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The ten key areas of focus for CIC climate action plan

Canary Wharf London skyline — London's Canary Wharf (Image: Unsplash/Dil)

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has launched a climate action plan for professional institutes in the built environment.

The plan, called 'Carbon Zero: the professional institutions' climate action plan', aims to co-ordinate the efforts of institutes in meeting the UK government 2050 net zero emissions targets.

Signatories to the plan, which covers both the natural and built environment, agree that:

the actions listed are necessary for dealing with the challenge of climate change;

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they will implement those actions appropriate to them as an institution/organisation; and
they will support the other signatory institutions and organisations in delivering the remaining actions

A total of 10 workstreams, each covering a different area of responsibility have been set up. Eight of the ten workstreams will be co-ordinated by a different professional institute.

The ten workstreams are:

WS1: Education and Qualification (co-ordinated by University College of Estate Management)
WS2: Standards and regulations (co-ordinated by Chartered Association of Building Engineers)
WS3: Operational energy and whole-life carbon (co-ordinated by Royal Institute of British Architects)
WS4: Resource use and embodied carbon (co-ordinated by Institution of Structural Engineers)
WS5: Land use, transport and infrastructure (co-ordinated by Royal Town Planning Institute/Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation)
WS6: Finance and risk
WS7: In-use performance (co-ordinated by Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers)
WS8: Adaptation and resilience (co-ordinated by Landscape Institute)
WS9: Emergency response
WS10: Competence/Ethics/Advocacy (co-ordinated by Chartered Institute of Building)

Meanwhile, each workstream has been set a series of actions, divided into three priority groupings: short-term, medium term and longer term. CIC has recommended that these will be commenced immediately, achieved within the next two to three years and be established and consolidated within the next five years, respectively.

As part of its work for WS1, UCEM will focus on how professional qualification requirements will need to be revised to focus on environmental performance. In WS10, the CIOB will examine how professional institutions will focus their advocacy, reward and award systems on achieving positive environmental and social change.

The signatories to the plan also commit to each developing and publishing an action implementation programme by October 2021, prior to the UN Conference on Climate Change, COP26, which is set to be held in Glasgow.

CIC deputy chairman Stephen Hodder, who chairs the CIC's Climate Change Panel, said: "The institutional action plan represents a significant shift in establishing measurable deliverables that built environment professionals are to meet in delivering net zero within the construction industry. The actions by themselves are not sufficient for the scale of the challenge, but they are essential, and will take the construction sector closer to the start of its transition to becoming an effective and digitally enabled industry, able to deliver on the challenges and obligations ahead.

"There is no time to lose and this unprecedented institutional alliance will bring collective skills, knowledge and influence in support of the necessary changes critical to the decarbonisation of the construction industry. The support has been overwhelming and I would like to thank everyone who has been contributory to it.”

Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, public affairs and research at CIOB, said: "One of the most pressing issues facing society – and, of course, the construction industry – is climate change and the requirement to move towards net zero carbon emissions. CIOB has been playing its part in industry initiatives to help combat climate change, including supporting the Construction Industry Council’s Climate Change Panel and leading on the Competence, Ethics and Advocacy workstream. We were very pleased to be coordinating the excellent work underway in this area, establishing the actions necessary for professional institutions to improve levels of expertise and competency, and create codes of ethics and practice."