Contractors risk missing out when it comes to sustainable profits

“There are huge business opportunities here, but very few companies have much idea how to exploit them,” said group chairman David Frise. “Unless contractors start investing in the necessary knowledge and skills they could wake up one day and find the market has moved on without them.”

M&E Sustainability, formed by an alliance between the ECA and the HVCA, is developing a series of technical standards, training courses and awareness campaigns to ensure firms are geared up to deal with the growing demand for sustainable building services.

The group is producing contractor-specific guidance covering subjects such as installing domestic lighting and renewables, heat pumps, biomass boilers and combined heat and power (CHP). It is also running a series of nationwide seminars alerting contractors to new political and economic targets.

“The m&e landscape is changing fast, and in the next decade the business environment and skills we require will probably be unrecognisable from the situation today,” said ECA director David Pollock.

Organisations representing the interests of all parts of the supply chain have allied themselves to M&E Sustainability, including the British Institute of Facilities Managers (BIFM), Select and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE).

“Resource efficiency is also a key part of the sustainability agenda,” said HVCA chief executive Robert Higgs. “The most competitive and environmentally aware m&e companies will be doing more with a lot less.”

A report into microgeneration in Wales by SummitSkills suggests the country may be left even further behind than England in the race to gain a share in the renewable energy market. According to the study, the biggest single issue facing a company wishing to move into the microgeneration market in Wales is the lack of trained staff, with 68% of firms finding it difficult to recruit staff with the relevant skills. The report reveals there is only one major provider of microgeneration technology training in the country. The vast majority of training comes from England.

Kathryn Hopkins-Morgan, SummitSkills’ operations manager in Wales, said: “Every time we have a technology jump we have a basic skills issue. If more is not done it will leave Wales in a vulnerable position, as there is a very well established market in Europe and people will come from outside the country to do the work.”

For more on sustainability opportunities, see EMC’s interview with David Frise in our forthcoming issue.