CIOB launches sustainability guide for the built environment

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has published a sustainability guide for built environment professionals. 

The guide covers topics including sustainability development goals, green financing, embodied and operational carbon, biodiversity and social value. 

It offers practical tools and strategies to help professionals embrace sustainable practices during the planning, construction and ongoing operation of a building, to support national and global efforts to reach net zero, while also improving the environment for communities. 

Gina Al-Talal FCIOB, head of technical and standards development at CIOB, said: “Sustainability guides are now fairly common, but ours is specifically tailored to the construction profession, so will be an extremely valuable resource for our members and the wider sector. 

“It provides a reference point at every stage of a construction project and emphasises the importance of integrating sustainable practices and the difference this can make to the environment and local communities.” 

CIOB’s head of environmental sustainability, Amanda Williams, said: “The construction industry has a vital role to play in responding to the twin challenge of climate change and biodiversity loss. We must harness all the skill and ingenuity of the sector, as we aim to ensure that the projects we deliver today make a positive contribution to the kind of future we want to see.

"This comprehensive guide to sustainability in the built environment is essential reading for construction professionals as they work to make their difference to this defining challenge and put sustainability at the heart of everything they do.” 

Former CIOB president, Michael Yam FCIOB, added: “The construction and built environment sector needs to reset as the 2050 net-zero target approaches. This means a movement towards more intensive use of modern methods of construction, more offsite work, more innovative use of materials, more infrastructure directly supporting zero-carbon energy production, and more refitting than knocking buildings down. 

“At the CIOB, our goal is to help steer the sector through turbulent waters, keeping an eye on our destination of a safe, carbon neutral, high-quality built environment. A built environment that contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is our hope that this sustainability guide will serve as a roadmap to get us to that destination.” 

The Guide to Sustainability in the Built Environment is available on the CIOB website at £50 (£40 for CIOB members).

This article was originally published by Construction Management.