Welsh building groups sign up to green charter

Almost 50 building groups and trade bodies have signed up to a green charter to cut carbon emissions in Wales.

Developed by the Welsh Assembly, the Sustainable Development Commission and the Design Commission for Wales, the charter has more than 40 signatures from leading firms.

It aims to support energy-efficient construction, share examples of green building practices and increase access to relevant training.

Supported by the Federation of Master Builders, which has 600 Welsh members, the charter is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

But the Conservative’s environment spokesman Darren Millar told the BBC the agreement only represented a small part of the Welsh construction industry.

“I remain concerned that despite the manifesto commitments of the Labour-Plaid coalition, the promise to devolve building regulations to Wales – the key tool in delivering real change in the construction industry – is yet to be fulfilled,” he said.

“As such the assembly government is still failing to deal with the massive challenge of retro-fitting inefficient buildings across Wales.”