% of the 330m tonnes England produces a year, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee says. Their report says firm plans to deal with business waste must replace “vague ambitions and rhetoric”. It says 23% less waste went to landfill in England and Wales in 2007 than 2001. The use of disposal plastic carriers has also dropped – from 13bn in 2007-8 to 10bn in 2008-9 – the committee’s report says.

Cheap clothing

The wide-ranging paper looks at the government’s Waste Strategy for England. It says some progress has been made getting homes to recycle more – with nearly 37% being recycled or composted in England. Household waste also reduced by 3% in 2008 and fly tipping dropped by 9%. But it says more effort should be made to reduce waste thrown away in the first place.

“Defra should have the courage of its convictions and go for a more ambitious timescale to implement this change by 2015” MPs report

It points to an increase in “textile waste” sent to landfill – which waste operatives had dubbed the “Primark effect”, assuming people throw away cheap clothing more quickly. Asda, which has its own George clothing line, told MPs it was moving away from “fast fashion” in response to people’s demands for more sustainable clothing. The government should set “more ambitious” targets to recycle 50% of household waste by 2015 and 60% by 2020, the committee says.

‘Few firm targets’

But the committee says the government has failed to address waste from the industrial and commercial sectors sufficiently – expressing only an “expectation” that their waste levels would be reduced by 20% over six years from 2004. Apart from a target to halve total construction, demolition and excavation waste sent to landfill by 2012, there were “few firm targets” for “non-household” waste, which accounts for 90% of total waste. There was a “significant gap” in details of what businesses were doing to tackle waste because it was not being properly surveyed.

“At the same time it must encourage companies to take a completely new view of waste and see it as a valuable source of raw material”
Michael Jack
Committee chairman

And the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had “failed to set firm targets for these sectors”. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has announced Defra will consult this year on banning some substances from landfill “by 2020 at the latest”. But the committee said it was “too generous” to let another decade go by before banning some waste altogether. “Defra should have the courage of its convictions and go for a more ambitious timescale to implement this change by 2015,” it says.

The report says a third of all food bought is thrown away – about 6.7m tonnes a year generating more carbon dioxide than four million cars – and says more needs to be done to persuade people to change their behaviour.

Food waste

Institutions such as schools, hospitals and Parliament should be encouraged to compost food waste, it says. Food waste should be collected from homes, separately from other waste – especially those properties which cannot compost – and the government should set itself “a target for mandatory collection of food waste”. Committee chairman Conservative MP Michael Jack said Defra “must give a clear lead” on reducing business waste. “At the same time it must encourage companies to take a completely new view of waste and see it as a valuable source of raw material which must not be squandered in these difficult economic times.”

A Defra spokeswoman said the government wanted to see all local authorities collecting food waste: “Our latest research is very encouraging as it shows that separate food waste collections are definitely working in the areas that are using them, and – more importantly – people are happy with them. “We would like to see all local authorities collecting food waste as soon as possible and by 2020 at the latest.”

BBC News Website 19/10/10

Attending the home builders convention in Las Vegas might be the most important date in your calendar but emissions when flying long haul have a negative effect on our environment. Surely we all know this? BuilderScrap.com aren’t suggesting you stop but lets be smart about it. Lets look at the detail.

Slightly fewer than half of respondents (41%) had taken a flight in the twelve months prior to the survey (between March 2008 and February 2009) for leisure, holidays or for visiting friends or family. This represents a small decrease over the last two to three years – 45% of respondents in the 2007 Defra survey said they had flown during the year 2006.

Those who had flown in the last 12 months were asked how many flights they had taken within the UK, to other European countries and to countries outside of Europe. The results from these questions are presented in Table 31 compared with results from the 2007 Defra survey.

Respondents who had flown in the last year were most likely to have flown to other countries within Europe (75%), followed by flights to countries outside Europe (41%). About one quarter who had flown in the last year said they had taken a flight within the UK (24%). For each of these destination categories, it was most likely that respondents had flown once within the 12 month period.

Around half (55%) of those who had taken a flight within the UK had done so once. Similarly, around half (56%) who had taken a flight to another country within Europe had done this once, while nearly two-thirds (63%) who had taken a flight outside of Europe had done this once.

The mean number of flights taken within the UK had increased from 0.4 to 0.8 between 2007 and 2009. However, this appears to have been driven partly by a small proportion of respondents (less than 1%) who had taken a very large number of flights within the UK (20 or more in the last 12 months). Also the proportion of respondents who had flown within the last year and had taken at least one flight within the UK had increased to just less than one quarter (from 18% in 2007 to 24% in 2009).

The mean number of flights taken to other countries within Europe and to countries outside Europe had not changed since the 2007 Defra survey.
All respondents including those who had not flown in the last twelve months were asked the extent to which they had considered taking fewer flights. The question was asked using the stages of change response scale and the results are presented in Table 32 (including as a percentage of all respondents and of all respondents who had flown in the last 12 months).

About one quarter of respondents said they were already taking fewer flights and maintaining this as a behaviour. The proportion of respondents who reported that they were taking fewer flights was similar regardless of whether it was expressed as a proportion of all respondents or of those who had flown in the previous 12 months. Of those who had flown in the last 12 months, nearly one quarter (22%) were at the pre-contemplative stage of reducing the number of flights they took and more than one third (36%) said they had considered taking fewer flights but had rejected the idea – the latter compared with 21% of all respondents reporting this. A small proportion, of those respondents who had flown in the last 12 months, were contemplating the behaviour (6%) or had relapsed after trying to take fewer flights (3%).

From everyone in the BuilderScrap office, we would like to wish our members and readers a very happy new year!  2010 has gotten off to an exciting and busy start already for us!  There is so much happening this year, here is just a taster of things to come! 

 Ecobuild 2010 – BuilderScrap will once again be exhibiting at Ecobuild.  Make sure to visit us on stand 448, as well as catching our seminar – details TBC!

Carbon Calculator – In conjunction with the Centre for Construction Innovation and Salford University, BuilderScrap is currently developing a carbon calculator to measure the amount of carbon our members are saving by using BuilderScrap to pass on their surplus building materials.  Launching Spring 2010 – watch this space!

The BuilderScrap Roadshow – The first BuilderScrap roadshow is scheduled for the North West Region in early Spring.  We are currently still in the planning stage, but details will be coming soon!  The Roadshows will give members and non members alike the opportunity to learn more about BuilderScrap and the concept of Reuse in the construction industry.

Continued Partnerships – Through 2010 and beyond, we plan to continue and grow our partnerships with influential and relevant organisations.  O2 are offering our members an exclusive promotion, and we are also working together with WRAP, BRE and Envirolink on a number of projects, to name but a few!

Team Expansion- We are delighted to be welcoming a new member of the BuilderScrap team in February, Mike Close.  Keep an eye out for his environmental blog posts!

This is just a taster of what’s coming up.  If you have any ideas or suggestions for BuilderScrap, please let us know!

More from BuilderScrap.com on our habits.  To all those contractors and white van men. This questionnaire includes a number of questions which use the stages of change response scale to assess how willing people were to alter the way they used their cars (including cutting down on the amount they drove). The results from these questions are shown in Table 30.

Of the five behaviours shown in Table 30, the majority of drivers reported they were already driving in a fuel efficient way and intended to keep this up (78% of all drivers were classified at the maintenance stage). Of the remaining respondents these were split between those unaware of driving in a fuel efficient way (6%); those who had rejected doing this (4%); those thinking about it (6%); and those who had tried it but relapsed (4%).
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of all drivers said they had switched to walking or cycling instead of driving for short, regular journeys and intended to keep this up (the maintenance stage), although nearly one in five (18%) had rejected the idea of switching to walking or cycling (the second largest group for this behaviour). It should be noted that those who said they had already switched mode of transport need not have switched all of their short regular journeys. For example, a respondent who had switched to walking to instead of driving to work might still be making short regular trips by car for other purposes such as shopping.

In comparison, about a quarter (26%) of drivers said they had switched to public transport instead of driving for regular journeys (the maintenance stage), although nearly half (47%) had rejected this behaviour. One in ten (10%) drivers were at the pre-contemplation stage indicating that they “hadn’t really given the idea any thought” with a similar number either contemplating this switch (6%) or having made the switch only to relapse into using their car again (5%).

Just 1% of drivers had switched to and maintained use of an electric / hybrid / LPG car with the same proportion having switched at some point in the past and relapsed. Just over half (53%) said they had rejected the idea of switching and a quarter (26%) were at the pre-contemplation stage, having never really thought about doing this. However, 16% of drivers claimed to be contemplating making this switch.

The majority of respondents (79%) lived in a household with a car, with 43% having one car, 28% two cars, and 8% three or more cars. These findings are consistent with previous research carried out by the Energy Saving Trust in February 2008 (tracker survey) and by the Defra survey in 2007. Of those who lived in a household with a car, 83% said they were a driver.

Drivers were asked a series of follow-up questions about how much they drove personally and the type of car they normally used. Responses to these questions are summarised in Table 29 compared with the equivalent findings from the 2008 Energy Saving Trust tracker survey.

A little more than a third (37%) of drivers drove less than 5,000 miles per year, while slightly fewer than one quarter (22%) said they drove 5,000 – 7,999 miles. Around one in five (18%) said they drove 8,000 – 10,999 miles per year with a similar proportion (21%) saying they drove 11,000 miles or more. There have been changes in the distances people report driving per year – with an increase in those driving less than 5,000 miles from 25% in February 2008 to 37% in 2009 and a decrease in those driving between 11,000 and 15,999 miles per year, from 15% in 2009 to 10% in 2009.

Respondents who drove were asked what size engine the car they drove the majority of the time had. One half (50%) normally drove a car with a 1.5 – 2.0 litre engine. Just over one third (37%) of drivers normally drove a car with an engine of less than 1.5 litres and a smaller proportion (11%) said they normally drove a car with an engine of more than 2.0 litres. These data are broadly consistent with figures from 2008.

The majority (70%) of drivers drove a car with a petrol engine the majority of the time, with just over a quarter (29%) driving a car with a diesel engine. A very small proportion of drivers (1%) said they normally drove a car with a LPG, hybrid, electric or other type of engine. These data are consistent with figures from 2008.

At BuilderScrap.com we’re not all about Builders supply and surplus. We try and pass on information regarding all environmentally sound ideas that will have a positive effect on our planet.

This post presents findings from the omnibus survey related to “low impact diets”‚ where people choose to change their diet and/or eat less of certain foods to reduce the environmental impact of their diet. Table 28 summarises the findings from three questions related to low impact diets.

Respondents were asked to assess how much they knew about low impact diets, based on their own understanding of the term. Less than half (43%) of respondents said they had at least heard of the term “low impact diet” although respondents generally reported low levels of knowledge about such a diet. Just 5% of respondents said they knew a lot about low impact diets, 8% said they knew a fair amount and one in five (20%) said they knew just a little about low impact diets.

Respondents who claimed to know at least a little about low impact diets were asked more specifically if they knew how they could adopt this type of diet. Just over half (55%) of those asked said that they did, with the rest saying either they did not (42%) or that they did not know / were unsure (3%).

At this point, all respondents were presented with a description of low impact diets and asked how willing they were to change their diet to make it more low impact: “Some food products have a higher impact on the environment than others. One way to adopt a low impact diet would be to change or eat less of certain foods”. When prompted in this way, more than half (59%) of respondents said they would be either quite (50%) or very (9%) willing to change their diet in this way. One third (33%) of respondents said they would not be willing to change their diet to make it more low impact, with the remainder saying they didn’t know how willing they would be.

Willingness to change diet to make it more low impact was linked to prior knowledge about how to adopt a low impact diet‚ respondents who said they knew how to adopt a lot impact diet were a lot more likely to be willing to change their diet (82%) than those who did not know or had not heard of low impact diets prior to the survey (50%).

This post acts as an indicator to how the average person perceives environmental change. It’s not just Construction but also food production that contributes to climate change.

More than half (57%) agreed with the statement that “food production contributes to climate change”, while 12% disagreed with this. However about one third either did not know (10%) or said they neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement (22%). Unlike the measures in the previous section, agreement with this statement was not linked to the amount of uneaten food the respondent generally ended up throwing away. Those who agreed that food production contributes to climate change were no more likely to throw away uneaten food than those who disagreed with this statement.

Respondents were also asked what they would do if they had a better understanding of the environmental impacts of how food is produced. Half (50%) said that they would be willing to make changes to the food they buy to reduce the impact on the environment. Slightly fewer than one quarter (23%) of respondents said they would still buy the food they usually buy, even if they were better informed. One quarter (24%) said they had already made changes to the food that they buy to reduce their impact on the environment, with nearly one in ten (9%) saying they were keen to do more.