President and CEO
of Skanska UK Mike Putnam has been appointed as the new Co-Chair
of the Green Construction Board (GCB), it has been announced today
(02 July).
Mr Putnam joins Business Minister Mark Prisk as Co-Chair of the
Board, which is taking a unified approach to the problems facing
the industry, providing strategic leadership on key issues and
identifying steps to promote the UK's excellence in green
construction.
The appointment will be formally announced later today at the
Government Construction Summit in London by the Minister. He will
join Mr Putnam to talk about stimulating growth and the role of
the GCB in spearheading the transition towards a low carbon economy.
Business Minister Mark Prisk said:
“I’m pleased to welcome Mike to the role of industry Co-Chair
of the Board. Having been committed to the Board since its
beginning, he is a valued member of the team who has vast
construction experience that makes him ideal for the role.
“We have a busy agenda over the coming months. For example,
we will be working to publish the final version of our Routemap,
and developing guidance for construction businesses to show the
top twenty steps they should take to green their operations.
“I know that Mike will offer both the invaluable insight and
strategic direction required to lead the Board through the times ahead.”
Mike Putnam, President and CEO of Skanska UK, said:
“I am honoured to have been asked to take on this role. I
strongly believe that the construction industry has a major part
to play in the green agenda, the result of which will also be good
for the green economy.
“The Green Construction Board provides a unique opportunity
for Government and industry to work together in a collaborative
approach to deliver the strong leadership that is vital to
success. I will personally champion this and work with my fellow
trustees to drive change for the longer term benefit.”
Mr Putnam replaces Dan Labbad who has stepped down from the
role after becoming Lend Lease Group CEO. Mr Labbad will re-locate
to Australia for his new position.
The GCB has achieved fundamental milestones since its
formation, including:
Establishing seven working groups, consisting of over 160
leading industry and Government representatives, who will deliver
a comprehensive programme of activity;Creating an initial Routemap
to set out the industry’s direction to 2050;Issuing a call for
evidence to create a ‘knowledge database’ for low carbon and
research development; andSuccessfully integrating the work of the
Sustainable Construction Task Force.
Launched in November 2011, the GCB is a consultative forum for
Government and the UK design, construction, infrastructure and
property industry in order to ensure a sustained high level
conversation and to develop and implement a long term strategic
framework for the promotion of innovation and sustainable growth.
Notes to editors: 1. Green Construction Board
Government and industry is building on the work of the Low
Carbon Construction IGT and working collaboratively through
the GCB to drive forward the actions set out in the Low
Carbon Construction Action Plan. The full Terms of Reference
of the group are available for download
(PDF, 28 Kb)
To find out more about the Green Construction Board visit www.bis.gov.uk
2. The Government's economic policy objective
is to achieve 'strong, sustainable and balanced growth
that is more evenly shared across the country and between
industries.' It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan
for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
· To create the most competitive tax system in the G20;
· To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and
grow a business;
· To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more
balanced economy;
· To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible
in Europe.
Work is underway across Government to achieve these
ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of
the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new
impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the
public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which
the Government wants the economy to travel.
3. BIS's online newsroom contains the latest press
notices, speeches, as well as video and images for download. It
also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See
http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom
for more information.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
bispress.releases@bis.gsi.gov.uk
Andy Aston
Phone: 0207 215 6963
andy.aston@bis.gsi.gov.uk