Report recommends whole-life low carbon infrastructure targets

A report recommending the establishment of a whole life carbon target for infrastructure has been published by the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC).

The targets should be based on climate science and from which organisations can derive commensurate targets. The monitoring of such a target, and the reporting of progress against it, will be crucial, the report says.

The main findings of the ‘Delivering Low Carbon Infrastructure’ report are:

• There is no specific whole life carbon target for infrastructure that organisations or projects can work towards.
• There is wide variation in the ambition, duration and scope of the targets currently being set.
• There is no single method used by all the surveyed clients to set their carbon targets.
• Regulators play a role in addressing carbon, but are not explicit in setting targets for carbon reductions or for driving performance.

The report was prepared with support from Atkins, CEEQUAL, Ferrovial Agroman, Osborne, Skanska and Responsible Solutions, and has been endorsed by the influential ICE InfrastructureClient Group, which is chaired by Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell CBE.

Andy Michell CBE, Tideway CEO, chair of the ICE Infrastructure Client Group and chair of the Infrastructure Industry Innovation Platform said:

“Carbon is a key concern in infrastructure. Clients across all infrastructure sectors are taking action to reduce emissions, but we must ensure our actions go far enough to tackle the challenge that lies ahead. It is clear that the setting of an industry-wide carbon target for infrastructure, as recommended in this report, is essential. This will ensure we have a clear trajectory to a low-carbon future, in line with climate science.”

Following the launch of the report, UK-GBC will be convening stakeholders for a ‘next-steps’ industry event in the autumn of 2017.

See‘Delivering Low Carbon Infrastructure’ report here