As part of the Progress Report on the Strategy for Sustainable Construction the Government and industry has revealed the achievements made so far on their commitments to change radically the way the UK construction industry designs and builds.

There has been good progress since the launch of the Strategy for Sustainable Construction in June 2008 .

The report shows that a number of significant achievements have been made in the last year, with the passing of the Climate Change Act, developments under New Industry New Jobs, publication of the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, and the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.

One example of these steps towards a greener construction industry is the commitment, by construction organisations representing more than a quarter of the industry by value, to the Strategy’s Halving Waste to Landfill target.


The Strategy is also supporting the work of the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, which is on target to achieve a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by 2020.

Ian Lucas, Business Minister with responsibility for construction said: "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.

"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."

Graham Watts, (pictured) Chief Executive Construction Industry Council said: "The first annual progress report from the Delivery Board responsible for rolling out the Strategy for Sustainable Construction shows that much very good work has been done since the strategy was launched in July 2008 but that there remains a great deal yet to do. 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."

(CD/GK)