Jewson, the UK’s leading supplier of sustainable timber and building materials, has been awarded a prestigious Timber Trading Journal Award in the category of Environmental Achievement at this year’s annual event.

The 2011 award win was announced at a ceremony on 15th September in London and is recognition of the significant investment Jewson has made to help deliver the green building agenda.

Jewson’s award win was based on a year of major investments and launches to the market including the successful introduction of the popular Sustainable Building Guide, the launch of the Greenworks Training Academy and a host of sustainability training days that have been held across the UK. The Award will help to further spur on Jewson’s work creating more opportunities for customers and communities.

The 62 page guide gives those interested in building sustainably a range of basic information including government incentive schemes, legislation and sustainable products and practices.

Peter Hindle MBE, Managing Director of Jewson said: “The key to greening our buildings is to give our clients the advice, support and training they need to build more sustainably”. BRE chief executive Peter Bonfield said: “Builders’ merchants have an important role in ensuring customers make the right choices.”

This new guide comes alongside news that the Greenworks Training Academy is set to open in Birmingham next month. The academy is designed to effectively teach the physical skills involved in sustainable building, and will feature room sets for wet and dry work, an elevated drainage pit and a low level roofing rig.

Grand Designs’ Dominic Murphy explores the ins and outs of ground source heating in this month’s issue- from ground to air pumps to ground to water systems.

The article contains an in-depth exploration of the product, typical pricing, space required and the savings the average household can expect to make along with estimates on how long it will take to make your money back on the system.

Greenworks has been chosen as one of Grand Designs’ top suppliers of high quality ground source heat pumps.

Read the full article in the September issue, in newsagents now.

Greenworks has this week added a brand new information video to the website to help users understand a little more about the cost-saving benefits on a solar photovoltaic panel system. The video also introduces viewers to the latest in solar panel designs, engineered to be in keeping with the look and installation process of a standard slate roof.

The video, which was created by one of the UK’s leading solar energy experts, Solar Century, gives advice on the cost of installing a solar energy system in your home and estimates on how much you can expect to save on your energy bills after the installation.

Most importantly, the video demonstrates how much energy the average household can expect to generate on one of the many overcast and grey days the UK is famous for.

View the video on the Greenworks website now by clicking here then opening the ‘Video’ tab.

The Academy, which represents the first time a merchant has offered independent training, will deliver 20 specialist training courses that will provide tradesman with the necessary skills and nationally recognised qualifications required to install sustainable solutions and renewable technologies.

All qualifications are from UKCAS accredited awarding bodies such as Bpec and NICEIC.

The training prospectus covers a wide range of courses, from solar hot water and heat pumps through to underfloor heating design and solar photovoltaic. Training locations can be accessed in York, Brighouse, Nottingham and Carmarthen College, and Greenworks is currently looking to extend its provision into sites around London, the South of England and Scotland.

Alan Penny, Business Development Director at Greenworks, comments: “The Greenworks Training Academy is a natural partnership and one that delivers synergies on a number of levels. PPL Training’s knowledge and experience of delivering high quality courses throughout the UK, coupled with the access to training locations and specialist products through Greenworks means that more people will have access to high quality training. From training right through to implementation, installers now have greater access to technical expertise and skills required to install cutting edge sustainable technologies. What’s more, the training courses support the work needed to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes.”

James Booth, Managing Director at PPL Training, says: “Our partnership with Greenworks will allow PPL to further expand its network of renewable energy training facilities right across the UK. Renewable energy training is one of the most important challenges that the construction industry will face in the coming years, as the demand for qualified and experienced installers increases rapidly. PPL together with Greenworks will be able to meet this challenge by offering a national training solution for the industry.”

For more information on Greenworks Training Academies please see our training section

There will be over 60 exhibitors attending the show including the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Scotland Excel and the Glasgow East Regeneration Agency which has been working to develop environmental initiatives and community projects across the eastern quarter of Glasgow.

Aimed at architects, housing associations, contractors, developers, designers and builders, the event will take place between the 14th and 15th May 2009 at the Kerrydale Suite, Celtic Park, the venue for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 opening ceremony.

The show promises to be one of the most dynamic, informative and exciting events of the year for the building industry, encouraging the use of sustainable building solutions. Seminars on environmentally friendly products, sustainability and workflow management will be running across both days.

Event Organiser, Michelle Jenkins said, “Glasgow has many aspirations, one of which is to promote social inclusion. This event will allow companies to demonstrate their products and services to key figures within the Building Industry.”

For more information, or to register to visit the show, please contact Michelle Jenkins on 0131 661 6144 or email michelle.jenkins@sgbd.co.uk.

The Ecobuild exhibition, held at London’s Earl’s Court exhibition centre, is an opportunity to learn more about the world around us all and what we can do to make it the best place possible.

Ecobuild celebrates the best in innovative technology, design and construction that is helping to cut the impact human activities have on our planet. From renewable energy solutions for homes and businesses to the newest advances in high-efficiency building materials, Ecobuild brings together the best in environmentally friendly solutions.

The show will boast many attractions for visitors including a working mock-up of a zero-carbon house and a solar city installation where cutting-edge developments in renewable energy will be showcased.

The exhibition, held from Tuesday 3rd until Thursday 5th March, aims to show visitors that being eco-friendly does not have to interfere with your lifestyle or be particularly time consuming. It can be as easy as swapping your light bulbs to energy saving ones, turning off the television instead of leaving it on Stand By mode or recycling your household paper and glass.
Greenworks will be exhibiting many of the exciting and innovative products in its range, including solar panels and grey water recycling systems, alongside Jewson at stand 2325.

If you are interested in visiting Ecobuild 2009, register for tickets at EcoBuild Online.

The award ceremony, which will take place on November 21st, looks to celebrate outstanding achievement within the industry and strengthen industry ties.

The judging panel that chose the finalists were wowed by the Greenworks website’s easy-to-use user interfaces and interactive content. Judges enjoyed the interactive eco-friendly house interface on the homepage which enables the user to quickly see how they can make their home more eco friendly with sustainable solutions for generating renewable energy and reducing heat and water waste such as rainwater harvesters and solar panels.

The judging panel were also impressed with the way it enables users to view the full range of products stocked and learn more about the attributes, applications and advantages of each product through user-centric design and in-depth copywriting that is easily digested. Users can quickly learn how a rainwater harvester works or how much energy can be saved using solar panels.

The Greenworks website is built and maintained by award-winning digital new media agency Cyber-Duck and project managed by Greenworks Business Development Director, Alan Penny.

Matt Gibson (Cyber-Duck’s Interactive Production Manager) comments, “The Greenworks website offers a superior user experience compared to other industry related websites and although I don’t want to give too much away, you will be seeing some fantastic improvements to the website in the near future.”

The site has already been honoured with the prestigious Horizon Interactive Bronze Award as the judges, after wowing judges with the website’s ease of use and clean design.To learn more about the Builder’s Merchants Awards of Excellence 2008 visit the Awards website.