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New code of practice outlines a range of measures to support a sustainable built environment, including through training and literacy
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has joined forces with the Edge to help drive sustainability competence across the built environment sector.
Published today (27 February), the document, Competence Frameworks for the Built Environment, has been developed following extensive cross-sector and public consultation.
The aims of the framework are to:
- Set core criteria for achieving sustainability.
- Facilitate the development of sector-specific competence frameworks.
- Support a consistent approach to competence frameworks across the built environment.
It has been drafted as a seed document for a British Standard in the BSI’s Competence in the Built Environment series, which commenced with BS 8670: Part 1 on Competence for Building Safety, published in 2024.
Core criteria
The document, which has been developed with support from the University College of Estate Management, defines sustainability through five core criteria:
- Potential – Covering natural systems, resources, energy and carbon, social impact, and harms and solutions.
- People – Focusing on education, training and literacy, behaviours and teamwork.
- Process – Addressing finance and risk, practice, and tools and technologies.
- Projects – Encompassing land use and planning, external spaces, infrastructure and accessibility, and buildings.
- Performance – Including monitoring, information and feedback, resilience and adaptation, and emergency response.
The framework also outlines five stages of competence for roles and functions: recognise, analyse, apply, achieve, and advance.
It is intended for use by a range of organisations, describing the competence requirements for specific roles in the sector, including commissioning clients and advisers, professionals, contractors, managers, manufacturers, suppliers and regulators.
Responding to the climate emergency
Graham Watts OBE, CIC chief executive, described the framework as “a crucial step in addressing climate and biodiversity challenges”.
“By setting core sustainability criteria and developing sector-specific competence frameworks, we aim to ensure a consistent and collaborative approach across the sector,” Watts said.
Simon Foxell, policy lead at the Edge, added that the framework will “help ensure all of our many disciplines are fully primed to work together on improving the environmental performance of our buildings, infrastructure and surrounding spaces and are able to respond adequately and comprehensively to the climate and nature emergency we face.”
A free webinar presenting the framework is scheduled for 1pm on 12 March. Register to attend here.
