Today, 15 March 2022, the first organisations to sign-up to the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment, which is hosted by the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, at the University of Cambridge, have been announced.
The Code is a commitment scheme designed to facilitate action and collaboration in the built environment towards reducing carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of built assets. The early adopters are Skanska UK, HS2, the National Association of Construction Frameworks (NACF), City Building Engineering Services (CBES), Interclass and SCF Construct. There are three levels of compliance to the Code, PLEDGER, SIGNATORY, and CHAMPION. Two of the six Code-compliant organisations – Skanska UK and HS2– have met the criteria for CHAMPION status and the other four early adopters are PLEDGERS.
The Code was drafted by the CSIC Achieving Net Zero Cross-Industry Working Group in 2020 and first issued in 2021 and forms part of the Construction Leadership Council’s Construct Zero initiative. The sign-up process to the Code was launched in November 2021 to coincide with COP26 and is included as one of the policy recommendations in the Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap: Pathway to Net Zero for the UK Built Environment which was launched by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) at the main COP26 venue on 11 November.
Andy Mitchell CBE, Chief Executive Officer of Tideway and Co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, said: “Construct Zero welcomes today’s announcement of the first organisations to sign up to the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment. By setting out actions in their different approaches to reducing carbon reduction, this is a further example of how companies across the construction sector are leading the charge to Net Zero. The Construct Zero Team will be working closely with CSIC as this Code develops.”
The Code is structured around commitments that stimulate action in different aspects of carbon reduction. All organisations who comply to the Code must set out and publish plans to meet Net Zero by 2045, including annual targets, recognising that the majority of cuts need to be made by 2030, and publish progress against it annually. This is the minimum commitment for achieving PLEDGER status. There are other commitments, some targeted at clients to encourage innovation around carbon and sharing project carbon data, and others targeted towards the supply chain to support zero carbon initiatives where they exist or, if not, to propose carbon-efficient solutions as part of a project. SIGNATORY status is awarded to organisations that demonstrate action against all the core commitments, whilst organisations meeting all the core and all further commitments of the Code achieve CHAMPION status.
“The Code’s supportive and collaborative approach, reporting mechanism and focus on the built environment provides a point of difference from existing initiatives, but it is designed to work alongside them,” said Dr Jennifer Schooling OBE, CSIC Director. "The Code recognises that we must start making meaningful change, and we have to start making it today. Not tomorrow, not next week and certainly not next year.”
Organisations signing up to the Code and complying are listed on the CSIC website where full details of the process for demonstrating compliance as well as information required to complete the sign-up process can also be found.
“We are delighted to welcome these six early adopters of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment who have all complied with the process and forged the way for other organisations to follow,” said Dee Dee Frawley, CSIC Programme Manager. “There are a number of organisations already in the pipeline who will sign-up to the Code in the coming months, but we are particularly grateful to these six early adopters who have worked closely with us to test, trial and prove the compliance process for the Code. This initial group comprise both large corporate organisations and SMEs, which demonstrates that the Code applies across the entire spectrum of the built environment and across both the private and public sector organisations. Carbon reduction is more likely to happen when all organisations within a value chain are committed to reducing their footprint and saving costs and the Code provides a framework for organisations to make a public commitment to and report on progress towards achieving Net Zero.”
Introducing the organisations signing-up to the Code
Skanska UK has achieved CHAMPION level of the Code
Skanska is a Swedish headquartered multi-national construction and development company, whose UK operation is known for working on major projects such as HS2, the Gherkin and Salesforce Tower. Skanska UK builds, upgrades and maintains UK infrastructure and buildings.
“Although it has been positive to see organisations across our sector increasingly make net-zero commitments, there isn’t enough consistency and also there’s a tendency to overemphasise the net-zero target date rather than demonstrating what action is being taken now. The Carbon Code helps to address these two issues and that’s why Skanska UK is a big supporter.” Adam Crossley, Director of Environment, Skanska UK
HS2 (the project) has achieved CHAMPION level of the Code
HS2 is Britain’s new high speed rail line being built from London to the North-West, with HS2 trains linking the biggest cities in Scotland with Manchester, Birmingham and London. It is the largest infrastructure project in Europe and the most important economic and social regeneration project in decades. HS2 Ltd, the organisation responsible for delivering the HS2 project, is a CSIC Industry Partner.
“We are completely committed to reducing our carbon emissions as we design, build and operate HS2, helping the UK’s fight against climate change. The railway will be zero carbon from day one of operation and we’re working towards our target to be net zero carbon as a project from 2035. By joining The Code, we are publicly reinforcing these commitments and we will continue to work collaboratively with our partners and supply chain to reduce carbon emissions across the construction sector.” Beatriz Garcia Navarro, HS2’s Carbon Specialist
https://www.hs2.org.uk/about-us/documents/net-zero-carbon-plan/
National Association of Construction Frameworks (NACF) has achieved PLEDGER level of the Code
The NACF partners with the Local Government Association (LGA), the Cabinet Office, BEIS and many other leading organisations to help shape the future of local government construction and leadsthe ongoing adoption of best practice in local government procurement.
“As a collective, we are delighted to have achieved PLEDGER status of the Code and demonstrate our commitment to reducing carbon emissions. The Code is an important reminder to us all of our journey ahead and ensures we focus our efforts on working collaboratively to further reduce carbon emissions and save costs.” Keith Heard, NACF Chair.
City Building Engineering Services (CBES) has achieved PLEDGER level of the Code
CBES provides construction and specialist engineering project and services from technical procurement and design through to project management, installation and maintenance. Operating in seven regional offices, our multi-disciplined and innovative capability allows us to provide customers a flexible, highly-skilled and seamless approach to project and operational delivery.
“The principles of the Carbon Reduction Code align closely with CBES values to deliver our own ‘Net Zero’ ambition. By pledging our support for the Code, we see real value in contributing to a collective industry approach, collaborating on carbon reporting whilst promoting education and awareness within the construction sector’s value chain.” Duncan McNicol, Head of Risk & Compliance, CBES
Interclass PLC has achieved PLEDGER level of the Code
Interclass PLC is a Midlands-based UK construction business providing construction, surfacing and civil engineering services in both the public and private sector. A principal contractor, Interclass manages and delivers construction projects up to £10 million in value across multiple sectors.
“We are pleased to be one of the first contractors to sign up to the Code, a key step in our carbon reduction journey. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face as a society and we are determined to play our part and encourage others to do the same. With SMEs making up the majority of the construction industry and our own supply chain, we have a crucial role to play in inspiring others to take meaningful steps towards reducing carbon emissions.” Des O’Neill, Managing Director, Interclass PLC.
Southern Construction Framework has achieved PLEDGER level of the Code
Southern Construction Framework is a public sector construction framework helping public sector organisations with the procurement of their construction projects. SCF Construct, which has attained the PLEDGER status, is a collaboration between Devon and Hampshire County Councils and brings together public sector organisations throughout London, the South East and the South West and 9 Tier 1 Main Contractors, offering support throughout each stage of the procurement and project management process. SCF also includes the SCF Consult and SCF Residential frameworks as part of their offering.
“We are all delighted that our work to support clients in minimising their carbon impact has been officially recognised. SCF is truly collaborative and has at its disposal a number of major partners engaged in several working groups which concentrate on key themes to direct focus areas. By working together, we can make a positive difference to the environment, and we know we have a long way still to go, but we are looking forward to seeing our plans turn into reality.” Emma Bull, SCF Senior Framework Manager.
Quick links
Read about the development of theCarbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment and watch a short video of the launch event for the Code here
Read about the launch of the sign-up process to the Code here
Read an explanation and guide to completing the compliance process and the sign-up form here
Read FAQs here
Read the trial case studies for the Code by NACF, the Environment Agency and Skanska Costain STRABG Joint Venture (SCSJV)/HS2.
Read the Smart Infrastructure Blog by CSIC Director Dr Jennifer Schooling that calls for organisations to commit, collaborate and sign-up to the Code here.
Read the Smart Infrastructure Blog by CSIC Programme Manager Dee Dee Frawley that calls for built environment organisations to sign-up to the code here
Note to Editors
The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment is designed for clients, contractors, and supply chain members working in the built environment. In order to enable wide participation, organisations may join at a global, national or regional level as well as at a major project level. While the Code’s reporting mechanism provides a point of difference, it is designed to work alongside a number of excellent existing initiatives and resources including the ICE Carbon Project, Construction Innovation Hub Value Toolkit, Infrastructure Carbon Review Seven Years On report, PAS2080, Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD).