Construction leaders have called upon the UK Government to commit to a low carbon agenda and work with industry to deliver savings on carbon as well as money.

Construction industry leaders have called on the new Government and George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to commit to a low carbon agenda and engage with the industry to help reduce UK carbon emissions and do it in a cost effective manner. 

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph leaders of the UK Green Building Council, Association for the Conservation of Energy along with suppliers such as a AkzoNobel, Aggregate Industries, BAM, Barratt, BRE, Lafarge, Travis Perkins and many others all stress that construction as a collaborative entity can offer cost-effective carbon reductions that are not only compatible with continuing reduction of the deficit, but also present a major opportunity for economic growth. In the letter, which you can read here, they strongly welcome the commitments in the Conservative manifesto to support the Climate Change Act and to push for a strong global climate deal in Paris later this year. But state that the Government will also need four long-term policies for our sector. 

First it should recognise energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority and allocate infrastructure funds for a national retrofit programme. Secondly, it should fulfil its commitment to make all new homes zero carbon from 2016 and all new non-domestic buildings so from 2019. Thirdly, minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector from 2018 should be effectively enforced. 

Lastly, the Government should outline how it intends to meet the third and fourth “carbon budgets”, and introduce an ambitious fifth carbon budget which is in line with the recommendations from the Committee on Climate Change.