WIREDGOV

They are committing themselves to support progress towards a built environment that contributes low or zero net carbon emissions as quickly as practically possible.

The 43 organisations and companies, whose combined influence on building projects and developments is hugely significant, joined a squad headed by the Sustainable Development Commission, the Design Commission for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The home of Welsh Rugby provided the backdrop for the “coalition of the willing”, as they added their names to the landmark initiative. Members of the coalition include the Federation of Master Builders, the National House-Building Council, the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment and CBI Wales.

The initiative was launched at the Built Environment and Climate Change Summit at the Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, by Environment, Sustainability and Housing Minister Jane Davidson and Jonathon Porritt, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission.

The coalition will play a major role in the development of low/zero carbon buildings ahead of the UK Government’s target of achieving zero carbon new homes by 2016 and achieve a major step change in Wales by 2011. It will also work towards significantly increasing the energy efficiency of the existing building stock in Wales, contributing towards the Wales target of 3% annual reductions in emission reductions from 2011 onwards.

Reductions of 3% each year would enable Wales to achieve an 80% reduction before 2050. One method of reducing Wales’ carbon footprint is via improving the energy efficiency of buildings, as the direct and indirect consumption of energy from buildings generates approximately 40% of all carbon emissions in the UK.

The Assembly Government have stated the aspiration that all new buildings built from 2011 must be zero carbon in relation to space heating, hot water and lighting. By implementing the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM it will help the industry take a stepped approach towards the target of zero carbon.

All new housing that has Assembly Government funding or is built on Welsh Assembly owned land must meet The Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 (moving to Code level 4 as soon as practically possible) and all non domestic buildings must meet the BREEAM excellent standard.

The SDC and DCfW were asked by Jane Davidson AM, to create a “coalition of the willing” of key stakeholders from the private, public and voluntary sectors that will commit to taking a “can do” approach to tacking climate change through the built environment.

Ms Davidson said:

Today is another Wales first in the battle against climate change demonstrating our ‘can do’ attitude. We all believe early action is needed, and the charter confirms Wales’ commitment to do all we can to tackle climate change and reduce our carbon footprint.

The built environment is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases in Wales. The way in which we construct and use our homes and other buildings accounts for 40% of our total carbon emissions. It is vital that all our new buildings are energy efficient and as green as possible.

This charter is a demonstration of the coalition of the willing, of how diverse groups from all over Wales are ready to use their voice and powers to help Wales reduce its carbon footprint.

Jonathon Porritt, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, said:

It is very heartening to see that Wales has the foresight and ambition to accelerate progress towards a sustainable built environment. I hope that the collaborative, coordinated approach demonstrated today will enable it to make swift progress and be an exemplar for the rest of the UK.

Related Links

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/climate_change/?lang=en

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/sustainabledevelopment/?lang=en