Feb 6 2006
Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, the Rt. Hon Alun Michael, today launched a new consultation to provide the Government with a framework to guide future progress in the construction industry.
The draft Strategy for Sustainable Construction Report 2006 consultation will seek advice and opinions from key construction stakeholders in order to develop a plan to ensure sustainability in years to come.
The review will look at aspects such as:
- building design and the code for sustainable homes;
- new construction methods and best practice;
- improved embedded energy systems;
- waste minimisation;
- enhancement of biodiversity; and
- greater efficiency in carbon emissions and thorough assessment of the impact of climate change.
Alun Michael said, "This consultation shows where we think the industry should go in terms of its future development as well as indicating where businesses believe their efforts should be concentrated. I hope that the Strategy will encourage industry to propose a positive response to some of the big questions it faces.
"The purpose of the review is to create a framework within which the industry can continue to make a strong contribution to improving the quality of our lives and take account of the dynamics of the modern built environment."
The results of this new consultation will build on April 2000’s ‘Building a better quality of life’ document, which outlined the original strategy for more sustainable construction.
Due to the major developments which have occurred both in Government policy and within industry it is widely believed that a review of the existing construction strategy and update is now appropriate.
The review is also well-timed to follow on from March 2005’s ‘UK Sustainable Development Strategy’ which reinforces Government's overall commitment to work with the industry sectors to strengthen business.