Sustainability and Construction
The Strategy for Sustainable Construction is a joint industry and Government initiative intended to promote leadership and behavioural change, as well as delivering benefits to both the construction industry and the wider economy.
It aims to realise the shared vision of sustainable construction by:
- Providing clarity to business on the Government's position by bringing together diverse regulations and initiatives relating to sustainability;
- Setting and committing to higher standards to help achieve sustainability in specific areas;
- Making specific commitments by industry and Government to take the sustainable construction agenda forward.
Why this Strategy is needed
The construction industry is significant: its output is worth over £100bn a year. It accounts for 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides employment for around 3 million workers. The public sector is a major client of the industry and is responsible for directly procuring about a third of all construction.
The output of the construction industry, be it public buildings, commercial buildings, homes or infrastructure such as our roads, harbours and sea defences, has a major impact on our ability to maintain a sustainable economy overall and has a major impact on our environment. Moreover, it is clear that we cannot meet our declared environmental targets without dramatically reducing the environmental impact of buildings and infrastructure construction; we have to change the way we design and build
