Everything's gone green

The onward march of renewables and associated technologies is such that the ECA and the HVCA have joined forces to create M&E Sustainability; the new group will develop standards, deliver training courses and raise awareness in the sector.

The chairman of M&E Sustainability, David Frise, offers some stark words of warning to those contractors that aren’t gearing themselves up for this brave new world. “There are huge business opportunities here, but very few companies have much idea how to exploit them. Unless contractors start investing in the necessary knowledge and skills they could find the market has moved on without them.”

ECA president Bob Hall points out just why some contractors are slow to react to market changes in his interview on pages 18-21. With margins tight, few can afford to invest in new markets until there is sufficient momentum in terms of client demand. With sustainability, there are signs that that point may now have been reached.

M&E Sustainability will undoubtedly give contractors a gentle push in the right direction. Here at EMC, we are doing our bit to raise awareness of green issues and reward expertise in the sector with the launch of the Sustainable Building Services Awards. If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to enter. After all, if the building services pundits are right and the market is set to explode, Sustainable M&E Contractor of the Year looks like it will be a title worth having.