Sustainability

The Labour Party has promised to overhaul planning rules and fund infrastructure in a bid to revive the economy. In a 132-page manifesto published ahead of the 4 July general election, the Labour Party pledged to shred planning constraints for infrastructure and housing, adding that it would reform delivery of…

The Green Party has said demolition work should require a full planning application, unless already included in a local development order. In its 46-page manifesto released on Wednesday (12 June), the party said it would tighten the rules around demolition if it enters government after the general election on 4…

Tier one contractor Balfour Beatty has pushed back its target dates for achieving net-zero carbon operations. The UK’'s biggest contractor has said it now hopes to negate scope 1 and 2 emissions – those coming direct from its activities and indirectly through its power use – by 2045. This is…

Delay in implementing changes to the infrastructure system has hit the UK’s net-zero ambitions, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has said. In its latest annual review, published this week, the commission warned that the sluggish UK roll-out of heat-pumps – caused by increased uncertainty around the system – was holding…

The construction industry needs to develop competence frameworks for retrofitting in five new super-specialisms, according to a report by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). The report, released today (7 May), laid out six core transferable competencies and seven overarching technical competencies for retrofit. In addition, it laid out key actions…

Seven of the UK’s biggest infrastructure clients have publicly committed to specifying low-carbon construction in contracts and setting dates to phase out fossil fuels. National Highways, Lower Thames Crossing, Heathrow, Sellafield, Anglian Water and Northumbrian Water said yesterday (29 April) that they would provide “incentives” in contracts to tackle three…

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers has been appointed as the new scheme administrator for NABERS UK – a standard for measuring operational carbon emissions from commercial buildings. The move comes seven months after the Building Research Establishment (BRE) stopped using the NABERS tool in favour of the more…

Kier has announced that it will help develop small modular reactors (SMR) with US firm X-Energy. The contractor has signed a memorandum of understanding with X-Energy and Babcock subsidiary Cavendish Nuclear to collaborate on the new technology. The firms will have access to £3.34m from the UK Government Future Nuclear…

Kier and Morgan Sindall have been named on three lots in a new framework focusing on decarbonisation in the healthcare sector. The tier one firms were both named on lots two, three and four of the £1.6bn work package, which will include the replacement of inefficient glazing and the installation…

The UK’s rollout of heat pump installations is running behind schedule, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. In a report published on Monday (18 March), the NAO said that the number of heat pump installations up until December 2023 was less than half of what was planned. The NAO…