Government Wasting £3 Billion Missing Sustainable Buildings Targets

Continuing on a theme we covered last week regarding the report published by the National Audit Office that showed the majority of government departments and agencies are failing to meet targets to make their new buildings and major refurbishments sustainable. It is becoming clear that as a result, a large proportion of the £3billion which departments and agencies spend each year on this activity is going to waste.

The report found that, of the projects that did carry out an assessment, the majority failed to meet the required target of ‘excellence’ for new builds and ‘very good’ for refurbishments. Only 38 per cent (14 of 37) of new builds scored ‘excellent’ and 44 per cent (27 of 61) of refurbishment projects scored ‘very good’. For all 2005-06 projects, only nine per cent (41 of 441) achieved the required standards.

An article in Carbonfree.co.uk quotes Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO,as saying: “Government departments and agencies spend in the region of £3 billion each year on new builds and major refurbishments. If sustainability is well handled, and addressed at the very beginning of construction projects, it can and should provide better value for money in the long term.”

In case you were wondering, a sustainable building is one that reduces energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions; minimises the use of resources such as water; reduce the release of pollutants; maximise the use of reclaimed and recycled materials; and promotes sustainable travel choices such as public transport and cycling.