Green Construction Board revamped to champion low carbon future

Mike Putnam, chief executive of Skanska UK last week chaired the first meeting of the refreshed 20 strong government-backed GCB.

Antony Oliver
10 November 2015

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Sustainability

The government-backed Green Construction Board has been revamped to take on its role as the sustainability workstream of the Construction Leadership Council.

Under the chairmanship of Mike Putnam, chief executive of Skanska UK, the GCB’s role is to provide leadership and action to enable the whole value construction, infrastructure and built environment chain to embrace the benefits of a lower carbon future.

That will see clients, contractors, product manufacturers, suppliers across the sector become more environmentally sustainable, more productive and better placed to exploit the growing global market.

“A key driver for the Construction Leadership Council is a more efficient and productive industry. Such an industry can only deliver more sustainable outcomes." Andrew Wolstenhome, CLC co-chair

Skills Minister and co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, Nick Boles welcomed the new GCB as a key to driving the sustainability agenda.

“The new Green Construction Board members bring together some of the best expertise in industry. The refreshed Board will build on the work of the new Construction Leadership Council, delivering its sustainability agenda to help the UK achieve a more low carbon built environment,” he said.

The Green Construction Board was established in October 2011 as a joint government industry body to provide strategic leadership to the sector on the low carbon agenda as well as own and monitor the implementation of the actions in the Low Carbon Construction Action Plan. 

Since the publication of Construction 2025 in 2013, it has also played a key role in delivering the ambition of reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2025.

The GCB will now feed into the work of the Construction Leadership Council which since late October this year has been co-chaired by Andrew Wolstenholme, chief executive of Crossrail.

Wolstenholme said: “A key driver for the Construction Leadership Council is a more efficient and productive industry. Such an industry can only deliver more sustainable outcomes. I am delighted that Mike is continuing in his role as chair of the Green Construction Board and warmly welcome the refreshed priorities and membership.”

"There is a clear need for leadership and action from the industry if we are to deliver a low carbon future and I believe we are well placed to do this.” Mike Putnam, GCB chair

The first meeting, chaired by Putman last week, focused on how the Green Construction Board will deliver on its priorities. These include:

Championing, leading and supporting action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from infrastructure, domestic (housing) and non-domestic built environment sectors, in line with the pathway outlined in the Low Carbon Routemap (reductions of greenhouse gases by 50% by 2025 and 80% by 2050) and report on progress.

Supporting the construction sector to move towards a circular economy business model to improve resource efficiency and productivity.

Putman added: “I am looking forward to continuing in the role as the Chair of the Green Construction Board and to working with a wide selection of industry leaders to deliver on our ambitious and challenging priorities. There is a clear need for leadership and action from the industry if we are to deliver a low carbon future and I believe we are well placed to do this.”

The members of the refreshed Green Construction Board are:

• George Adams - Director for UK Energy & Engineering, Spie
• Mark Bew - Chair of the UK BIM Task Group
• Tim Chapman - Director / Leader for Infrastructure London Group, Arup
• Louise Clarke - Group Sustainability Manager for Berkeley Group and Chair of CIC 2050 Group
• Alan Couzens - Director, Infrastructure UK, HMT
• Munish Datta - Head of Facilities Management and Plan A, M&S
• Louise Ellison - Head of Sustainability, Hammersons
• David Hancock - Head of Construction, Cabinet Office
• Julie Hirigoyen - Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council
• Peter Hunt - Chief Operating Officer for the Lighting Industry Association Chief Executive Lumicom Ltd and Vice President of Lighting
• Rob Lambe - Managing Director, Willmott Dixon Energy Services
• Chris Newsome - Director of Asset Management, Anglian Water
• Rob Pearce - Consultant to Haskoll Architects & Designers
• David Purdy - Director for Energy Efficiency Deployment Office, DECC
• Mike Putnam - President and CEO of Skanska UK
• Peter Schofield - Director-General for Neighbourhoods, DCLG
• John Sinfield - Managing Director for Knauf Insulation Northern European and Chairman of the Construction Products Association
• Lynne Sullivan - Co-founding partner, SustainableBYdesign
• Robin Webb - Deputy Director, Retail, Construction & Rail, BIS
• Peter Williams - Technical Director, European Hub, Laing O’Rourke