In this country, new construction technologies are developed almost daily. Even more amazing is the amount of time and research devoted to discovering new building materials, which make contemporary construction jobs both exciting and challenging.

One example is hemp, which can be used to build carbon-neutral homes. Scientists at the University of Bath?s BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials recently began a three-year project to collect scientific and engineering data about the benefits of using hemp in construction jobs. A healthy grant of ?391,000 from the Department For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs makes the project sound even more promising.

Scientists reveal that hemp, as a plant, stores carbon during its growth. This, combined with lime, which has excellent insulating properties, is capable of giving hemp a ?better than zero??? carbon footprint as a building material. Better still, it takes only four months for an area the size of a rugby pitch to grow enough hemp to build a typical three-bedroom house, saving both time and money for those with construction jobs.

While scientists focus on measuring the strength, durability and energy efficiency of buildings made of lime-hemp material, Hempcrete, as it is now called, is already used in the development of carbon neutral homes at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford, just outside of London. The project serves as an example of how the material may be applied to create almost entirely recyclable sustainable homes for less than ?75,000. Builders are confident that these ?renewable houses??? will change people?s views on construction jobs that involve low-cost sustainable hosing.

Specifically, the difference between these affordable and deliverable houses and their traditionally constructed counterparts is 13.5 tonnes less carbon dioxide per building. Another advantage of using Hempcrete is that only a small plant is required to install the materials, which in turn reduces the overall building budget. As those with construction jobs would tell you, a typical tower crane costs no less than ?650 per day. In comparison, construction on the aforementioned BRE site only requires a forklift truck to raise buckets of hemp-lime mix for use in building upper stories.