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Construction leaders agree net zero targets

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published a new framework that sets out the construction industry’s targets for carbon reduction, as well as a series of metrics to show how progress is being made.

The CO₂nstruct Zero Performance Framework has been developed with the help of more than 2,500 comments received from industry. The commitments map to the nine priorities for carbon reduction outlined by the CLC in March 2021.

The headline commitments are:

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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
Working with government to deliver retrofitting to 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% (dwellings) and at least 27% (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 to make informed lower carbon choices
From 2022, all clients will be given the chance to become net zero by offering alternative net zero design options to clients, 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 will sign up to a measurable carbon reduction plan (including Race to Zero, Science-based Targets or Climate Hub) by 2025

Beneath each of these headline commitments are a series of metrics termed ‘measures of success’, these will be used by the CLC in three ways:

To report the sector’s progress on net zero to government, including to provide evidence of where government intervention could accelerate or is essential to enable the sector’s net zero commitments
To keep the industry informed on progress and areas where further effort is required
By the CO₂nstruct Zero Programme Board as it seeks to deliver the industry-wide change programme to deliver net zero

Details of each measure are available on the Construction Leadership Council’s CO₂nstruct Zero web hub. Data will be gathered on a quarterly basis and published as an industry carbon ‘dashboard’. The first update is due to take place in autumn 2021.

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

Construction minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “The Performance Framework provides government and industry with a sector-level dashboard on progress towards net zero, aimed at enabling businesses to action progress and encouraging those outside the sector to take the key steps on the broader journey to net zero.

“It’s important that the sector holds itself to account for the commitments it has made; the Performance Framework will enable the industry to do this, reporting progress on a quarterly basis, building on existing publicly available data.”

Construction Leadership Council co-chair Andy Mitchell said: “We are seeing huge demand from across the sector to push forward towards net zero, and this has been reflected in the level of consultation feedback we received when we tested these metrics with industry. We can have confidence that these measures will help guide us towards a lower carbon future, and I look forward to seeing progress.”