Sustainability Archives - Page 12 of 14

FIS announces CO2nstructZero partnership

by Clair Mooney | 7 Sep, 2021 | Sustainability

As part of a wider commitment to Net Zero, FIS has announced that it will become a Partner to the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) CO₂nstructZero initiative.

CO₂nstructZero builds upon the way that the industry united last year as a single force to tackle Covid-19, ensuring a consistent approach is taken by the whole sector while avoiding duplication of work. The initiative focusses on three key areas Transport, Building Performance and Construction Activity and sets down 9 priorities for change focused on measurement, specification, procurement construction and waste management and cultural change.

A company who is supportive of CO₂nstructZero and has committed to the following:

Signposting and support
- Provide support/guidance to one or more of the 9 priorities which can be signposted from the CLC’s Construct Zero website
- Report back to the CZ programme board on areas of missing advice and guidance which could be developed to support your members/network
Communications and engagement o Use the range of your comms channels to cascade out CZ news and industry progress
- Host events for your members/network that focus on one or more of the 9 priorities, which support and are in collaboration with the CZ change programme
Performance metrics o Assist with the collection of data from the industry that will form part of the performance framework and quarterly reporting
- Support members in selecting the appropriate metrics and commitments to sign up to
- Monitoring organisations within your network who have signed up to ‘Race to Zero’, to encourage their continued commitment to reducing their emissions targets
Business Champions
- Support members to become business champions working with them to develop their initial case study.
- Finding an appropriate emerging leader to partner across your network with, if not able to find one internally
- Feature your business champion and emerging leaders in your comms, forums and events to help share their learning across your network to their peers

Commenting on the partnership Iain McIlwee, FIS CEO stated:

“Like so much of the CLC work in the past 12 months, CO₂nstructZero provides a framework that we can collaborate around, the three key focal points and 9 priorities make sense and it is up to us now as sectors to prioritise and structure our work so that we can feed into the bigger industry effort. I am grateful for the work done by colleagues so far and we are looking forward to getting stuck in, with our own leadership group, and helping to deliver change”.

Speaking on behalf of CO₂nstructZero and co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, Andy Mitchell said:

“We have an open call for partners and are keen to see dynamic and progressive organisations like FIS to help co-ordinate efforts in their own community so that as a wider construction sector our efforts are joined up, and amplifying the broader work of the sector in this space. Collaboration is key to change and it is fantastic to have the support of FIS in this work”

More on the CO₂nstructZero framework here

You can visit the FIS Sustainability Hub here

FIS Virtual Conference - A Path to Net Zero

Join us on 8 September at midday as we discuss the path to net zero.

In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. The Prime Minister has subsequently pledged that the UK will “Build Back Greener” with 2021 being the “defining year of climate action”. But what does all this actually mean to projects in the finishes and interiors sector.

Our three keynote speakers will cover:

Net Zero and the impact on Design – Adam Strudwick, Principal, Corporate Interiors, London, Perkins&Will
How Net Zero will impact construction procurement decisions – Anna Baker, Head of Sustainability, Carey Group
Net Zero, how to bring a focus to support change on your projects – Elina Grigoriou FRSA HonRICS, Design & Sustainability Director, Grigoriou Interiors

Once the keynotes are complete, a debate will be facilitated by Damon Schunmann, a freelance journalist and Strategic Consultant to Barbour ABI, and our speakers will be joined on the panel by representatives of the FIS Board.

New Sustainability Champion to lead change in the Finishes and Interiors Sector

by Clair Mooney | 6 Sep, 2021 | Sustainability

As part of a wider commitment to Net Zero, FIS has appointed a Sustainability Champion. This announcement is timed to coincide with Net Zero Week of the FIS Annual Conference 2021.

Flavie Lowres, will be joining the team on an initial six month contract from mid-September. Flavie has a PhD in Materials and Metallurgy Science and Engineering from the University of Birmingham. She joined BRE in June 2003, chairs the Construction Materials Group and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. Flavie spent 18 years at BRE where she was an Associate Director responsible for running the LCA and circular economy section of the team. She has been working in the field of materials sustainability since 2007 and has been involved in a number of UK and international projects related to sustainability in the built environment.

On her appointment FIS CEO Iain McIlwee said:

“In this appointment we are recognising our responsibility, but also the opportunity to ensure Net Zero isn’t just about a better planet, but also a healthier sector where procurement recognises more than just how far we can screw down the best and final price. Our strategy for change is focusssed on three key pillars I, we and them; how can I be better, how we can work better together and what help we need from them. This eflects our need to support individual members to take the first and next step, the importance of collaboration to delivering change and how we can use the FIS influence to support this change through policy and procurement. In Flavie we are bringing in some heavy weight expertise so that we can better target our support and ensure that we focus on curating support, collaborating widely and creating content or tools where needed”.

Flavie added

“I have seen the outline plan from FIS and am excited to get stuck in helping to shape and deliver change and working with FIS members to look at how we can really make a difference as a community”.

FIS is hosting a debate with Barbour ABI as part of their Annual Conference 2021 on Wednesday 8 September focussed on how the finishes and interiors sector is adapting in a journey to net zero. The organisation has also announced this week that it has entered into a partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School to create an virtual training hub to support individual businesses in delivering on the wider sustainability agenda and also that it has become a delivery partner for C02nstruct Zero, the Construction Leadership Council’s Net Zero Strategy.

You can book your free place at the FIS Round Table Debate A Path to Net Zero here

Join the conversation at #FISNetZeroChallenge

You can visit the FIS Sustainability Hub here.

Industry sets out single framework to measure journey to Net Zero

by Clair Mooney | 22 Jul, 2021 | Sustainability

Construction leaders have agreed clear targets for the industry to unite behind in its mission to drive carbon out of the sector.

On 20 July the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) published its Construct Zero Performance Framework. For the first time the framework sets out headline commitments for carbon reduction at a sector level, along with a series of measures and metrics to show how progress is being made.

The development of the framework draws on the extensive and detailed work undertaken across the sector by specialist groups and representative bodies to understand their emissions and develop their own plans. The framework seeks to draw these detailed plans together to provide Government and Industry with a comprehensive view at a sector level on progress.

Measures include tracking the number of domestic retrofits achieved, changes in the amount of non-diesel plant in use, and reductions in the amount of energy used to produce key products.

The Performance Framework has been developed in consultation with industry, with more than 2,500 comments received from industry to shape the framework. The commitments map to the nine priorities for carbon reduction outlined by the CLC in March 2021 and is the start of a conversation which will be refined and iterated over time to align with industry and workforce changes.

The headline commitments are:
• 78% of diesel plants to be eliminated from construction sites by 2035
• Close the productivity gap between construction and economy average output per worker by 2035
• From 2025, planning applications from the sector must connect to public/ active transport and include EV charging where parking is provided
• Working with Government to deliver retrofitting to 27 million homes by 2040
• From 2025, all new buildings will be designed with low carbon heating solutions
• From 2025, we will deliver new homes and buildings which will minimise energy demand and reduce emissions in operation by 75% (dwellings) and at least 27% (commercial buildings) compared to current standards
• Every person buying from the sector (business or member of the public) will be provided with carbon data by 2030 to make informed lower carbon choices
• From 2022, we will give all our clients the chance to become net zero by offering alternative Net Zero design options to clients, even if not scoped
• By 2035 we will have reduced construction product emissions by 66% from 2018
• We will target 1,500 of the sector’s businesses and clients to sign up to a measurable carbon reduction plan (including Race to Zero, Science based Targets or Climate Hub) by 2025

Beneath each of these headline commitments are a series of metrics termed ‘measures of success’, these will be used by the CLC in three ways:-

To report the sector’s progress on Net Zero to Government, including to provide evidence of where Government intervention could accelerate or is essential to enable the sector’s Net Zero commitments
To keep the industry informed on progress and areas where further effort is required
By the CZ Programme Board as they seek the deliver the industry wide change programme to deliver Net Zero.

Details of each measure are available on the Construction Leadership Council’s Construct Zero web hub. Data will be gathered on a quarterly basis and published as an industry carbon ‘dashboard’. The first update is due to take place in Autumn 2021.

In addition to the sector level measures of success, the CLC has also today published a suite of aligned metrics to support businesses and projects to understand and set in place their own plans to meet Net Zero. These are purely a resource for the industry and are expected to help businesses and clients to take consistent action, although the CLC will not be measuring their delivery.

Construction Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan welcomed the publication of the framework. She said:

“The Performance Framework provides Government and Industry with a sector-level dashboard on progress towards net zero, aimed at enabling businesses to action progress and encouraging those outside the sector to take the key steps on the broader journey to net zero. It’s important that the sector holds itself to account for the commitments it has made; the Performance Framework will enable the industry to do this, reporting progress on a quarterly basis, building on existing publicly available data”

Construction Leadership Council co-chair Andy Mitchell said:

“We are seeing huge demand from across the sector to push forward towards Net Zero, and this has been reflected in the level of consultation feedback we received when we tested these metrics with industry. We can have confidence that these measures will help guide us towards a lower carbon future, and I look forward to seeing progress”.

UK Net Zero Business Champion, Andrew Griffith said:

“The new Construct Zero framework will give environmentally-conscious industry leaders the tools they need to make a difference.
By setting clear targets and measures for the construction sector, this framework will help this vital sector take the actions we need to help end its contribution to climate change”

Mott MacDonald Carbon Management Discipline Lead, Mark Crouch said:

“Delivering net zero is an urgent priority for our business and decarbonising infrastructure is an agenda we have been leading on for many years. The construction sector must take a leading role in delivering the infrastructure required to transform our economy to net zero, and in ensuring that this infrastructure is planned, designed and delivered in a low or zero carbon way.
Having measurable metrics for the construction sector and a clear direction of travel is crucial, so we believe the new Construct Zero Performance Framework will be an important tool for decarbonising the sector”

Find out more about the Construct Zero Performance Framework here

Visit the FIS Sustainability Hub here

Are you FIR Real? Why I am not really worthy to be a FIR Ambassador, but will try

by Iain McIlwee | 15 Jul, 2021 | Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR), Sustainability

Last month I completed the training to become a Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect (FIR) Ambassador, I don’t feel worthy of the title yet, but I have completed my training and made my commitment.

So why now?

Every now and again something jolts us outside of our comfortable perception of the world and our self. For some, this week it will be the unacceptable face of racism that reared its ugly head when three young Englishmen, missed a penalty and were abused for the colour of their skin. For me, it was closer to home, tripping over my own naivety and being challenged on a statement I made about being ill-equipped to lead on diversity issues because “I’m a middle aged, white man’. Even as I type it I cringe at how naïve that statement was – and, whilst it was a horribly uncomfortable moment for me, I realise just how important it was to be called out on it.

Like any moment of intense shame, I immediately set about trying to justify my statement, but the more I dug the more I realised there was no justification – my conscience wasn’t just pricked it was torn apart. I am not saying I didn’t think the FIR agenda was important, but the sad admission in that statement is that I didn’t fully grasp my responsibility as an individual in trying to lead and support change. The uncomfortable truths continued to flow in the self-reflection that shame typically drives. I had always leaned a bit towards the “this is a meritocracy” type thinking. When you stand back, this is almost as naïve and damaging as a statement that starts with those dreaded words “I’m not being racist but…”. I decided rather than wallow in the negative, I had to go back to school, in this case the Supply Chain Sustainability School, and address my ignorance with training.

The training has been eye-opening. There were more uncomfortable truths – I’ve hidden behind the internal monologue that “I have never worried too much about sexuality, gender, disability or race”, that I was pretty “right on” when it came to this “FIR stuff”. But, over the past couple of months I now understand why this is simply not enough.

The FIR agenda is about so much more than looking past diversity, it is about recognising the value in diversity. I had, wrongly, positioned FIR to be about sexuality, race and physical disability, I had failed to grasp the wider issues of age related prejudice, failed to recognise and support people with particular personality traits and failed to understand the impact of deeply hidden mental health issues and neural diversity which can leave people feeling isolated.

In the training I learned more about the dangers of conscious and unconscious bias, the importance of empathy, self reflection and awareness and how to regularly challenge myself and my beliefs. Part of the training was online and part in a workshop format, we looked in the workshops at how to create an environment which goes beyond being intolerant of intolerance, but ensures that nobody can be disadvantaged by anything we say or can control and how we can better work with those around us to ensure that the culture in our organisations and wider sector is equally welcoming and open to change. How we can create an environment that can and does celebrate diversity.

I can’t change the past, but I have been shamed and inspired over the past couple of months and recognised the need to redouble my efforts to be better today and in the future. I can draw confidence too from a better understanding of what fairness, inclusivity and respect really mean and my role in identifying and uphold these values. Vitally too I now have access to a network of other FIR Ambassador’s who have, like me, committed to being better, a network where we can learn from one anothers successes and failures without fear of judgement.

My FIR Ambassador’s commitment is to:

Make a difference by influencing and inspiring others within my organisation
Encourage colleagues at all levels to become engaged with Fairness, Inclusion and Respect issues.
Collaborate with other FIR Ambassadors, particularly those outside my business to help drive cultural change within the construction industry
Share knowledge and resources, both within my organisation and with other FIR Ambassadors
Provide an annual update on my Ambassador progress to the FIR Programme team

And I urge anyone to call me out if I am not living up to this.

We have set up a FIR Toolkit on the FIS website and looking to embed the core principles of Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect in all that we do and help businesses to understand and champion diversity and ensure that the finishes and interiors sector is an environment where people feel welcomed, safe and included.

You can access the FIS Fairness, Inclusivity and Respect Toolkit here.

If anyone wants to talk about the Ambassador’s course, don’t hesitate to get in touch, links are in the above toolkit – I would recommend it to everyone.

Blog by Iain McIlwee, FIS CEO
E: iainmcilwee@thefis.org
M: 07792 959 481

Building a greener Britain is essential to tackle climate change says CLC

by Clair Mooney | 7 Jul, 2021 | Sustainability

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) is calling on industry, government and society to help build a greener Britain to tackle climate change. Buildings and construction contribute 39% of the UK’s total carbon emissions so unless action is taken to make the construction industry greener, the UK Government won’t be able to meet its 2035 carbon reduction target of reducing emissions by 78%.

To help promote the message for a Greener Britain, the CLC has linked up with ITN

Productions to produce a new dynamic news style programme called, ‘Building A Greener Britain’, which will raise awareness of the ways in which the construction industry is proactively prioritising climate change. The programme will also offer a series of inspirational editorial profiles delivered by ITN reporters — filmed on location and remotely — highlighting industry leaders that are driving change, improving standards, and championing innovation across the UK.

The 2021 collaboration between ITN Productions and the CLC will ensure the key sector messages are covered within the programme and reach all relevant audiences. The CLC has recently launched CO₂nstruct Zero, a plan outlining how the construction industry will come together to reduce its carbon footprint. The nine stated priorities, revolving around transport, buildings, and construction activity, include a shift toward zero-emission vehicles, the introduction of better building energy performance monitoring, and the implementation of broad spectrum carbon measurement.

Building A Greener Britain will launch ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November.

Responding to the CLC initiative, the Construction Minister, Anne Marie Trevelyan MP tweeted “Construction and buildings contribute 39% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. ‘Building a Greener Britain’ will showcase the incredible work #ConstructZero is doing to address climate change in the industry”

Nina Harrison-Bell, Head of ITN Productions Industry News said:

“The Industry News team are delighted to be working in partnership with the Construction Leadership Council to produce a programme that will raise awareness of key issues in the built environment sector, showcase best practice and provide an opportunity for thought leadership to be shared with a wide audience. Our programme will demonstrate how the sector can benefit society through high quality, energy efficient homes; safer public buildings reliable, interconnected transport networks and accessible, high-performing buildings and infrastructure that work for all and meet our sustainability obligations to future generations.”

Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment published

by Clair Mooney | 16 Jun, 2021 | Sustainability

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 Harradence, Deputy 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.