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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