How do you choose a sustainable builder?

Jeremy Spencer from Positive Footprints shares how to do this, and build net zero and zero carbon homes.

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Jeremy Spencer. [Listen here for Part 1].

Hello! This is Episode 233, and in it, I continue my conversation with Jeremy Spencer from Positive Footprints. 

This is Part 2 of my conversation about creating a sustainable, energy efficient and Carbon Zero home. 

If you haven’t heard Episode 232 and Part 1 of the conversation, be sure to pause now, and go back and listen to it. And then you can come back to this episode once you do.

In this episode, Jeremy shares more information on how to choose a sustainable builder, and how to consider various choices in your home to radically improve its energy efficiency and performance overall.

Before we jump into Part 2 of my conversation with Jeremy Spencer, let me remind you about him and his business.

For almost 20 years Jeremy has been a Registered Builder, Thermal Assessor and Director at design and build company Positive Footprints. 

Positive Footprints is driven by two directors: Jeremy, as the builder, and his wife, Chi Lu, as the designer.

The aim of Positive Footprints is to:

• Build beautiful houses that are as low impact as possible and make sustainable housing mainstream in the building industry, and
• Make owning a high performing house easy, by combining Environmentally Sustainable Design and Construction within the one company.

As well as being an educator and former GreenLiving lecturer in an earlier life, Jeremy is a founding member of Builders Declare, and currently sits on the Design Matters Board, the Sustainability Hub, and the NatHERS Stakeholder Consultative Group. 

This episode kicks off with me jumping back to a point Jeremy made in Part 1, or Episode 232, about heat pump air conditioning. 

With space conditioning comprising 43% of a home’s energy use, making an efficient selection for your air conditioning can make a huge difference overall. You’ll hear Jeremy explain really well how to make the best choice in this regard.

In this episode, I ask Jeremy questions about:

• Positive Footprints’ of ‘off-the-plan’ Carbon Zero homes, as well as 9 star house plans
• Their Environmental Improvement Reports they prepare for homeowners on their existing homes or existing designs
• Whether this, plus the education Positive Footprints so regularly do, makes sustainable and low carbon homes more accessible (or whether it’s still difficult in a market of project homes)
• How do you start on the journey of a Carbon Zero home when designing, building and renovating?
• How do homeowners ensure that the ‘as designed’ approach becomes the ‘as built’ result?
• How to find a sustainable builder to work with
• What is on the horizon for the domestic building industry and why Jeremy is excited about it

RESOURCES:

Find more information about Jeremy and Positive Footprints here >>> https://www.positivefootprints.com.au/

Builders Declare
>> Instagram (includes regular tips on building sustainably) 

>> YouTube (with great webinars on various topics)

Sustainable Builders Yak Podcast >>> LISTEN HERE

Design Matters National >> Educational webinars

These are the webinars Jeremy hosted and mentions in the podcast.

• How to Detail plans so the builder builds it to perform Pt.1 >>> PART 1
• How to Detail plans so the builder builds it to perform Pt.2 >>> PART 2

Explore Climate Active Certified businesses here >>> CLICK HERE

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program >>> HOME METHOD

Learn more about how to get started with your home design with the Happy Home Design mini-course >>> HAPPY HOME DESIGN
Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> FREE WORKSHOP