On 15 June, issue 1.0 of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment was been published on the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) website.

The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment has been developed on behalf of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and is part of the Council’s Construct Zero initiative. The Code has been developed by the Achieving Net Zero Cross-Industry Working Group convened by CSIC. It is a first step to facilitate action towards reducing carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance and operation of built assets.

Leading sustainability experts, industry and government representatives will be speaking at the online launch of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment, hosted by the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC), at the University of Cambridge on 17 June.

The launch event will be introduced by Hannah Vickers, CEO, Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), and Jennifer Schooling OBE, Director of CSIC, and will include short presentations by the organisations which are currently conducting trials of the Code including: James Wilcox, representing the National Association of Construction Frameworks (NACF); Kat Ibbotson, Net Zero Carbon Infrastructure Programme Manager at the Environment Agency; and Chris Hayes, Sustainability Operations Director, Skanska UK. Feedback from the trials, which are being conducted across different organisational scales, have helped to shape the development of the Code, which is broad in intent and designed for participating organisations to share experience and learn from each other.

“It is essential that our industry reduces carbon emissions and the more organisations that sign up to the Code the more we will achieve. Carbon reduction is much more likely to happen when all organisations within a value chain are committed to working together to reduce their footprint and save costs,” said Dr Jennifer Schooling, Director of CSIC. “Collaboration is the key to success, and with alignment across all parties we can progress towards the net zero carbon objective at the pace required. There are already many excellent examples of carbon reduction measures among our Achieving NetZero Cross-Industry Working Group and the Code builds upon these strengths to provide an encouraging, supportive and collaborative approach to reducing carbon.”

The launch event will feature short reflections on the trial and the Carbon Reduction Code given by Peter Yates, Regional Frameworks Director, Constructing West Midlands and Vice Chair, NACF; Charmaine Hughes, Programme Manager and Head of Frameworks (NWCH), Manchester City Council; and Fergus HarradenceDeputy Director, Construction, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and also Stuart Young of BEIS.  The hour-long launch event, which is free to register and open to all, will conclude with a Q&A with the speakers.

Visit the FIS Sustainability Hub for resources and supporting information that will support your journey to net zero.