CBC Delivers Adaption to Climate Change Strategy
The Adaptation to Climate Change strategy is a service that Cudd Bentley offers our clients, delivered by the CBC sustainability team in close collaboration with our engineers and design team using the BREEAM credit for climate adaptation WST 05, which focuses on resilience.
An adaptation strategy is a program, project or approach that has been developed to respond to anticipated climate change impacts in a specific area of potential concern. The BREEAM “Adaptation to climate change” credit ensures buildings’ structural resilience and fabric to reduce climate change risks. This approach differs from other tools in sustainable building construction, such as carbon credits, which are applied to mitigate carbon emissions on projects. These are monetised tradable measures, such as tree planting, to offset the unavoidable release of carbon emissions in a project.
The WST 05 Adaptation to Climate Change methodology works through the following steps:
- Hazard identification
- Hazard assessment
- Risk estimation
- Risk evaluation
- Risk management
Our sustainability team will implement this approach in projects alongside existing methodologies such as the CCRA (Climate Change Risk Assessment), a fundamental evaluation that identifies the most significant risks and opportunities related to climate change. This supports the National Adaptation Programme (NAP), which is a government-mandated, five-yearly assessment and action plan to address climate change risks. The NAP covers strategies for public health, infrastructure, business, and the natural environment.
BREEAM Knowledge Base – Wst 05 Overview
- Provides detailed guidance on the credit requirements, including timing of the climate change adaptation strategy, risk assessment methodology, and exemplary credit criteria
The WST 05 Method
Conduct a climate change adaptation strategy appraisal for structural and fabric resilience by the end of Concept Design (or equivalent), in accordance with the following approach:
1.a. Carry out a systematic (structural and fabric resilience specific) risk assessment to identify and evaluate the impact on the building over its projected life cycle from expected extreme weather conditions arising from climate change and, where feasible, mitigate against these impacts. The assessment should cover the following stages:
1.a.i Hazard identification
1.a.ii Hazard assessment
1.a.iii Risk estimation
1.a.iv Risk evaluation
1.a.v Risk management
All adaptation plans should consider the following impacts of climate change and extreme weather events and describe how the design mitigates against them, where appropriate:
- Flooding
- Storms (including high winds)
- Cold events
- Heat waves (including temperature increases)
- Drought (including reduced summer rainfall)
- Milder winters
- Wetter winters (including increased moisture and driving rain)
- Warmer summers and increased solar radiation
- Temperature variation
- Precipitation, e.g. rain and snow
- Subsidence or ground movement.
During the design stage, the CBC sustainability team would develop a fully compliant climate change adaptation strategy assessment, which would include recommendations and solutions. Documentation such as specification clauses and/or design drawings would demonstrate that all identified mitigation measures have been incorporated into the final design. Any omissions would be justified in writing.
After construction, mechanical and electrical engineers will provide final construction drawings, a site assessment report, and photographic documentation showing that the required mitigation measures have been implemented.
As with all our services, our sustainable energy consultancy on Adaptation to Climate Change will be delivered in close collaboration with our clients. If you would like to utilise this service, please contact us here.