{"id":9258,"date":"2022-08-24T16:28:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T16:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=9258"},"modified":"2022-08-24T16:28:45","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T16:28:45","slug":"building-a-greener-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/08\/24\/building-a-greener-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Building A Greener Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mat Lown \u2013 chartered building surveyor and Partner at Tuffin Feraby Taylor<\/a> (TFT) \u2013 speaks to CONNECTED about his passion for sustainability and creatively redesigning existing buildings for a greener future.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In 2007, Mat founded TFT\u2019s sustainability consultancy and now works to help clients understand sustainability risks and opportunities when making property investments. However, it was when choosing his dissertation topic in the final year of his building surveying<\/a> degree at Reading, that his interest in sustainability within the construction sector was first sparked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I chose my dissertation topic in the early ’90s, the activities of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth \u2013 including Greenpeace\u2019s new sustainable headquarters \u2013 were in the news a lot,\u201d he explained. \u201cAs well as topics such as climate change, deforestation and the use of hard wood in buildings, which really resonated with me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent hours in the Library doing research and found there was very little on the topic as a whole.<\/p>\n

\n

“The more I researched it the more it became clear that living sustainably was, and still is, the only logical and rational thing to do. We only have one planet and finite resources. Today the world is waking up to this problem, but we\u2019re already starting to see the effects of climate change and it feels very real to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mat\u2019s dissertation \u2013 called Building a Greener Future<\/em> \u2013 was published in 1991 and he cites his tutor, Keith Bright, as having been a huge support to him throughout his time at university.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI\u2019m so glad I chose Reading for my degree. It contained a real mix \u2013 from the technical, such as engineering, to the more creative, such as architecture \u2013 which really appealed to me. I had a fantastic experience, made lifelong friends, and loved the incredible programme taught by market leaders who really knew their stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

30 years later, Mat is now championing sustainability in real estate in the midst of an industry tipping point. TFT\u2019s latest research on Redefining Building Performance shows how important sustainability is to industry leaders. Mat shares with CONNECTED how sustainability got pushed to the top of the agenda, why it is so important, and what he himself is doing about it.<\/p>\n

An evolution<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mat joined TFT 25 years ago and during his time there, has witnessed the evolution of the industry\u2019s attitudes towards sustainability. The publication of the Stern review<\/a> in 2006 and the Climate Change Act<\/a> in 2008 made the industry realise it needed to adopt a more sustainable approach. He said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen I first graduated, sustainability was seen as the morally-driven thing to do rather than a business imperative. But in the mid-2000s the conversation changed. TFT knew that if we didn\u2019t change our priorities, we risked losing long-standing clients who were now focusing on sustainability to ensure that the properties they invested in would still be valuable in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

TFT\u2019s willingness to lead the way in adapting to these pressures and to review their sustainability strategy is why Mat is still with them today.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe new sustainability agenda played to my strengths and interests \u2013 I\u2019d researched it at university and knew the fundamentals. When I proposed our sustainability consultancy, the partners and David Tuffin \u2013 one of the founders \u2013 backed me from the outset, despite there being no obvious revenue stream. That takes commitment, vision and belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his current role, Mat and his team provide advice to clients focused on driving down carbon emissions in properties \u2013 in alignment with The Paris Agreement<\/a> to keep the world\u2019s warming to 1.5 degrees. The firm\u2019s research supports its sustainability focus which is geared to provide ambitious solutions which investors and developers can use to create sustainable buildings.<\/p>\n

Mat explained: \u201cOur approach is twofold \u2013 mitigation and adaptation. Foremost we are focused on mitigation \u2013 how to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings. For example, removing gas, installing highly efficient building services and improving thermal performance. Embodied carbon is a key consideration too \u2013 reducing new material use, but reusing products and materials in our buildings, and designing buildings with lower-carbon materials such as timber instead of steel and concrete.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe majority of existing buildings will still be around in 2050, and the challenge for building surveyors is to problem-solve how to improve them rather than replace them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSecondly, we are thinking about adaptation \u2013 how to make buildings resilient for a future that could be over two degrees warmer if we fail to meet the Paris targets. Our clients don\u2019t want to invest in buildings that suffer power outages and can\u2019t cope with flooding, for example. So we look at how to make a building more resilient in a warmer world, such as better performing walls to moderate conditions without the need for air conditioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next generation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mat believes that the next generation will be key to tackling rising carbon emissions in the industry.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis industry brings together so many different sectors \u2013 from real estate to construction, to technical to legal \u2013 it\u2019s a great area to work in that is constantly changing. I personally love working with such a diverse bunch of people in an inclusive environment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThere is such huge scope for growth in the sector but unfortunately it will be a lack of people that will hold us back. We need more graduates, such as built environment professionals and engineers, as well as people doing the practical hands-on work of retrofitting, repairing and prolonging the life of our buildings. Brexit and the pandemic have led to a huge skills shortage in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help address this shortage, Mat does talks in schools and at career events. He is also a THRIVE mentor<\/a> at the University, and his most recent mentee is looking at creating digital twins of buildings to help work out how to improve building performance. Mat said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cShe has some great ideas about the digital world which are really eye-opening. The development of advanced modelling techniques will speed up the time-consuming process of assessing buildings and their carbon emissions individually, and make a huge difference in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Business as usual<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mat\u2019s passion for sustainability doesn\u2019t stop at work; he also embeds it into his personal life.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI live in a Victorian house which we\u2019ve insulated and our next step, when our gas boiler reaches the end of its life, is to switch that to electric. I walk and cycle as much as I can \u2013 including the 30-mile round cycling trip to the office, as well as focusing on reducing meat and dairy in my diet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surrounded by the challenges of creating a more sustainable world in his professional life, CONNECTED asks Mat how he feels about the future. \u201cI am an optimist regarding our future, especially given recent strides made in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIn a way I\u2019d like my role not to exist in the future, because that means the industry has embraced sustainability as business as usual. But I think there will always be new challenges to address in this area. Sometimes the pace of change can be exhausting \u2013 my role today is so different to what I did five or ten years ago \u2013 it\u2019s always evolving but that also keeps it exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Find out more about TFT<\/a>, or discover what it\u2019s like to study building surveying<\/a> at Reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mat Lown \u2013 chartered building surveyor and Partner at Tuffin Feraby Taylor (TFT) \u2013 speaks to CONNECTED about his passion for sustainability and creatively redesigning existing buildings for a greener future. In 2007, Mat founded TFT\u2019s sustainability consultancy and now works to help clients understand sustainability risks and opportunities when making property investments. However, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":9265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,19,34,44,61],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding A Greener Future - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mat Lown reveals how he is working to creatively redesign existing buildings for a greener future.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/08\/24\/building-a-greener-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building A Greener Future - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mat Lown reveals how he is working to creatively redesign existing buildings for a greener future.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/08\/24\/building-a-greener-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-24T16:28:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-24T16:28:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/08\/shutterstock_image-2-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/08\/24\/building-a-greener-future\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/08\/24\/building-a-greener-future\/\",\"name\":\"Building A Greener Future - 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