Carbon Co-op, Haileybury Youth Trust, T.R. Hamzah and Yeang, and Passivhaus Trust shortlisted for prestigious Ashden Awards in Sustainable Buildings categories. Pioneering organisations based in Uganda, Malaysia, and the UK have been shortlisted in the Sustainable Buildings categories for the Ashden UK and International Awards. The Ashden Awards are a globally recognised measure of excellence in the field of sustainable energy and winners – to be announced at a prestigious ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 15 June – receive tailored support to help scale up their work and a prize of up to £20,000.

According to Sarah Butler-Sloss, Ashden’s Founder Director: “The organisations on this year's shortlist are all trail blazing when it comes to sustainable buildings and setting a very high benchmark which we hope will encourage others to follow suit and play their part in helping to protect the future of our planet.”

This year’s finalists for the Ashden International Award for Sustainable Buildings are Haileybury Youth Trust (HYT), a charity that trains young people in Uganda to build using blocks made of compressed earth, and Malaysian firm T.R. Hamzah and Yeang Sdn. Bhd who have been using green building design practices for over 40 years.

HYT’s low-cost brick, an alternative to the environmentally damaging fired brick, prevents deforestation and drastically reduces CO2 emissions. The buildings are transforming communities, including sanitation facilities, housing and new schools, and are teaching young people skills that will help create employment opportunities. T.R. Hamzah and Yeang Sdn. Bhd design sustainable buildings that seamlessly fit with the natural environment and are aesthetically unique, as well as sharing their knowledge and expertise on how to build in harmony in the natural world.

In the UK, Manchester-based Carbon Co-op are a community-driven society helping its members achieve major energy and CO2 savings by retrofitting their homes. A group of more than 100 householders have teamed up with technical experts to look at how best to implement changes to improve comfort, cut energy bills and reduce CO2 emissions. For a nominal fee of £35 a year, members get discounts on training events, home energy surveys and can purchase works and materials at a discount to reduce the cost of retrofitting their homes. In a recent deep retrofit programme carried out by Carbon Co-op, the average savings per property are in the region of £1,000 a year.

Up against Carbon Co-op is Passivhaus Trust who are at the forefront of the low-energy design standard movement in the UK, providing advice, training, conferences and certification to Passivhaus architects, engineers, suppliers and builders. Passivhaus buildings achieve significant energy savings whilst simultaneously providing high levels of comfort and health. The main features include enhanced insulation, high quality windows, air tightness and controlled ventilation, and they are built with meticulous attention to detail, and rigorous design and construction principles.