Getting sustainability into new-build housing, with Robbie McGrath, Head of Sustainability at D/RES Properties

Show Notes

We caught up with friend of the show, Robbie McGrath, Head of Sustainability at D/RES Properties in Ireland. He's a mechanical engineer who meandered his way into sustainability, working as a sustainability consultant with corporate asset managers in the nordics and (bizarrely,) the British Embassy in Finland.

We talked about loads of stuff. He's really interesting.

Some of the references from the show

• Silken Park, Ireland's largest commercial Passivhaus development, as featured in Passive House Plus, as well as D/RES's own case study. 
• D/RES's Tinakilly Park, the recent development that we discuss, that featured heavily in a recent issue of the magazine*.
• The GRESB website. Bizarrely, I couldn't find an explanation of the acronym anywhere on there; I'm sure that Robbie explains it at one point. Otherwise, it seems like a really good scheme.
• That story about rushing foundations to beat building regs in the UK.
• Ireland's Building Energy Rating (BER) system for judging A1 on homes.
• Polar Night Energy, the Finnish company that heats up sandpits.

*"The magazine" is always Passive House Plus.

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

• Join the AECB 
• Join ACAN
• Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
• Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications ([e-mail]; Everything is User Experience)

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

What is Zero Ambitions Podcast?

Zero Ambitions is a podcast about sustainability and the built environment. There is no single solution to fixing the built environment, so we're talking our way through as much of it as we can.

We find interesting guests who know what they're talking about and speak with them about sustainability, good practice, and how to make a difference because the challenges are massive and the problems complex.

You can also find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/91573716.

Hosted by Jeff Colley (Passive House Plus), Dan Hyde (Everything is User Experience) and Alex Blondin (Everything is User Experience).