Jeff Colley is the editor of Passive House Plus. He won the Green Leader award at the 2010 Green Awards for his advocacy work on the inclusion of energy ratings in property advertising, and a proposal to finance energy upgrades via utility bills.
He established Construct Ireland (for a sustainable future), Ireland's pioneering sustainable building magazine, in 2003. The magazine evolved into Passive House Plus in late 2012, the world's first English language magazine focused on passive house, as well as other aspects of sustainable building.
He is also a founder of Éasca, (the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association) , an organisation set up to develop and promote a membership of approved companies offering genuinely sustainable solutions.
He writes a regular column for the Sunday Times, and has authored, co-authored and contributed to articles on sustainable building for numerous newspapers including the Irish Times, The Sunday Business Post, the Irish Examiner & the Sunday Tribune.
Ireland's big employers reduce energy costs by E60m
Ireland’s largest employers knocked E60 million off their energy costs in 2008 through efficiency measures, energy minister Eamon Ryan announced yesterday at the Sustainable Energy Ireland global conference on energy management in Farmleigh, Dublin.
Construct Ireland policies in programme for government
Construct Ireland’s recent lobbying and campaigning work has paid off spectacularly with news that two policy proposals have been adopted into the reneweed programme for government .Editor Jeff Colley made detailed submissions to the Green Party on several issues, with proposals for a pay as you save policy to stimulate national energy upgrade work and a policy to dramatically increase the impact of Building Energy Ratings finding their way into the document agreed between Fianna Fáil and the Greens.
Construct Ireland campaigns to energy upgrade Ireland
Construct Ireland has launched a campaign calling for the introduction of pay as you save (PAYS), a system with the potential of substantially energy upgrading the Irish building stock. PAYS overcomes obstacles to the en masse uptake of energy investments such as the requirement for upfront capital, unease at signing up to debt in the case of loans, and lack of confidence in the suitability of particular measures and technologies in a given building. Pay as you save
In an ideal world every occupied building in Ireland would be energy upgraded to the highest standard, tapping into numerous benefits for the building occupant, the construction industry and society as a whole. Construct Ireland is calling for the introduction of pay as you save, a repayment model which offers the potential of making significant energy upgrade investments achievable in the vast majority of Irish buildings, as Jeff Colley reveals.
Building with hemp
Joseph Little Architects launches sustainable design consultancy
Leading green architect Joseph Little has launched a specialist green design consultancy to assist architects and building companies. On Monday 14 September environment minister John Gormley officially launched Building Life Consultancy, the new initiative of Joseph Little Architects at the company’s offices in North Great George’s St.
Green jobs in US outstripped traditional sectors
The Guardian reports that, between 1998 and 2007, green industries in the US were producing new jobs at twice the rate of their traditional counterparts.
Greens to push for climate change legislation
The Green Party is to demand the introduction of climate change legislation as its price for continuing in government with Fianna Fáil.
Japan announces £100bn green revolution
The Japanese government is to spend 15 trillion yen (£100bn, or as I prefer to write it to really let it sink in, £102,000,000,000) on an economic stimulus package focused on green technologies such as electric cars, solar panels and energy saving building materials, according to an article
GMIT launches new degree in energy engineering
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology has launched a new degree programme in energy engineering, commencing in September 2009 at the institute’s Dublin Road campus.