Sustainable construction: reality or myth?

The Chartered Institute of Building's survey on sustainability reveals an industry keen to deliver a greener built environment, but demanding leadership from the top. Justin Stanton analyses the results.

What does the industry think is the best way to meet the sustainability agenda? A combination of tougher Building Regulations and more client-led demand are necessary - notwithstanding the fact that the majority believe the industry is unable to deliver zero carbon buildings en masse.

That's the key conclusion to draw from the Chartered Institute of Building's (CIOB) latest survey. A total of 847 construction professionals, the majority of whom are CIOB members, responded. It comes as no surprise to learn that 99.4% think sustainability is important for the construction industry (see table 1), nor that 89.3% believe construction has a vital or important role to play in solving climate change.

What's shocking is the few examples of green construction the respondents could think of the top five responses were:

• Bedzed
• Don't know
• BREEAM eco-homes
• The Eden project
• The Welsh Assembly

Notwithstanding the "don't know" response being the second most popular, the rest of the list is to be expected - and is depressing as a result. The Bedzed developments are fine examples of green construction, but surely there's something else out there? And as for the Eden project, it's not exactly holistically sustainable what with all those exhaust fumes generated by all the extra road traffic

This serves to highlight a common criticism of construction - that of poor dissemination of examples of best practice - and the fact that the industry and UK plc as a whole is at the bottom of a very steep learning curve.

The survey results also confirm the widely held belief that the industry is being held back by the confusion that envelops the issue what it needs is leadership and direction. While 73% of respondents said there has been an increase in demand from clients for energy-efficient buildings (and more than that said there are financial benefits), nearly a quarter said there is no financial incentive to produce zero carbon buildings en masse, while a fifth said there isn't enough client demand. The lack of a clear definition of what a zero carbon building is was cited by 14% of respondents (see tables 2a and 2b).

Asked if the Building Regs go far enough, exactly two-thirds said 'no'. Slightly more respondents also believe the industry does not have good leadership.

This is reinforced by the answers to the question: 'which of these needs the most improvement on sustainability?' The top four answers (table 3) were: clients, the government, end-users and designers - contractors were fifth.

CIOB deputy chief executive Michael Brown comments on the sustainability survey

CJ asked CIOB deputy chief executive Michael Brown for his thoughts. "[The survey results] suggest that the industry would like to see a more forceful set of regulations in place to drive sustainable development and market demand.

"Although this survey has identified an increase in demand for sustainable products over the last five years, this increase appears not to have reached significant enough levels. The reason for this lack of widespread market appetite is seen as a shortage of client awareness and education towards the financial benefits for building green projects. And yet 86% of respondents believe there are financial benefits to be had from producing energy efficient buildings.

"From this we can see that there is clear concern about climate change and a desire to enforce sustainable construction, but there is a lack of understanding about what is being done and what can be done to tackle these issues. The problem may lie in the fact there is still much debate among experts and political leaders concerning possible solutions and the affect that they will have in reducing climate change."

But the survey does provide some clarity, as Brown says: "From these results we can see that there is no debate to be had within the construction industry in regards to the direction that needs to be taken, but reaching these people with everyday solutions and practical changes seems to be where the 'green revolution' is falling short."

CO₂ reduction

So what about reducing CO₂? For a start, the survey reveals that just 7.4% think construction contributes most to CO₂. More than a third fingered the use of buildings after construction, a quarter blamed the production of materials and products and a fifth highlighted transport.

Notwithstanding these results, all respondents were asked what element of the built environment can do the most to reduce CO₂ currently (table 4). The most popular alternative was carbon neutral products (34.5% of the respondents), closely followed by waste management, recycled products and materials, and insulation. Scoring well, but not that high, was energy performance certificates, while scoring low were the likes of heat pumps, microgeneration and the utter nonsense that is carbon trading.

It is worth noting that nearly two-thirds (61.5%) said their firm already employs green construction methods, with waste management the most frequently cited method.

Asked what element of the built environment can do the most to reduce CO₂ (table 5), more than half of respondents indicated a desire for change to be led from the top of the supply chain via the Building Regs and architects and designers.

Also scoring highly were product manufacturers and education and training providers.

Brown says: "The CIOB welcomes the government's move to make all zero carbon homes exempt from Stamp Duty, but would like to see that widened to all new zero carbon buildings earning the same exemption. While exemptions from Stamp Duty will help incentivise new building projects, our existing stock needs further improvement. To encourage green initiatives and the employment of new technologies in both the domestic and commercial sectors, the CIOB believes that a large increase in the current level of government funding for the Low Carbon Building Programme, currently at £30m over three years, is needed."

Power generation

The CIOB expanded the scope of the survey beyond construction methods to look at views on power generation. Asked where the future of UK investment should be directed to create clean energy, respondents came down heavily in favour of two sources: renewables and nuclear (table 6a). Asked what energy sources the UK should develop, nearly two-thirds of respondents thought wind the best bet (table 6b). More than half opted for tidal/wave technology. Also scoring well were solar/photovoltaic, nuclear and biofuels.

The sustainability leadership question

One of the key findings of the survey was the need for clear and strong leadership on sustainability. The question follows of who should provide that leadership.

Many long-standing industry organisations and stakeholders have felt the need to position themselves at the forefront of the sustainability agenda: ConstructionSkills, the Strategic Forum, the CIOB itself, and the Construction Products Association to name a few. Meanwhile, the Modern Masonry Alliance was set up to see off the threat of so-called modern methods of construction (offsite), and the concrete and steel bodies take potshots at each other's eco-credentials at regular intervals

Then this year at Ecobuild, the UK Green Building Council (GBC) was launched.

So who should lead the industry on sustainability? Government? The Strategic Forum? The UK GBC? Al Gore? Another party? Take part in the latest contractjournal.com poll (on the homepage) and we'll print the answers in next week's issue.

CIOB Sustainability Survey results tables

1. How important is sustainability for the construction industry?
Alternatives	%
Vital	66.5
Important	32.9
Not important	0.6

2a. Is the industry currently able to produce zero carbon buildings en masse?
Alternatives	%
No	87.8
Yes	12.2

2b. If no, why?
Alternatives	%
No financial incentive	24
Not enough market (client) demand	20.9
Lack of clear definition for what a zero carbon building is	14
Lack of information on 'how to'	8.7
Lack of leadership within industry	7.4
Not enough carbon neutral building products	7
Poor energy efficient designs	5
Other	4.7
Shortage of specialist skills	3.5
The government's carbon programme grants too low	3.2
Restrictive regulations	1.6

3. Which of these need the most improvement on sustainability?
Alternatives	%
Clients	20.2
Government	17.8
End users	15.6
Designers	15.5
Contractors	11
Local authority building control	7.1
Planning	3
Professional bodies	2.6
Education providers	2.2
Other	1.7
Consultants	1.5
Trade associations	1.5
Surveyors	0.4

4. Which of these will give the most benefit to reducing CO2 currently?
Alternatives	%
Carbon neutral building products	34.5
Waste management	32.9
Recycled building products/materials	32.6
Insulation	31.4
Low carbon building programme	29
Building regulations	28.2
Code for sustainable homes	22.8
Solar panels/photovoltaics	18.8
Energy performance certificates	18.3
PPS22 renewable energy	14.8
Prefabrication	7.9
Community heating programmes	6.5
Heat pump	4.8
Carbon trading	4.4
Microgeneration	3.7

5. What element of the built environment can do most to reduce CO2?
Alternatives	%
Building regulations	53.2
Architecture/design	51.2
Product manufacturers	43.8
Construction	33.4
Research	31
Education/training providers	27.8
Planning	18
Demolition	6.4
Other	2.7
Facilities management	1.4
Surveying	1.4

6a. Where do you see the future UK investment for clean energy?
Alternatives	%
Renewables	46.4
Nuclear	35.1
Local energy projects	12.3
Carbon capture and storage	5.2
Fossil fuels	1.1

6b. What energy sources should the UK develop?
Alternatives	%
Wind	61.5
Tidal/wave	50.7
Solar/photovoltaics	44.3
Nuclear	38.9
Biofuels	36.7
Microgeneration	15.1
Fusion	14.2
Clean coal	11.7
Gas	5.3
Other	2.5

The £1m question: So, if you had a £1m budget for sustainability, what would you develop?

The respondents to the survey had some strong ideas, not all focused on construction: some were keen to take a more holistic view, addressing other industries that contribute significantly to climate change. Here are the highlights:

• Create a serious investigation into wind turbine design. Ensure that the design is maintenance-friendly - too many early schemes have been mothballed due to lack of maintenance making them seem inefficient.
• A nationwide sustainable renovation project to transform all government buildings to sustainable ones.
• Combined windmill and wave turbine, so that one product would produce power from wind and waves.
• Sustainability learning centres in colleges.
• Toolkits for delivering sustainable developments, including briefing documents to ensure that all parts of their procurement process are aimed at procuring land, design, construction and post-construction management of buildings and estates in a sustainable manner.
• Focus on existing property, not new build. Develop a department to review and implement the upgrade of existing stock. This would be government-funded via a tax on non-sustainable energy.
• Promote greater awareness of local resources and client education of whole-life costing.
• £500,000 on sustainable education in schools £500,000 on naming and shaming large housebuilders that are doing little in sustainability.
• A database for clients, designers and contractors that rates products on aspects of sustainability. Use should be mandatory.
• Found an institute of excellence for sustainable construction methods.
• Ensure we address climate change, not global warming.
• Develop a building material to replace traditional masonry, which has a high thermal value.
• Energy-efficient vehicles and plant.
• £1m is not enough, but to tinker around the edges. When the government bans all cars that cannot do more than 60mpg on biofuel and restricts all cars to 70mph, I will believe that the government is genuinely concerned about the environment.
• A scheme that would allow a reversal in the current trend of PFI contracts, which have no real incentive to adopt sustainability principles.
• An umbrella organisation for construction on sustainability - with power to represent and enforce agreed programmes with the government and end-users.
• Use of magnetic energy, eg frictionless transport systems.
• Cleaner concrete/cement products. 1t of Portland cement produces 1t of CO2: there must be and are better ways of producing this material, which will greatly reduce construction's carbon footprint.
• Simple, achievable green building standards, taking into account all the aspects, ie. materials, construction, maintenance and operation/use.
• Make more of Britain's waterways for transporting materials.
• All portable site facilities to run on renewable energy.
• A very large cage into which one could place all architects. These devilish little creatures could be let out to practice again once they promise to incorporate sensible, environment-friendly design and products in their projects.

The CIOB's policy on sustainability

The CIOB recommends and supports:

• Providing incentives for domestic householders and businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and enhance fines for irresponsible waste.
• The provision of planning incentives for sustainable development.
• Enhancing the sustainability content of educational programmes and training.
• The promotion of the chartered environmentalist qualification.
• Sustainability and environmental CPD for employees and other built environment professionals.
• Environmental performance indicators.
• Calls for the government to show greater recognition and a higher priority on climate change and to show more leadership in all public buildings.
• The energy performance in buildings performance directive.
• Part L of the Building Regulations.

(Contract Journal, 15 August 2007, p 13-15)