Over 50 influential
business leaders from across the construction and property industry have signed
an open letter to ministers urging them to introduce policy that will see all
new buildings built to net-zero carbon standards by 2030.
As a first step
towards the 2030 goal, the group calls on the government to swiftly confirm
that from 2020 energy performance standards will be significantly
improved.
Coordinated by the
UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), the
letter asks ministers to give the industry medium and long-term policy
certainty, to drive significant investment and catalyse innovation.
The letter is
addressed to Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities
& Local Government and Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. It features a large number of
notable signatories from across the built environment value chain, including:
REITS and institutional investors, volume housebuilders and property
developers, manufacturers, engineers, architects and consultants.
Julie Hirigoyen,
chief executive at UKGBC said: “The built environment has a huge part to play
in reducing the UK’s carbon emissions. We recognise this, the government’s
independent advisors – the CCC – recognise this, and as this letter
demonstrates, the industry recognises this.
“Time and again
UKGBC members tell me they are looking to Government to provide policy
certainty in order to drive investment and catalyse innovation. We have not
seen changes to Building Regulations since 2014, and the scrapping of the zero
carbon policy in 2015 was both confusing and unnecessary.
“We’ve heard a lot
from government recently on the environmental agenda, with some impressive
commitments in the Clean Growth Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan. Now
it’s time for the government to act on those commitments, with the industry’s
backing, and put policy in place to turn their low-carbon aspirations into
reality.”
