Nothing less than a transformation of the construction market is the goal that the fledgling UK Green Business Council is setting for itself. The inaugural meeting of over 20 major commercial organisations that make up the founding members, held in London in October, set out their manifesto, calling for dramatic improvements in the built environment, the development of the UK’s world-class position in sustainable building design; and the transformation of the market for ‘sustainable’ products. Its mission statement says the Council’s aim is “to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of buildings by radically improving the way they are designed, built and maintained”.
Dr David Strong is managing director of BRE Environment, which has been a prime mover in getting the organisation off the ground. It is also providing secretariat services until the Council appoints its own staff. After that, though, insists Strong, BRE will be just one of the member organisations – the Green Building Council is not, he stresses, a BRE venture.
Nor is it reliant on Government support. “This is an industry-led organisation,” he says. “Importantly, it is market-driven, not regulation-driven.” The founding membership includes some of the largest names in the building industry, such as British Land, Canary Wharf Group, Faber Maunsell, Hanson and Land Securities.
But why another building grouping? David Strong acknowledges that there are plenty around in the construction sector. “There are probably about 300 other groups involved in one aspect of sustainable construction or another,” he admits. “But the reality is that – precisely because of this diversity – there is no other industry-led body with sufficient critical mass to drive the whole process forward. This organisation is radically different from what has been attempted before, not least because it represents a broad cross-section of players in the construction market. Its aim is to change attitudes on both the demand side and the supply side.”
The 2004 Sustainable Building Task Force Group report called for the “advisory bodies concerned with sustainable buildings to be simplified and consolidated to provide a clear direction for industry”. The founding members believe that the Council can provide precisely that consolidated approach which the Task Force called for.
“The measure of our success will be the degree to which we can: first, establish the idea of sustainable building as the norm on the demand side amongst clients, developers, institutional investors and end-users, particularly in regard to issues like future proofing of buildings and he impact of sustainability on asset value; and second, ensure that the supply side, including designers, manufacturers and contractors, are all aware of the commercial opportunities that sustainable building offers them.”
The model which the Council seeks to emulate is the US Green Building Council – at least in its impact if not in all its procedures. “In the US, the Green Building Council has been phenomenally successful in creating a comprehensive green building movement. There are remarkable changes currently taking place in the way that buildings are designed, built and managed. And these changes are being driven by the industry, not through regulation,” says Strong. “That is what we want to achieve here.” Indeed, the American experience has been spectacular. In the first five years after it was established, some 6,500 organisations joined it. Its work has stimulated a buoyant and profitable market for product manufacturers and service providers, something the UK founding members hope to repeat on this side of the Atlantic.
The UK Council will be affiliated to the World Green Building Council, which includes the nine existing councils, including the US, Canadian, Indian and Japanese bodies among others. Another 23 countries are in the process of setting up Green Building Councils. Each will develop its own technical standards and the UK, for example, will use the BRE Environmental Assessment Model (BREEAM). This is a departure from the American model which uses the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard.
There has been some debate on the relative merits of each system, with one American proponent of LEED being quoted recently as saying that the LEED process was inherently superior to BREEAM. David Strong felt there was little to be gained from debating the relative strengths of the two systems which had, after all, been developed for two quite different markets. However, he noted that 66,000 buildings have been assessed in the UK alone under the BREEAM and Eco-Homes standards, whereas less than 400 buildings worldwide had used the LEED approach. He added that BRE was in discussion with a number of other emerging Green Building Councils about adopting an assessment method based on BREEAM framework but adapted to local circumstances. “With such a robust, well-established and internationally respected system of assessment already available to us, why would we want to change?” he asked. And indeed, the October meeting of the founding members confirmed that the UK GBC will use – and develop – the BREEAM suite.
The UK Green Business Council will have its formal launch next Spring. It is being established as a not-for-profit company. Recruitment of a chairman and chief executive are under way. Active participation of professional institutions, trade associations and specialist interest groups in the key UKGBC committees and expert panels will be sought and encouraged. Initially, four sub-groups will be established to provide input and support on issues associated with: advocacy; marketing; technical issues; and the subjects of education, training, best practice dissemination and research.
Source:
http://www.ukgbc.org