E-mobility has the potential to play a key role in meeting the challenges towards sustainable transport. However, standardisation of the connection between the electricity grid and electrically-chargeable vehicles is one of the prerequisites to help e-mobility gain a viable market share.

ACEA, CLEPA and EURELECTRIC jointly agree on the need for a single harmonised plug system for the recharging of electric vehicles on both the vehicle and the infrastructure sides, and have put forward a proposal accordingly. The associations stress that this issue needs to be solved urgently, before the rolling-out of the infrastructure starts in different Member States on a wider scale.

Therefore, the associations are jointly and strongly urging the relevant European Institutions, and in particular the European Commission, to take appropriate measures to ensure the implementation of a single solution for the charging of electrically-chargeable vehicles in Europe, in line with the European industry proposal.

Standardisation provides predictability to investors; it enables economies of scale, reduces costs for all stakeholders and is essential in increasing user acceptance. All relevant industries want to provide a simple and cross-border operational solution for European citizens.

European thought leaders and experts in sustainable transport technology and infrastructure were in Dublin today (05/05/11) to inform Irish companies about the opportunities for new technologies and partnerships arising in transport in the UK and Western Europe.

The European Green Transport Conference was organised by Enterprise Ireland for Irish technology companies that supply or are interested in supplying the transport sector in the UK and Western Europe. It is part of Enterprise Ireland’s ongoing drive to direct Irish companies towards new overseas sales and partnering opportunities to help them open up new business and sustain and create jobs in Ireland.

The transport sector across the UK and Western Europe is rapidly evolving and new business areas are emerging due to a number of factors including:

* Government green stimulus packages (UK £560m);

* EU directives and CO2 reduction targets (2020 and 2050 targets);

* Increasing urbanization;

* ‘Smart systems’: convergence of consumer electronics, transport technology and infrastructure that can all ‘talk’ to each other.

Opening the conference Minister of State for Transport Alan Kelly TD said: “Transport investment represents great potential because all policy makers will be striving for a smarter more efficient transport infrastructure. As a member of the Irish Government it would be excellent to see Irish companies supplying these sectors abroad. I believe the state agencies and the private sector must work together to create momentum around the sustainable transport industry with the potential for job creation across many sectors and parallel industries.”

Some of the top transport companies and organisations presented at the conference including Bombardier Rail, Jaguar Land Rover, Alstom, Veolia, the European Commission, the National Roads Authority, and various industry-leading universities.

Enterprise Ireland’s head of global business development Julie Sinnamon added: “The pressing need for sustainable transport solutions across Europe and the UK is resulting in increased demand for new technologies and innovative thinking. Ireland has a solid base of companies that have the technological, manufacturing and innovative experience to deliver technologies to meet these new demands.”

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At the conference were Enterprise Ireland’s head of global business development Julie Sinnamon, Minister of State for Transport Alan Kelly TD and Colin S Walton, chairman of Bombardier Transportation (Rail) UK and Ireland.

Marks & Spencer has announced plans to open its most sustainable UK store at Ecclesall Road in Sheffield. The store will be the first of a number of planned ‘Sustainable Learning’ stores, which will further increase the retailer’s understanding of sustainable construction techniques and processes.

The new 12,400 sq ft Simply Food store, due to open in April and built from scratch on a former brownfield site, incorporates a host of sustainable and innovative design and construction features. The store is set to achieve a BREEAM rating of Excellent, and has received a Considerate Constructors Scheme score of 37.5 out of 40, making it one of the most sustainable retail outlets in the UK.

When it is fully unveiled the store will feature materials that have been carefully selected in order to reduce waste and energy use:

* 100% of the construction waste produced in the building of the store has been recycled;

* The project is undergoing full FSC certification and we expect 100% of the timber used in the building will be FSC certified, a first for M&S;

* All the bricks have been reclaimed from an old mill;

* Polished concrete floors will remove the need for additional floor covering.

The new store will operate sustainably:

* Harvested rainwater will supply all the toilets and irrigate the store’s green ‘living wall’, reducing water costs by up to 40% compared with a conventional similarly sized store;

* The store will also be heated by expelled heat from its refrigeration units, helping to reduce the its carbon output by 23%;

* Highly efficient LED lighting will be used throughout the store, a first in the UK, and sun pipes will bring natural lighting onto the shop floor.

The store will also create wildlife habitats:

* A sedum roof and green ‘living wall’ will create wildlife habitats as well as insulate the building and act as a pollution filter;

* Bird boxes around the perimeter wall of the site;

* In total, 62 types of plants are being planted on or around the store.

Sustainable transport solutions will also be provided for customers:

* Electric car charging points will be available in the car park;

* LED screens in the store will give customers real time local transport information;

* Trolley and cycle shelters, located in the car park, will also be made from FSC certified wood and have a green sedum roof.

All employees at the store will be fully trained to understand its environmental features and will be encouraged to share this information with customers.

“This store represents a big milestone in our sustainable construction programme as we are installing a host of unique technologies and features,” points out Clem Constantine, director of property & store development at Marks & Spencer. “Each of these sustainable features is remarkable in its own right, however by bringing them all together in one development, something that is rarely done by retailers, we will achieve a whole that is worth far more than the sum of its parts. The learnings we have taken from building the store, coupled with those we will make over its lifetime, will help us achieve our goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015.”

In 2010, the European Investment Bank (EIB) increased financing for climate action projects to Eur19 billion, representing an impressive 30% of its lending in the European Union. Significantly up from Eur16 billion the year before, this is a new landmark in supporting sustainable growth and building a low-carbon future in Europe.

In 2010, total EIB lending reached Eur72 billion – Eur63 billion in the EU and Eur9 billion outside the EU – supporting over 460 large-scale projects. This marks a gradual return to pre-crisis levels as the bank adapts its activity to the economic environment.

The focus of EIB support for climate action projects remains energy (renewable energy and energy efficiency) and sustainable transport.

The Bank made a successful effort to increase the share of renewable energy and energy efficiency in its portfolio. More than Eur6 billion of financing supported renewable energy and over Eur2 billion energy efficiency projects in 2010. National renewable action plans have proved to be an important enabler of investment in these areas and all three emerging technologies, wind, solar and biomass, were supported. In the transport sector, the EIB is playing a leading role in supporting the development of electric vehicles.

Countries outside the EU received Eur2 billion in climate action financing in 2010. In the coming three years, the bank will substantially strengthen its support for sustainable energy projects in these countries.

Looking ahead, the EIB will help to implement the Europe 2020 strategy, the EU’s climate action targets and its external policy objectives.

The Government has introduced for public consultation, new draft Guidelines on Spatial Planning and National Roads. The aim of the guidelines is to ensure that roads planning and policy, and development planning and development management processes are appropriately and effectively aligned, in order to guide development to the most suitable locations to maximise the investment in the national roads network, while also in overall terms encouraging a shift towards more sustainable forms of travel and transport.

The guidelines will encourage a collaborative approach and early engagement, in line with international best practice, between planning authorities and the NRA with the aim of ensuring that transport and land use planning considerations are taken into account at the early stages of both development plan and development management processes. This is to ensure that future development at locations on or in the vicinity of national roads is guided to the most suitable location and that work on Ireland’s national roads network is planned for and managed in a complementary and integrated manner.

These guidelines will primarily apply to the national roads network and set out policy with regard to planning considerations relating to development affecting national roads outside the 50-kph speed limit zones for cities, towns and villages.

The new draft guidelines will replace the document, Policy and Planning Framework for Roads, published by the Department of the Environment and Local Government in 1985, supplement other policy guidance in relation to retail planning and sustainable rural housing and replace the NRA policy statement on national roads published in May 2006.

“These guidelines encourage a collaborative approach between planning authorities and the National Roads Authority with the aim of ensuring that work on our national roads network is planned for and managed in an integrated manner enabling economic development of Ireland while encouraging a shift towards more sustainable forms of travel and transport. We must ensure that development is guided to the most appropriate locations by ensuring that transport and land use planning considerations are taken into account throughout the development planning process,” says Ciaran Cuffe, TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for Planning and Heritage.

The draft guidelines are available to view and download from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s website – www.environ.ie. The closing date for receipt of submissions is 4 pm on Friday, 10 September, 2010.

The guidelines, when finalised, will be published under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and will thereby be underpinned by statute. Pending finalisation of the guidelines, local authorities are requested to have regard to the recommended approach in the draft guidelines, when preparing or varying development plans and local area plans, and in regard to applications for planning permission.