Recent developments in sustainable construction

There are many aspects of Government policy in this broad area. Examples include: the Sustainable Communities Plan; revisions to the Building Regulations; the Barker review; Sir John Egan’s Review of Construction Skills; the Aggregates Levy; Landfill tax; planning.

One of most important initiatives was the formation of Sustainable Buildings Task Group. Set up at the instigation of the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Margaret Beckett Secretary of State for the Environment and Patricia Hewitt Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, following the Better Buildings Summit (October 2003), the Group was tasked with the challenge of delivering better, environmentally friendlier buildings.

The Task Group had two co-chairmen: Sir John Harman, Chairman of the Environment Agency and Victor Benjamin, Deputy Chairman of English Partnerships. Membership of the Group was from a very wide church, and was quite pointedly not constrained to just representatives of the construction industry. Importantly, the Group was asked to consider both new build as well as refurbishments; and non-domestic as well as residential.

The Task Group reported to Government in May 2004. Their report includes the following recommendations:

• the establishment of a single national Code for Sustainable Building (CSB)
• the CSB should be based on BREEAM and incorporate clearly specified minimum standards in key resource efficiency criteria
• the setting of statutory minimum levels of resource efficiency in buildings. These could include:
  • minimum recycled content
  • energy efficiency savings
  • water consumption savings.
• If the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill (see below) should fall, the Task Group recommends that Government should legislate at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the legislative objective of the Bill is achieved.
  
  [The Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill is a private member’s bill introduced by Andrew Stunell MP. One of key objectives of the Bill is to give new powers under the Building Act 1984 to address the sustainability of buildings, for example tackling the environmental impact of materials used. The Bill received Royal Assent in September 2004.]

In July 2004, Government responded to the recommendations of the Task Group. In their response, Government wholeheartedly supports the principle recommendations of the Task Group and the majority of means for delivering them. Although Regulatory Impacts Assessments will be required before committing in detail to specific action, Government accepts and supports the desire for rapid progress in achieving more sustainable buildings.

Government called on the whole of industry involved in buildings to demonstrate the ambition to meet the challenges set by the Task Group’s recommendations. And the three Secretaries of State specifically acknowledged the Steel Construction Sector Sustainability Committee’s offer of support, as well as the Committee’s comments on the report.

The report, and the government’s response, are freely available from the DTi website: http://www.dti.gov.uk/