NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Bank boost for hemp insulation factory A hemp construction materials business will build a factory producing carbon-negative building insulation after securing funding from the new Scottish National Investment Bank. IndiNature, which has developed a natural fibre insulation system called IndiBreathe using UK-grown hemp, plans to open its new Borders manufacturing hub in summer 2022. The banks 3m investment will enable the business to scale up production at its new facility in Jedburgh. It has also unlocked grant funding provided by Zero Waste Scotland (803,000) and South of Scotland Enterprise (250,000). BSI publishes biodiversity standard A new set of requirements for the implementation of biodiversity net gain (BNG) in construction projects has been published by the British Standards Institution (BSI). BS 8683: Process for designing and implementing biodiversity net gain Specification outlines a process to design, implement, maintain and monitor BNG outcomes from a development project. It provides a framework to demonstrate that a project has followed a process based on the UKs BNG Good Practice Principles. CPA pushes on with product code The results of the consultation on the proposed Code for Construction Product Information has been published by the Construction Products Association (CPA). The 65-page report details feedback from 35 trade bodies and 180 individual provider and user organisations of construction product information. According to the CPA and its pollsters, the findings show that the industry welcomes and supports the code, and considers it a crucial step in the right direction. However, it also revealed widespread concern about how compliance would or could be policed. Respondents also wanted clarity around the training and competence requirements, and on what exactly was required to comply with the different clauses of the code. Government offers breathing space for product testing CE Mark can continue to be used until 1 January 2023 The industry has responded positively to the governments decision to postpone the introduction of new post-Brexit construction product marking rules. The UK was due to switch over from the European CE mark to a new United Kingdom Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark on 1 January next year, but that deadline has now been postponed for 12 months. This follows increasingly frantic lobbying from sector bodies that warned the government that the testing capacity was not in place to make the switch possible in time for the original deadline. As a result, the CE mark will continue to be used to show conformity with quality and safety standards for another year. already warned that even the extended deadline will be challenging considering the scale of the exercise needed to test thousands of products used in all parts of construction and its related sectors. Given the widespread pressures on product supply, we welcome this pragmatic decision by the government to extend the deadline for CE-marked products, said Construction Leadership Council co-chair Andy Mitchell. However, even with this extension, it will still be very challenging to ensure the whole sector is ready for the new date, given the need to drive major increases in testing capacity. He said it would be increasingly important for the government to work closely with industry representatives to set up a robust testing and marking regime ensuring that we dont just postpone the crisis by 12 months. Engineering bodies reach out to new generation to tackle climate change School leavers and other young people are being urged to take up engineering careers as the UK employment market enters uncharted territory. Actuate UK, a group of eight industry bodies including CIBSE representing engineering services professions is spearheading a campaign to encourage more young people to take up emerging job opportunities in a sector that offers the chance to tackle the climate crisis and provide better living and working conditions for communities. There were more than half a million young people unemployed in May, according to the governments jobs market this summer. The group reported growing interest in apprenticeships linked to engineering professions particularly in the electrical, plumbing, lift, heating, ventilating and air conditioning industries. The Scottish electrical employers body, Select, said it had seen a record intake of 738 apprentices so far this year with many motivated by the long-term job prospects on offer. Many are deciding to learn a trade rather than follow a more traditional further education route, according to Actuate UK, which also believes the opportunity to earn while you learn is proving attractive to many young people worried about running up large student debts. This is driving demand for apprenticeships that combine classroom teaching with on-the-job training with an employer. Most of these lead to full-time employment. 10 September 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Sep 21 pp10 News.indd 10 27/08/2021 09:22