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CSIC is delighted to announce that the Environment Agency (EA) has met the criteria to achieve CHAMPION level of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment.

The Environment Agency joins a growing community of Code compliant organisations. The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment, which is hosted by CSIC and is part of the Construction Leadership Council’s Construct Zero initiative, is structured around commitments that stimulate action in different aspects of carbon reduction.

Achieving the Champion level is an incredibly important milestone for the Agency. As an organisation we are radically changing how we think about carbon, while not compromising on our mission to protect communities against the impacts of climate change. We have an ambition, but it will not be realised without leadership and collaboration with our partners, supply chain and the wider market. Owen Tarrant, Programme Manager at Environment Agency

All organisations that comply with 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 they publish progress against those plans annually. This is the minimum commitment for achieving PLEDGER status, the first of the three levels of compliance to the Code. To comply with the criteria required to achieve SIGNATORY or CHAMPION level, an organisation must sign up to additional commitments designed for supply chain members or clients.

The Carbon Reduction Code was developed by a cross industry working group in 2020 and first issued it in 2021. The Code is 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. Creating a community of built environment organisations to support each other will help everyone to reach the destination of net zero. 

Owen Tarrant, Programme Manager at Environment Agency said: “Achieving the Champion level is an incredibly important milestone for the Agency. As an organisation we are radically changing how we think about carbon, while not compromising on our mission to protect communities against the impacts of climate change. We have an ambition, but it will not be realised without leadership and collaboration with our partners, supply chain and the wider market.”

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Read about the Environment Agency decarbonisation plan here.

The latest version of the Carbon Code and additional guidance can be found on the Carbon Reduction Code pages of the CSIC website, or contact carboncode-enquiries@eng.cam.ac.uk with any questions.

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