Government And Industry
Launch Progress Report On Strategy For Sustainable Construction
News Release issued by
the COI News Distribution Service on 15 September 2009
As part of the
Progress Report on the Strategy for Sustainable Construction the
Government and industry today revealed the achievements made so
far on their commitments to change radically the way the UK
construction industry designs and builds.
There has been good progress since the launch of the Strategy for
Sustainable Construction in June 2008 and this has been an
excellent example of joint work between industry and Government.
The report shows that a number of significant achievements have
been made in the last year, with the passing of the Climate Change
Act, developments under New Industry New Jobs, publication of the
Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, and the UK Low Carbon Transition
Plan.
One example of these steps towards a greener construction
industry is the commitment, by construction organisations
representing more than a quarter of the industry by value, to the
Strategy’s Halving Waste to Landfill target.
The Strategy is also supporting the work of the UK Low Carbon
Transition Plan, which is on target to achieve a 34% reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by 2020.
Ian Lucas, Business Minister with responsibility for construction said:
“This progress report demonstrates the Government’s commitment to
put in place measures to drive forward the sustainability agenda
and support industry with these aims.
“I am pleased to see we are making steps towards reaching these
targets, but there is further work to be done to build on these
achievements and reach the overarching goals of the Strategy.”
Ian Pearson, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, the minister
responsible for improving the sustainability of operations and
procurement across Government said:
"We've made great strides to develop an
effective working relationship with industry to deliver our
sustainability objectives, in particular the work led by the
Office of Government Commerce on improving the sustainability of
the Government's estate.
"Now our challenge is to maintain this momentum in the
face of the current economic climate to ensure we continue to
improve the estate and meet our Climate Change Act targets for
2020 and 2050."
Graham Watts, Chief Executive Construction Industry Council said:
“The first annual progress report from the Delivery Board
responsible for rolling out the Strategy for Sustainable
Construction shows that much very good work has been done since
the strategy was launched in July 2008 but that there remains a
great deal yet to do. The industry - in its broadest sense - is
certainly alive to the need for sustainable construction and to
the importance of the Construction Commitments and the progress
report serves as a very concise point of reference with which to
assess progress and exert more combined effort from government and
industry”
The construction programme of the London 2012 venues and
infrastructure is an example of sustainable construction in
action, with the Olympic Park being built to the most
comprehensive range of sustainability criteria ever adopted by a
large scale project in the UK. Recycled materials have been used
to build the site, and more than half of these have been
transported to the site by low carbon transport.
Moving forward, the delivery of the Strategy will be overseen by
the newly announced Chief Construction Adviser who will be
chairing an enhanced Delivery Board for the Strategy. This will
ensure a higher level of cooperation and accountability between
Government and industry in the delivery of its sustainable
construction agenda.
Notes to Editors
1. For more information and the Progress Report on the
Sustainable Construction Strategy in full you can access the BIS
website here: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/sectors/construction/sustainability/page13691.html
2. The report has been signed off by the relevant Government
departments and the industry including the Strategic Forum for
Construction, as well as by the industry representatives on the
Strategic Forum for Construction: the UK Contractors Group (UKCG)
and Construction Confederation (CC), the Construction Industry
Council (CIC), the Construction Products Association, the
Construction Clients Group (CCG),the British Property Federation
(BPF), and the National Specialist Contractor’s Council (NSCC) and
Specialists Contractors’ Group (SCG).
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is
building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the
conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise
and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to
succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities
and promote an open global economy. BIS - Investing in our future.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Lucy Sutton
Phone: 020 7215 5977
Lucy.Sutton@bis.gsi.gov.uk