Major contractors’ charter gets tough on waste

The Major Contractors Group this week launched a sustainability Charter setting out specific challenges for its 15 member companies to cut landfill waste and energy consumption.

MCG members have agreed to a pilot study that will start immediately and measure the amount of waste each company diverts from landfill as well as the energy consumed in its offices.

Wates chief executive Paul Drechsler, who is leading the initiative for the MCG, said this was just the start of the process and that once it was fully established, further targets would be added.

Once the pilot has been completed, each company will produce figures on waste and energy consumption on a quarterly basis from the start of 2007. The MCG will not start releasing the results until 2008.

Drechsler said: “We chose to start with those two things because they are measurable and this would leave us in a position to know where we are and set long-term targets. We are trying to get all the MCG members on the same platform.”

The industry is estimated to produce more than 100 million tonnes of waste a year

The UK construction industry is estimated to produce more than 100 million tonnes of waste a year, three times the total domestic waste generated.

Drechsler added that this made business sense because it was what clients were calling for, but also it was a social responsibility. “We are trying to build an industry momentum,” he said.

In a separate move, the Construction Products Association is calling on chancellor Gordon Brown to incorporate measures to improve the energy efficiency of housing stock in his next Budget.

The association has had a private meeting with financial secretary John Healey on the issue, which ties in with Building’s 99% campaign on existing housing stock, and will write to the chancellor within the next two weeks. The issue is one of a host of petitions the industry is making ahead of the pre-Budget report expected next month.