LABC backs construction industry climate declaration

LABC is one of 28 construction industry organisations to back a joint action to tackle climate change. With the built environment accounting for 40% of carbon dioxide emissions as well as impacting on habitats and biodiversity the organisations have come together under the umbrella of the Construction Industry Council to set up a Climate Change Panel.

The panel will promote best practice, encourage innovation and provide advice and guidance to the industry on climate and biodiversity measures.

In May 2019 the UK government declared a climate emergency and set a legally binding target of zero carbon emissions by 2050. Construction will play a key role in reaching this target. And it won’t just be new buildings that will need to be more climate friendly – 80% of the buildings in 2050 have already been built and a huge programme of retrofit will be needed to bring them up to standard.

Commenting, Lorna Stimpson, LABC Chief Executive, said "LABC is committed to quality and high standards in the built environment. So we are very happy to support this initiative and will do all we can to promote greener and sustainable construction practice.

"The elephant in the room of course is the current built estate with the vast majority of 2050’s homes, offices, schools and commercial buildings already constructed and in occupation.

"The scale of the task is huge and we will be using our membership of the Climate Change Panel to urge government to make this a priority and to avoid the mistakes of previous initiatives."

Further information

Further details and a full list of signatories can be found here: http://cic.org.uk/admin/resources/statement-on-climate-change-and-biodiversity-emergency.pdf