Organisation reveals 10 commitments it wants construction to meet in coming years

The Construction Leadership Council has revealed the targets in its plan for the industry to work toward net zero including reducing the amount of plant running on diesel by 2035 and offering clients net zero designs from next year.

As part of a webinar run in conjunction with Building, the CLC has now published its Construct Zero Performance Framework.

Protest sign saying we should slash emissions to net zero

Source: Shutterstock

The CLC has published 10 commitments it wants industry to meet in the coming years

The performance framework has been developed in consultation with industry, with more than 2,500 comments received.

Speaking as part of the webinar, which is available on demand, Hannah Vickers, chief of staff at Mace and one of the CLC’s leads on the framework and Construct Zero programme, said: “The consultation led to a lot of changes between version zero and version one of the framework.

“Net zero is obviously a fast -moving area so the consultation has allowed us to include things that people are working on that are already underway but also made us aware that there are ideas in the pipeline that we will be able to include in later iterations of the framework.”

There are 10 headline commitments:

  • 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 
  • Work with government to retrofit 27 million homes by 2040
  • From 2025, all new buildings will be designed with low carbon heating solutions
  • From 2025, new homes and buildings will minimise energy demand and reduce emissions in operation by 75% for dwellings and at least 27% for 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
  • From 2022, all clients will be given the chance to become net zero by offering net zero design options, even if not scoped
  • By 2035 construction product emissions will be reduced by 66% from 2018
  • 1,500 of the sector’s businesses and clients to sign up to a measurable carbon reduction plan by 2025

Beneath each of these headline commitments are a series of metrics that will be used by the CLC in three ways.

The CLC said it would use them to report the sector’s progress on net zero to government, including providing evidence of where government intervention is needed, to keep the industry informed on progress and areas where further effort is required and by the Construct Zero programme board as they seek to drive change across the sector.

Data will be gathered on a quarterly basis and published as an industry carbon dashboard, with the first update due to take place in October ahead of the COP26 conference.

The CLC has also published a suite of aligned metrics to support businesses and projects to understand and set in place its own plans to meet net zero.

ConstructZero metrics

  • 78% of diesel plant to be eliminated from construction sites by 2035 
    • Annual increase in non-diesel plant in use from plant hire firms.
    • Every construction or client business over 250 staff to trial one zero diesel site by end of 2023.
    • Annual increase in electric vans in construction fleet. 
  • Close the productivity gap between construction and economy average output per worker by 2035
    • Annual reduction in construction and demolition waste tonnes/£m output.
    • Measure industry onsite productivity output/FTE
    • Increase % of pre-manufactured value across sector year on year.
  • From 2025, planning applications from the sector must connect to public/active transport and include EV charging where parking is provided
    • Measure % of relevant planning qualifying bodies to put in place:
      • Entrance requirements include threshold carbon literacy/competence test (100% by January 2025)
      • Continued professional development on climate change mitigation for all professional members (100% by 2022).
    • Annual increase in number of EV charging points installed by the sector.
  • Work with government to retrofit 27 million homes by 2040 
    • Deliver retrofitting to 855,000 homes by 2024, 12,300,000 homes by 2030, and 27,300,000 homes by 2040
    • Establish industry quality scheme routes and licensing consistent with PAS2035 and target annual increase
    • Number of trust mark retrofit coordinators: Targeting 30,000 by 2028
  • From 2025 all new buildings will be designed with low carbon heating solutions
    • Increase in heat pump installations per year to exceed government target of 600,000 per year by 2028
    • Number of buildings connected to low carbon heat networks and heat pumps installed as % of overall building stock.
    • Number of trained heat pump installers (MCS registrations): Aiming for 30,000 by 2030.
  • From 2025, new homes and buildings will minimise energy demand and reduce emissions in operation by 75% for dwellings and at least 27% for commercial buildings compared to current standards 
    • Annual reduction in average energy requirements for new dwellings and existing (EPC based).
    • Annual reduction in actual energy usage in buildings (ECUK based).
  • Every client of the sector will be provided with carbon data by 2030 to make informed lower carbon choices
    • Measure % of relevant measurement/QS qualifying bodies to project carbon measurement put in place:
      • Entrance requirements/ membership assessments to include threshold carbon literacy /competence test by January 2025.
      • CPD on climate change mitigation for all members to be available from January 2022 and mandatory from January 2024.
      • 40% of product portfolios to have EPDs by 2025 with 100% by 2030, targeting a baseline and annual updates from 2025.
      • Every business or client over 250 staff in infrastructure to achieve PAS 2080 accreditation, monitor % coverage, target 100% by 2025.
  • From 2022, all clients will be given the chance to become net zero by offering net zero design options, even if not scoped 
    • All businesses or clients over 250 staff to identify, specify and trial a relevant low carbon alternative product on a project by the end of 2023
      • Measurement of total CO2 avoided based on client net zero advice and designs accepted.
      • Measure % of relevant design qualifying bodies to put in place:
      • Entrance requirements include threshold carbon literacy/competence test (100% by January 2025).
      • Continued Professional Development on climate change mitigation for all members (100% by 2022).
  • By 2035 construction product emissions will be reduced by 66% from 2018 
    • Work with Government to have CCUS operational on 2 clusters by 2028.
    • Establish 2018 baseline and target annual reduction in energy used in production kWh/Tonne for key product lines (e.g. cement).
    • Establish 2018 baseline and target annual reduction in embodied carbon CO2/Tonne for key product lines (e.g. cement).

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