People and planet | The climate crisis

People and planet

At Brick By Brick, we already focus our efforts on creating sustainable communities. Working with Croydon Council, we develop infill sites, delivering a higher proportion of affordable homes, and offering priority to Croydon residents.

We are also very conscious of the climate crisis, and as an organisation we know we have a responsbility to act. We know we can build our homes even more sustainably, and run our business operations more efficiently to reduce the consumption of resources. As we are owned by Croydon Council, we match their pledge to become carbon neutral by 2030. But we are looking at ways of getting there ourselves even sooner.

We have recently audited our operations and targets to impose stricter criteria on the homes we deliver and the way we deliver them

Our climate team

At Brick By Brick we have our own internal climate team who continuously audit the whole business to maintain tight sustainability targets and determine ways by which we can further improve our approach to sustainability. With their help, we are working to minimise unrecyclable waste in our office and make other important changes such as using digital marketing where possible to minimise our impact on natural resources.

Our sustainable features

Our homes have a number of features designed to minimise their impact on the planet. They are extremely well-insulated to minimise energy loss, and include MHVR to help ensure efficient handling of air and heat. Many have solar panels and other renewable energy sources, and we are looking at ways we can prioritise the use of clean sources of electric energy and reduce or omit the use of fossil fuel infrastructure. We prioritise timber frame construction and green roofs, and our homes have a number of features which aim to reduce water and energy consumption and encourage recycling the efficient use of resources.

Encouraging low-impact travel

Brick By Brick strongly supports Croydon Council’s aim of reducing reliance on the car and promoting more sustainable travel methods. All our apartment blocks have cycle parking and many offer car club spaces and electric vehicle charging points. We offer advice to new residents on how to make best use of local public transport and other alternatives to driving such as walking and cycling. Local residents are given priority in buying or renting our homes, helping to strengthen and maintain local networks and travel patterns. Similarly, we prioritise local employment and supply chain usage in construction.

Working with Croydon Council

Croydon Council have recently declared a climate emergency with the target of making the council carbon neutral by 2030, which Brick By Brick also supports. A sustainability summit was held in 2019, where residents and school children discussed how to make the borough a greener place. The summit also saw the announcement of a £250,000 fund to support green initiatives such as encouraging wild flower growth, creating a better environment for bees. This builds on work already in progress, such as boosting the borough’s recycling rate by 9%, planting 3,500 trees by 2023, reducing energy use, creating more ‘School Streets’, installing electric vehicle charging points and making it easier to cycle and make other sustainable journeys throughout the borough.