Dr Eva Gkenakou
Designing-out waste and building-in sustainability in the construction industry- The Principal Contractor’s perspective
CASE is pleased to announce that the next CASE open lecture of 2014/15 will be given by Dr Eva Gkenakou . Her lecture entitled, Designing-out waste and building-in sustainability in the construction industry- The Principal Contractor’s perspective, will be given on Wednesday, 26th November 2014 at 5.30pm in Marlowe Lecture Theatre 1.
Dr Eva Gkenakou is an environmental management specialist. Currently the UK Sustainability Manager of Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe she heads up the company’s environmental and sustainability disciplines. She has led the introduction of some innovative solutions, especially in line with the site waste management plans. She has also designed and initiated a holistic and user-friendly approach to the management of environmental and sustainability deliverables on projects from conception to construction and beyond. She has contributed to publications for the construction industry, such as the Guide to Sustainable Procurement in Construction and the Environmental Good Practice pocketbook (published by CIRIA). Eva has been recognised as one of the UK’s Rising Sustainability Stars by the Building Magazine and was shortlisted for the Sustainability Executive of the Year 2014 Business Green Leaders Award.
Designing-out waste and building-in sustainability in the construction industry- The Principal Contractor’s perspective
Waste materials put a strain on all three aspects of sustainability; environmental, economic and social. The construction sector consumes more than 400 million tonnes of materials per year. Managing and disposing of waste costs the industry around 1% of turnover which can be 30%, or more, of pre-tax profit. For this reason Brookfield Multiplex makes an effort to reduce the amount of materials we waste in the first place and reuse, recycle or recover the energy of any unavoidable waste. We’re aiming to make our processes leaner and greener. Through the implementation of our programmes we have prevented thousands of tonnes of waste from being generated and we have diverted nearly all remaining waste from landfill sites. The approach is based on WRAP’s (Waste and Resources Action Programme- http://www.wrap.org.uk/category/sector/construction [1] ) five design-out waste principles and the company’s practical experience. The talk will discuss how the principles have been embedded into business practice. The construction of the new University of Glasgow Hospitals will be presented as a case study on the achievements of the waste prevention programmes and also the lessons learned. This is of significance as it is an important part of Brookfield Multiplex’s sustainability journey and information that will add to the knowledge of construction professionals in the area of resource efficiency.