Time to get off the fence

Colin Croft
05 September 2014

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Construction is not moving fast enough towards innovative lower carbon, lower cost solutions, says Colin Courtney, strategy and business development director at contractor J. Murphy and Sons. 

The world is changing and changing fast. It’s an opening line I have often used to focus attention on the need to do things differently in the construction industry. 

And it is as relevant today as it was when I first started using it ten years ago. 

But are we really changing? Are we really doing things differently in the face of global mega drivers such as population growth, new societal demands, recession and, in particular, climate change?

The answer is no, we are not changing fast enough. There are demanding targets out there for reducing carbon emissions and for driving down the cost of infrastructure delivery yet while some are responding to these challenges, too many are still sitting on the fence.

"To really make impact and prompt change across the industry we need to see more organisations throughout the supply chain to come on board with this Infrastructure Carbon Review initiative."

There are two important ingredients to meet these challenges. One is strong leadership and the other is innovation and both are inextricably linked. 

We have seen in the past how strong leadership from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) promoted innovation and led to greener and cheaper solutions. I have always been a firm believer that demanding intelligent clients are the best clients because they raise your standards and encourage you to look at new ways of working. 

Crossrail is another good example with its ‘Innovate 18’ programme now actively fostering a culture of innovation across the supply chain.

Recently at Murphy we have been collating innovation taking place on our projects for our new Innovation Microsite and to be honest I was amazed just how much innovation is taking place across the business.

It all has a strong business case around the sustainability agenda of providing social, environment and economic benefits. If we only knew what we already know.

And this is where strong leadership comes back in. For our industry as a whole to benefit we need to capture this innovation, reward it and be willing to share our solutions to encourage a wider culture of innovation. 

The Infrastructure Carbon Review One-Year-On conference

Date: 27 October

Venue: BIS conference centre, Victoria Street, London

To register your interest in attending this free event email nicola.walters@bis.gsi.gov.uk

For detail of the Infrastructure Carbon Review visit the Green Construction Board website 

One example on a Murphy sewage treatment project resulted in safer methods of working, plus gave approximately 10,000 tonnes of CO2e savings and a £2m reduction in cost.

The Government’s 80% carbon reduction targets for 2050 may be a tall ask but the 20-30% cost savings being demanded by many of our clients today are within our grasp. Keeping the focus on eliminating waste and reducing carbon emissions is the secret.

At a recent event organised by the Green Construction Board for SME’s there was a strong message from the audience that they are being asked to price and deliver designs and specifications that are 20 years out of date. We need to listen to this message and do something about it – show leadership and provide the incentive to innovate.

The Green Construction Board, of which I am a member, has an important role to play here. I am pleased to say that there will be an Infrastructure Carbon Review, One – Year – On conference, on the 27 October to hear from those organisations who have been prepared to show leadership and sign up to the commitment to play their part in leading on change, innovation and procurement. 

But to really make impact and prompt change across the industry we need to see more organisations throughout the supply chain to come on board with this Infrastructure Carbon Review initiative.

So if you want to be part of leading the future make sure that you are there on 27 October. It really is time to get off the fence! 

Colin Courtney, is strategy and business development director at J. Murphy and Sons Limited, a member of the Green Construction Board and Chair of the GCB Promotions Working Group.

The Infrastructure Carbon Review One-Year-On conference will be held on the orning of 27 October at the BIS conference centre, Victoria Street, London.

To register your interest in attending the free event email nicola.walters@bis.gsi.gov.uk.

For detail of the Infrastructure Carbon Review visit: www.greenconstructionboard.org/index.php/resources/infrastructure-carbon...

Innovation - Case Studies 

Case studies from the ODA and other projects can be found on the Green Construction Board’s web site.

The Murphy Innovation Microsite was launched this wek and contains downloadable examples of the contractor's ideas acoss a number of sections of the industry.

The Infrastructure Intelligence Innovation section contains a searchable database of innovation product and solution case studies froom across the industy.