Construction Leadership Council plots path to net-zero

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which is co-chaired by Minister for Business and Industry, Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has outlined plans to help the sector reach net-zero emissions as part of the wider national target.


Construction Leadership Council plots path to net-zero

By 2035

The CLC has published a Construct Zero Performance Framework, following consultation with industry, with more than 2,500 comments received to shape the framework.

It outlines measures to accelerate domestic retrofitting, moving away from diesel generators and reduce energy from production as methods to help the sector reach net-zero.

CLC’s co-chair Andy Mitchell said: “We are seeing huge demand from across the sector to push forward towards Net Zero, and this has been reflected in the level of consultation feedback we received when we tested these metrics with industry.

“We can have confidence that these measures will help guide us towards a lower carbon future, and I look forward to seeing progress”.

The new framework has numerous targets with different deadlines, all of which are designed to help reach net-zero emissions. By 2035, for example, 78% of diesel plants are to be eliminated from construction sites.

From 2025, planning applications from the sector must connect to public transport and included electric vehicle (EV) charging if parking is provided. All new buildings will be designed with low-carbon heating solutions by the same deadline. Also by 2025, new homes and buildings will minimise energy demand and reduce emissions in operation by 75% for dwellings and 27% for commercial buildings compared to today’s levels.

The CLC will also work with Government to deliver retrofitting to 27 million homes by 2040.

The Council will also offer the chance for clients to become net-zero by offering new design options by 2022 and by 2035, the CLC will have reduced construction product emissions by 66% from 2018 levels.

The CLC will also encourage 1,500 businesses across the construction industry to sign up to relevant coalitions and movements, include Race to Zero and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by 2025.

Construction Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “The Performance Framework provides Government and Industry with a sector-level dashboard on progress towards net zero, aimed at enabling businesses to action progress and encouraging those outside the sector to take the key steps on the broader journey to net-zero.

“It’s important that the sector holds itself to account for the commitments it has made; the Performance Framework will enable the industry to do this, reporting progress on a quarterly basis, building on existing publicly available data.”


Mission Possible: Achieving a green recovery for the built environment

edie’s Mission Possible campaign has evolved to focus on the green recovery, with a new series of reports outlining the challenges that businesses in key sectors face in relation to the coronavirus pandemic, and the opportunities that the green recovery will bring. 

One of the sectors highlighted is the built environment. The Mission Possible: Green Recovery report for this sector is supported by E.ON and features an exclusive viewpoint from UK Research and Innovation. It outlines and analyses the results of edie’s green recovery survey of 243 sustainability and energy professionals and also summarises in-depth discussions with a steering panel of sustainability experts from some of the world’s most respected construction and built environment firms in the vanguard of sustainability leadership.

Click here to download the free Mission Possible report. 

Matt Mace

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