UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) launches manifesto
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) launched its manifesto at a breakfast briefing at Ecobuild on Wednesday, March 3. Paul King, UKGBC's chief executive, was joined by Greg Clark MP, Conservative shadow secretary of state for energy & climate change, Paul Morrell, government chief construction advisor and Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on energy & climate change.
Paul King was pleased to be celebrating UKGBC's first three years. It was set up by industry to lead on cutting carbon in the built environment and had made significant progress. In launching the five-point manifesto, Paul pointed out that it will take both government and industry leadership to put the UK on track for a sustainable built environment. The five-point manifesto included:
1. COMMIT TO A 50 PER CENT CUT IN CARBON EMISSIONS FROM THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT BY 2020
2. STICK TO THE ZERO CARBON TARGETS, FOR BOTH NEW HOMES AND NEW NON-DOMESTIC BUILDINGS
3. MAKE LOW CARBON HOME REFURBISHMENT EASY, AFFORDABLE AND ATTRACTIVE
4. DRIVE THE REFURBISHMENT OF NONDOMESTIC BUILDINGS UP THE AGENDA
5. DELIVER SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE
To download the manifesto, please click here.
During the launch, Paul Morrell, the government's chief construction adviser, gave an insight into the task facing him, and the road ahead in his role. He said that the UK construction industry is incredibly complex, and he was to be the interface between this fragmented industry and another equally diverse organisation: the government.
He was currently meeting with around eight organisations from the industry each week, and although he had come across several leading organisations, there was no clear industry leadership. Many wanted to lead but to lead they have to be at the front, and there was little evidence of this.
On to the subject encouraging the public to be more sustainable by offering finance to improve the efficiency of their homes, Paul didn't think they would cooperate. Certainly not as there was no credible supply chain of regulated, warranted and accredited companies that the public would be happy to carry out such work on their homes - at present, any such work would have to be completed piecemeal, with numerous visits to homes from various trades, which just would not be acceptable to homeowners.
