Construction industry praised on green progress

The progress of sustainable construction in the UK has been largely praised in a new Government report published this week, however it is also claimed that more effort is needed to achieve the overall aims of the programme. The update on the Strategy for Sustainable Construction, presented by the UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, described the progress as "an excellent example of joint work between industry and Government", and noted the introduction of various supporting schemes including the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy and the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.

The commitment of the industry to move towards a greener future was highlighted in the report with the voluntary decision by more than a quarter of the sector to adopt the Strategy's "Having Waste to Landfill" goal.

The creation of a 'chief construction advisor' role was also described by the report as an important way to increase levels of co-operation between Government and industry on sustainability.

"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," said Ian Lucas, Business Minister with Responsibility for Construction. "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."

"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," added Graham Watts, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Council.