|
|
| Conference | |
| About us Feedback Register Contact Advertise Editorial Finditforme | Publications Partners Links Discussions Quiz |
Channel Homepages
» Home
» Sustainable Business » Green Buildings » Contaminated Land » Water/Wastewater » Waste/Recycling » Energy/Carbon » edie Ireland » Resource Centres » Sustainabilitylive! Site SponsorTo see all site sponsors, click here
|
28 January 2008 Government buildings failing on sustainabilityA report from the Public Accounts Committee said Government should be setting an example but its departments are making poor progress on implementing better environmental standards. Government departments and agencies spend about £3bn a year on new buildings and major refurbishments and ministers have set estate-wide sustainability standards for this construction work. In 2005-06, mandatory environmental assessments were carried out in only 35% of new builds and 18% of major refurbishment projects, the committee found, and only 9% of projects met the required standards. MPs said departments were also making poor progress against their environmental targets for estate management, including reducing water consumption and carbon emissions and are failing to assess costs and benefits of sustainable design options on a whole-life basis, partly because of pressure to reduce initial capital costs. The report said: "The poor performance against sustainability standards reflects the low priority accorded to this agenda within individual departments." The committee recommended better monitoring and leadership systems, more guidance from Defra to departments, and more help from the Treasury to purchase sustainable design options. The report was backed by the Environmental Industries Commission, which has written to the Environment Secretary to support the committee's criticisms. Director Merlin Hyman said: "The EIC has been actively campaigning on Government's poor performance in meeting sustainability standards in its own buildings. "It is no surprise that the Public Accounts Committee has found that only 9% of projects have met the required environmental standards. "EIC has written to Hilary Benn to call for Government to urgently review and improve its poor performance in ensuring that public buildings meet high standards of energy efficiency and sustainability." Kate Martin Source: edie newsroom
This story is tagged as:
construction | Europe | government | green buildings | UK Click on a keyword to see more stories on that topic Share this
 Click here to leave a commentCommentsenergy efficiency
By Janette Cullen I agree, I work in a government building, there is little recycling, only for paper / card. No ISO14001, monitors & PC's left on overnight, no environmental training given to staff, little awareness of resource depletion e.g. lots of plastic bags used when sustainable containment would be more appropriate. © Faversham House Group Ltd 2008. edie news articles may be copied or forwarded
for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent.
|
 You are notlogged in » Log in here Why not register for your free weekly newsletter? Related Stories A government taskforce set up to stimulate the construction sector will be looking to low carbon building to boost the markets.» £60m for ecotowns Four communities in southern England are to share £60m of Government cash to build 'eco show homes' as part of the wider ecotowns agenda.» Waste management plans help win builders business A survey of the construction industry haws shown that a formal Site Waste Management Plan is seen as potential way to sway developers offering contracts.» Olympics green build 'on track' say organisers The Olympics Delivery Authority has said it is either meeting or exceeding all the sustainability targets laid down for the 2012 construction project.
Related Media» Tony Juniper at Ecobuild 2009Tony Juniper, former executive director of Friends of the Earth, joins the debate at Ecobuild on whether science can save us from climate change.
» Cool Hunting - seeking out London's green gemsCate Trotter, whose company Insider London runs guided tours with a green flavour in London, talks to Sam Bond about what the city has to offer
» Techniques for Fast Laboratory Analysis of SoilsSteve Moss, Technical Specialist in Contaminated Land & Waste from the National Laboratory speaks about the techniques for fast analysis of soils
» See more
|
Send to a friend
Link to this page
| Conference | |
| About us Feedback Register Contact Advertise Editorial Finditforme | Publications Partners Links Discussions Quiz |
Other Faversham House Websites include
Environment Awards | Builders Merchants Journal | Desalination & Water Reuse | web4water | edie Ireland | Heating and Ventilating Review | HousewaresLive | FHG Media
Environment Awards | Builders Merchants Journal | Desalination & Water Reuse | web4water | edie Ireland | Heating and Ventilating Review | HousewaresLive | FHG Media
» Discussion - Can we cut building emissions fast enough to meet targets?
» Discussion - Will energy meters cut climate change or are they a gimmick?