Association for Environment Conscious Building
Honorary President - Chris Baines
Chris is an independent advisor to government ministers, local councils and to senior executives in the construction, water, housing and oil industries. He is also a well known writer, broadcaster and international conference speaker and leading UK environmental campaigner.
Founder - Keith Hall
Keith founded the AECB in 1989 following his concern about the use of unsustainable tropical timber in the UK construction industry. He is committed to disseminating information on green building with particular emphasis on promoting eco building products. His publishing business, the Green Building Press, publishes Green Building magazine (Building for a Future) and the Green Building Bible.
Executive Officer - Andy Simmonds 
Andy is the Executive Officer of the AECB (part-time). Andy is also an architectural designer and builder and a partner in Simmonds-Mills, a practice which specialises in ecological design.
AECB Steering Committee
- Chris Herring - Chair
- Christine Armstrong - Treasurer
- Peter Wilkinson - Company Secretary
- Paul Ellis
- Nick Grant
- Cath Hassell
- Neill Lewis
- Sally Starbuck
- Geoff Stow
- Peter Wilshaw
Chair - Chris Herring
Chris is a director of Environmental Construction Products Ltd which operates both the Green Building Store and the Green Building Company. He has been interested in environmental issues since his teens, and involved in the building industry since the early 80s, following a chequered career as a communard, social worker, special needs teacher and house-husband.
Chris is an experienced joiner, plumber and general builder, although he is now 'off the tools'. His current workload includes, among other things, managing the development of the Green Building Store. He is interested in all aspects of 'green' building, but has a particular interests in health and toxicity (as a result of ill health suffered in the early 90s), and timber sourcing. He has co-authored articles on timber preservatives for Building For a Future magazine.
Chris has been an AECB member since 1992, committee member since 1995 and was Treasurer 2003 - 2005. As well as his role as Chair, Chris is involved in a number of sub-committees, and has been active in helping to develop the structure of the AECB and organising the annual Conference. Brought up in Gloucestershire, Chris has been a willing exile in Yorkshire for more than 25 years.
Treasurer - Christine Armstrong
My association with the AECB began approximately five years ago when I was investigating the viability of introducing a natural sheep's wool insulation into the market place. The support and encouragement I received from the AECB was pivotal to continuing in my quest to research, develop and now sell Thermafleece as a British manufactured natural building material.
Impartial independent advice and the encouragement of innovation within the green sector is I believe fundamental to the AECB's ethos. Having now had Thermafleece in the market for three years, I believe I have gained an in depth knowledge and understanding of the complexities of researching, marketing and distributing sustainable building materials not only within the green sector but in the wider construction process. It is this knowledge that I would hope to be able to share to encourage and energise both the committee and the membership.
Lobbying is fundamental to the success of sustainable policies within the UK. As a product manufacturer we understand the route to market and how policies may be best implemented to move sustainable building forward. I would like to encourage this development and growth within the AECB as pioneering policy makers.
My aim is to contribute towards making the sustainable building industry more accessible. A large proportion of our public are keen to be environmentally responsible, education and realistic solutions play a key role in the attempt to overcome perceived obstacles.
I have run my own businesses for fifteen years and prior to this I was a Company Secretary for a multi-national gift ware company.
Company Secretary - Peter Wilkinson MCIAT
Peter Wilkinson, as an architectural technologist, is a partner in EcoDesign and managing director of both Dales Contracts Ltd (building contractors) and Dales Renewables Ltd (renewable energy installers).
Peter studied at Leeds College of Building and Leeds School of Architecture, gaining an HNC in architecture and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists. He has subsequently qualified as a planning supervisor and a bench joiner, applying his practical knowledge and skills to the businesses.
Following 17 years in private practice, EcoDesign was formed in 1996 with an emphasis on sustainable building design and has worked in the domestic, community, retail and education sectors.
Dales Contracts Ltd was established in 1991 as a main stream building contractor, influencing many schemes to be more environmentally sustainable. In recent years, the business has concentrated more on the green building sector, working on various straw bale and low energy buildings.
Dales Renewables Ltd. was established in 2007 as solar thermal and wood pellet boiler installers and now regional suppliers of wood pellet fuel. Along with EcoDesign and Dales Contracts, Dales Renewables, adds to a package of sustainable building solutions.
Paul Ellis
Paul Ellis is a director and Chief Executive of the Ecology Building Society which has pursued an ecologically informed lending policy since its formation in 1981, enabling many borrowers to utilise innovative green building techniques. The Society recently affirmed it's commitment to advancing natural building technologies by constructing a straw bale meeting room extension to its headquarters building, itself a recent winner of Building Magazine's Sustainable Building of the Year award. Paul has a particular interest in advancing green building and is responsible for the further elaboration of the Society's lending policy.
Paul is a director of Ethical and Environmental Marketing Ltd (EEMG) and Mutual Vision Technologies Ltd. He is a committed environmentalist engaged in local conservation and woodland management, and is active in the Green Party.
Paul believes that the AECB as an expert, professional organisation can play an essential role in ensuring that commitments by Government to sustainability in building have substance, at a time when the need to combat Climate Change has never been more widely accepted.
Nick Grant
Nick Grant runs the water and wastewater consultancy Elemental Solutions (www.elementalsolutions.co.uk) and a director of Solution Elements Ltd. His experience ranges from practical product development to theoretical research into water efficiency and wastewater treatment and reuse.
In 2000 he wrote the guidance document for reed beds and sand filters, which supports the UK Building regulations. In 2001 he produced the 'Conserving Water in Buildings' best practice fact cards for the Environment Agency.
Nick is committed to an 'Eco-minimalist' approach to sustainable construction based on sound science and good design rather than bolt on solutions and green icons. Whilst a keen theorist, Nick is extremely practical having designed and developed commercial products, built sewage treatment systems and designed and built his own water and energy efficient house and office.
Cath Hassell
Cath Hassell is an expert in sustainable water strategies and integrated water management formed from a background of 14 years experience in the conventional plumbing industry and 10 years in environmental building. From 1998 - 2004 she worked at Construction Resources, designing and implementing rainwater harvesting and water efficient systems for domestic, commercial and industrial sites, and was a founder member of the UKRHA. She set up ech 2 o in 2004 and works with councils, developers, housing associations, architects and engineers, at both a strategic and individual site level, to successfully incorporate sustainable water systems into the built environment. www.ech2o.co.uk
She is also co-director of Cut the Carbon, who use carbon allowance cards, balloons, dinosaurs and the Cut the Carbon board game to teach school pupils about carbon literacy in a fun and interactive way. www.cutthecarbon.com
Cath has been on the AECB committee since 2000 and has been actively involved in many subgroups. She represented the AECB on the 2005 review to Part L and was on the Building Regulations Advisory Committee for the original revisions to Part G. She feels that the AECB holds a unique position with its environmental stance on buildings, and the breadth of knowledge amongst its members and is encouraged that the AECB is listened to at Government level.
Neill Lewis
Neill has been a member of the AECB since 1990 and was appointed to the first ever committee in 1993. He has represented the Association at exhibitions and conferences and on other bodies.
He is on the Membership Sub-committee, charged with investigating methods of re-forming the membership structure and improving benefits to members.
Neill is also a part of SussEd, the Sustainable Skills and Education initiative, still in its infancy, developing as the arm of the AECB providing training and education in the building industry.
Neill is a Chartered Architect practising in Malvern, Worcestershire. He is a qualified teacher, designing and delivering educational courses on building-related subjects for professionals and the general public, with particular emphasis on environmental sustainability. He was Development Tutor, Sustainable Building Technology at Worcester College of Technology. He has published articles on eco subjects as diverse as paint trials, furniture construction and roofing technology.
Neill has been chair of Malvern Hills Agenda 21, a member of Friends of the Earth and was instrumental in securing protection for the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty through amendments to an Act of Parliament.
Neill believes that the Association, having established itself as a leader in the eco-building field, must continue to raise its profile in order to remain at the forefront by
- Being a forum for debate
- Being the acknowledged advisory body
- Campaigning on selected issues
- Providing education and training
Sally Starbuck
Sally Starbuck, working in architectural practice for 20 years, has been becoming an ecotect for somewhat longer: Her Thesis project (Turkish Baths as urban regenerator) was inspired by a dissertation study of urban waterfront renewal under the sceptical eye of Dr. Brenda Vale at Nottingham University. Sally has since specialised in eco building, from neo-neolithic visitor centre to timber-kindergarten. Currently deeply involved as job architect on a five storey massive timber office building (on site), containing the whole gamut of 'green' techniques, she has her hands full. However, the AECB is important to her as a multiplier; unless there is widespread change we will have little chance as a species.
Working with Paul Leech: Gaia ecotecture for over ten years, based in Dublin, has provided objectivity regarding environmentally-conscious design in the UK: Too often hindered in opinion-forming/ decision-making circles by an easy parochial slur. The issues are complex, and not resolved by experts being paraphrased by 'mainstreaming' minds. Sally is a member of The Village project, building a sustainable community, and, hopefully, a new influential model.
While it's a task to remain alert to rapid changes, networks like the AECB are crucial support to each of us ploughing our own furrow for the sake of sharing far-future harvests.
Geoff Stow
Geoff's background is community empowerment via work in adventure playgrounds, community video and photography and then self build.
He was chair of a self-build scheme in Lewisham where he built a house with his partner and went on to site manage other self in London and Brighton . All of these were projects with a high environmental spec.
Geoff has been active in the Walter Segal Self Build Trust for many years as a supporter, development worker and now as a consultant.
Geoff's main interest is bringing information to the widest audience by a range of strategies including theory and practical courses throughout Britain with he WSSBT and CAT, exhibitions. One aspect of all these projects involves looking at the environmental impact of the building and how this can be reduced as well as making houses and community buildings that are efficient, safe and pleasant to live and work in.
He has been a supporter of AECB for many years representing it at exhibitions and conferences around the country.
Peter Wilshaw
Peter spent 20 years working in civil engineering specialising latterly in large-scale water treatment projects. He has always been interested in environmental issues and in the early nineties founded the environmental building company Greenbuilt.
With work partner Chris Coates they explored Segal style buildings at the Centre for Alternative Technology, and traditional constructions resulting in their first major project. This was a cruck frame barn in green oak which became a core element of Lanternhouse, a RIBA award winning artist project base and training centre in Cumbria .
Since then Peter has gone on to design and make buildings large and small, as the Greenbuilt strapline says, with people, for people- adults with learning difficulties, the long-term unemployed, parents, children, young people and artists.
In 2000 he designed and built the first contemporary environmentally sustainable houses in North Staffordshire , training local building inspectors on the way, and has been looking for as many opportunities to intervene in the regeneration agenda as possible.
As well as construction projects with Greenbuilt, Peter works with arts companies, chairs the trustees of a local social enterprise, Community Works and is a member of Sustainable Staffordshire.
