Tomorrow's earth, today's journey: Exploring pathways to sustainability
Market View
Produced by:
Interview with
Hrabrina Nikolova
PRINCIPAL SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL
Tomorrow's earth, today's journey: Exploring pathways to sustainability
Market View
Produced by:
Interview with
Hrabrina Nikolova
PRINCIPAL SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL
About Hrabrina Nikolova
Hrabrina Nikolova is one of the Principal Sustainability Officers at Westminster City Council, providing specialist sustainability advice to the Council's Town Planning Service. In this role, she negotiates major and strategic schemes, acting as the technical lead on sustainability issues such as zero carbon development, embodied carbon, whole life carbon, circular economy, and retrofit.
How are you leveraging technological innovation to achieve more sustainable approaches to regeneration?
We're exploring several innovative approaches to enhance sustainability in our regeneration efforts. One area we're trialing is the use of material passports and digital twins. While these tools are not new, they're often used in isolation. We educate our contractors of better techniques in mapping the existing buildings and materials, asking them to implement a more comprehensive mapping approach, starting with something as simple as photogrammetry to catalogue all existing materials in our buildings.
The idea is that any future works would trigger a review of this archive. We'd ask questions like: Can these materials be disassembled? Are we only replacing windows or the entire facade? What about the MEP systems? Does this necessitate storage?
In Westminster, we're quite constrained in terms of storage opportunities. However, we're leveraging one of the greatest strengths of UK local authorities - our strong inter-council connections. We're exploring the creation of both digital and physical infrastructure ecosystems to begin "mining" the city during redevelopment, rather than working in isolation and generating waste as per usual.
We're also adopting the Excess Material Exchange (EME) platform, which originated in the Netherlands. It automatically generates material passports as soon as materials are listed. This is precisely the type of database we need to inform policy and track our progress towards net zero goals.
The more we understand about material reuse and its challenges, the better we can embed this knowledge into future policies and track our progress towards net zero goals.
How are you rethinking the traditional economic model to better align with sustainability goals?
We need to shift our perspective on what constitutes growth and prosperity. Traditionally, especially in a place like London, these concepts have been inherently linked to wealth accumulation. However, we're increasingly recognizing that prosperity can be achieved through alternative means.
If we start embedding more of this alternative thinking into our daily, practical ways of operating, we see more and more that it works - and it works much better than traditional models. It's no longer something abstract or futuristic; it's actually happening right now.
One of the key aspects of my role is to highlight these great projects and initiatives. For instance, one of our Cabinet members recently opened a 'Library of Things' in Pimlico. It's a beautifully designed, simple concept where people can borrow items like vacuum cleaners or drills. This kind of initiative demonstrates that these ideas are achievable and beneficial for both the environment and community.
The more we start believing in and implementing these alternative approaches, the quicker things will change. We're increasingly realising that we're not as constrained as we once thought.
What technological platforms are you exploring to support this new economic approach?
While we're still in the early stages, we're developing some exciting platforms. I'm currently leading a project to create a platform that will serve local authorities in reviewing and scrutinising whole life carbon assessments called Planning Application Carbon Evaluation and Reduction (PACER) in planning.
Historically, these assessments were only done for large schemes by sustainability consultants or engineers. Planning officers often lacked the expertise to fully understand the data and its complexities. Our platform aims to elevate the in-house expertise of local authorities to match that of the industry.
More importantly, we're aiming to collect data on emissions from material use, not just energy. We have substantial data on energy use for large schemes, but anything falling under 'Scope 3' has often been overlooked. This is crucial because we can never truly transition to a regenerative economy if we don't address material extraction.
With this data, coupled with information from the Excess Material Exchange, our policymakers can start to see if there's a genuine ecosystem of reuse or if Westminster is simply consuming too much. In the meantime, due to the lack of comprehensive data, we're proposing quite stringent policies, such as making it very difficult to demolish buildings outright.
How are you using geospatial technology to inform sustainable urban planning?
We're exploring innovative ways to use geospatial technology, particularly in mapping and preserving our building stock. One project we're considering is mapping buildings that might be at risk of unnecessary demolition.
We're particularly interested in post-war buildings from the 1950s and 60s - concrete structures that are structurally sound but may not meet current premium office space standards. These buildings can often be retrofitted, but they're often overlooked in preservation efforts.
This mapping would allow us to have a more informed, strategic approach to development proposals. Currently, we have to start every conversation from scratch, asking applicants about their current buildings, their construction, and whether they've explored various options. If we could visually represent this information, it would greatly streamline our processes and promote more sustainable development decisions.
While we're still in the early stages of this project, we're excited about its potential to transform our approach to urban planning and sustainability. By leveraging geospatial technology and comprehensive building data, we can make more informed decisions that balance development needs with sustainability and the preservation of viable structures.
We'd like to have that mapped. This way, if a development proposal comes forward wanting to demolish all the buildings on a street, we'd know if a particular building is actually a relatively new concrete frame structure with nothing fundamentally wrong with it.
About Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local government authority responsible for the City of Westminster, a central borough of London, England. As one of the 32 London boroughs, it plays a crucial role in providing essential services and governance to its residents and businesses. The council oversees a diverse and historically significant area that includes many of London's most famous landmarks. Westminster City Council is responsible for a wide range of municipal services, including urban planning, housing, education, social services, and environmental initiatives.
