This month’s Smart Infrastructure Blog follows the publication of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment Issue 1.0 and calls for organisations to sign up and make a difference.
In the blog titled ‘Commit and collaborate to achieve net zero’, Dr Jennifer Schooling OBE, Director of CSIC presents the background to the Code, which was developed by the Achieving Net Zero Cross-Industry Working Group convened by CSIC in March 2020 to explore challenging yet practical ways to move the infrastructure and wider construction industry towards meeting the UK’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Code was designed to provide a first step to facilitate action towards reducing carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance and operation of built assets.
Dr Schooling writes: “We wanted to collectively enhance and strengthen existing initiatives with a commitment to report carbon emissions and reductions and share roadmaps to support each other. The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment Issue 1.0 forms part of the Construction Leadership Council’s Construct Zero initiative and enshrines a commitment to report progress, good or bad, on an annual basis. The first two pledges of the Code are to aim to reduce our emissions by 75 per cent by 2030 (from 2019 baseline, or nearest year for which data is available), and to share our roadmaps to reach net zero by 2050, publishing progress against that roadmap annually. These mechanisms enable us to share in successes and supportively hold each other to account to overcome challenges.
Bringing attention to the urgency for commitment and collaboration to achieve net zero, Dr Schooling writes: “Collaboration and commitment will be key to success, and with alignment of ambition across all parties we can progress towards net zero carbon at the pace required. The Code provides an encouraging, supportive and collaborative approach to reducing carbon. It is essential that our industry reduces carbon emissions and the more organisations that sign up to the Code, the more we will achieve.”
• Read the full Smart Infrastructure Blog by Dr Schooling here
• Read more about the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment Issue 1.0 and how to sign up/register interest here
• Read the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment Issue 1.0 here