1. ‘Build to Last’ Sustainable Construction – Skills for the Future
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
‘Build to Last’ Sustainable Construction – Skills for the Future
Annie Hall
Head of Sustainability
CITB-ConstructionSkills
Build to Last – constructing a future where people, the planet and industry profits all have a future … that lasts!

2. ‘Build to last’ is about …
Good (smarter) business management
Building so that …
we (people)
the earth’s resources (the environment upon which we all depend)
construction businesses (and their profitability)
All have a future … that lasts!

3. Why sustainable construction?
UK Economy
8% GDP - £77bn
Employment
2m+ jobs
Society
Infrastructure for life
Materials Use
6T per person in UK annually
Pollution Incidents
20% (serious industry related)
Energy/Greenhouse Gas
50% UK = 10% build + 40% in use
Waste
80Mt annually (10% unused)
Hazardous Waste
+25% (1.24Mt)
Rural Land Use
54km2 to urban annually
General ‘by-products’
Habitat, dust, noise, fly-tipping
Big industry, big impacts – both positive and negative: 8% of Gross Domestic Product in the UK amounting to £77bn, offering employment to over 2m people.
All around us – shapes how we live, where we live, what we do, day to day. Being such a formative industry brings great responsibility with it … to society.
And besides the big impact and contribution to the economy and society generally, construction/demolition also impacts on the environment …
20% serious industry-related pollution incidents.
6T material p/yr – each person in the UK
50% of UK energy consumption/greenhouse gas emissions – 10% in construction + 40% in use
80Mt waste p/yr from construction/demolition (10% unused!) – 3x household waste
+25% (1.24Mt) more hazardous waste in 4 years from on previous period – mainly due to development in the SE England
54km2 rural to urban p/yr - 20% loss of tranquil areas since the 60s
Damage to habitats, dust, noise and fly-tipping big problems
You get the picture …

4. Site management Source: Environment Agency
Well here are some more to illustrate …
Poor site management, hazardous waste, chemicals storage, silt pollution and oil pollution …

5. ‘Build to Last’: Linking the supply chain Sustainable Construction
Clients/Investors
Impact and added value
Why
&
Where
Sustainable
Construction
Legal
What
Construction Industry
Legal compliance
Form and function
Designers/Architects
How
Our response to this agenda is : ‘Build to Last’ – a term coined by our Chairman (Sir Michael Latham), includes all those who have a major role to play in delivering sustainable construction – right across the supply chain:
The client commissioning the project, and those financing it – role is to address why it is being built, its location, what added value it will bring to society, how it will impact on the locality and more widely eg on water resources, flood risk, proximity to local employment, transport links etc.
Designers and architects – role relates to the design or form and function of the project once completed and throughout its life – to minimise negative impacts on people, the planet and the economy and to maximise the benefits.
Contractors and the supply chain – role in choosing to source materials sustainably eg timber sources, recycled materials, etc and how they construct on site in the methods used to minimise waste, environmental impacts, pollution risk, inconvenience and nuisance to local people, offsite pre-construction etc
And finally everyone in the industry from those who commission and finance construction projects to those who design, build and supply materials – has a responsibility to build legally – to comply with all relevant legislation – building regs, environmental regs, H&S, employment etc.
The key is in each playing their part and linking the whole together …
Contractors/Supply Chain
Method and materials

6. Build to Last – progress so far
So how far have we got?
Identified drivers/barriers to change and what is required of industry (2004)
Consulted with industry – survey, seminars and stakeholder workshop (2004/05)
‘As part of the Sustainability Forum – developed Sustainability Skills Matrix for Built Environment – use this to frame skills development, training and education for the built environment. Already interest from ICE, RICS, Academy for Sustainable Communities, NOS and developments in S/NVQs and NCC product development.
Commissioned joint skills/provision gap analysis research using Skills Matrix – report autumn (2005)
Commissioned sustainability business case(s) and ‘Top 10 Things’ research – report autumn (2005)
Draft 10-year Sustainability Strategic Plan for the sector – consulting partners and launch on 1 December 2005 – we would love to hear from anyone wanting to lead or partner delivery. The plan is currently being updated following a stakeholder workshop.
From this and earlier work therefore we identified what needed doing and why and now when (priorities).
We then drafted from these inputs and research how to address these needs under 4 themes – and are now in the process of talking to partners about WHO is going to work with us to deliver the plan under 4 themes:
Clarify - understanding of sustainability
Lobby - climate for change
Skills – upskill across the industry
Communicate - share experience

7. Main drivers for change
Sustainable
Construction
Legislation
& Taxes
So what is driving change for SD? We identified the main drivers in the course of a review we conducted last year:
Legislation & Taxes - energy white paper, planning and waste regulations, water framework directive, landfill directive, energy performance of buildings directive (2006) revision to Building Regulations (Sustainable & Secure Buildings Act – ‘Stunnell Bill’), landfill tax, aggregates tax, climate change levy … and so on …
Government/reports – public sector client role (eg Schools, Health, Defence, RDAs, LAs), Government All Party Group, Egan (Skills) Report, SBTG – new Sustainable Buildings Code (being developed now), Sustainable Communities Plan and more recently - UK SD Strategy – all Govt Depts and policies, LSC & HEFCE SD Strategy, LSDA CoVE project for sustainable construction, SSC responsibilities re SD and industry support
Financial - Financial/investor pressure on companies regarding Corporate Responsibility, SD awareness FTSE4Good etc – investment risk, shareholder value/pressure, property/insurance (flood)
Industry awareness … SD is about good business practice and risk management!
Government/
Reports
Financial

8. Main barriers to change
Unaware of SD business case
Corporate priorities - time and cost high, SD low
Disjointed client/contractor relationship
Whole supply chain needs to be involved in SD
Short term cost/benefit calculation
Access to sustainable products/ technologies
Lack of adequate/appropriate skills
And the barriers … perhaps few surprises here?
Lack of awareness of the business case for sustainable development prevents many companies from considering more sustainable approaches
Corporate priorities like time and cost prevail over that given to SD considerations
Despite improvements in some areas, there remains a disjointed relationship between client, contractor and indeed all those involved in the supply chain
This lack of joining up or team approach – apart from a few notable examples – means that each part in the supply chain does their own thing and the collective benefits to society, the environment and profit margins are not realised … not least because of …
The focus on price-based procurement and short term calculation of costs and benefits mean that whole life cost savings are not understood or taken advantage of
Whilst there are many sustainable products and processes/tools etc ‘out there’ people do not seem to know how or where to access them – or have the time to find out
And finally there are inadequate appropriate skills to support sustainable construction in the workplace.
All these things militate against SC becoming mainstream … at the moment.

9. 10-Year Strategic Plan for Sustainability
‘Clarify’ – understand sustainability: what it means in practice to different parts of the industry
‘Lobby’ – create a climate for change: to balance legislative pressure and commercial advantage
It is under these four themes that our plan of action has been developed – based on what industry and other stakeholder working with the industry say they want/need to happen, and in what order of priority.
The following chart shows a few extracts from the full plan that you will all have been given in your delegate packs – this is by way of example …
‘Skills’ – develop skills for sustainability across the industry: to translate words into practical action
‘Communicate’ – develop and share experience and best practice: to speed up the change process

10. 10-Year Strategic Plan for Sustainability
Understanding sustainability
‘Top 10 Things’ series
Business case(s) research
Methods for evaluating/rating products/methods
Compendium of relevant legislation
Clear vision of Sustainable Develop- ment and Sustainable Construction
Lobbying to create a climate for change
Client awareness of business case
Uptake of sustainable design, products and reporting
Govt – financial incentives/taxes
Financial investors to rate company sustainability
Developing skills in the industry
High level skills framework
Skills/provision needs and gap analysis
Briefings/short courses – clients, designers, management, contractors
Review/update NOS and S/NVQs
Content of HE/FE and professional courses
Creating and communicating good practice
Case studies for ‘Top 10’ series
Briefings on sustainability legislation
Signpost good training provision
Statement of what sustainability looks like and required action - by industry ‘segment’
During the course of the last year we have been talking to industry groups, trade bodies, support organisations and the like culminating in a stakeholder workshop last Nov, to find out what they want/need to happen to make sustainable construction a reality.
We ended up with a draft strategic plan – with four themes:
Understanding sustainability
Lobbying to create a climate for change (as opposed to Climate Change”!)
Developing skills in the industry
Creating and communicating good practice (or I prefer to call it experience)
Here are a few extracts from each of the theme areas by way of examples. If you feel your organisation can help to deliver any of the plan activities - remember it is not CITB-CS plan but the sector’s – let me know before our Commitment workshop on 13 July in London. The plan is on our website: The workshop is to gain commitment from partners to lead or support on delivery.

11. Sustainability Skills Matrix for the Built Environment
High level overarching framework – inform training/ skills development across the built environment
Primary functions involved from investment through design and construction to end use and demolition.
Main sustainability issues re the built environment
What the main functions need to be able to do to achieve a sustainable built environment (excludes generic skills)
Relevant to all disciplines – varying levels of involvement are rated
So what is the Matrix and what does it include?
High level framework – inform SD skills development in the built environment functions/industries
Includes the main functions involved (across several SSCs) from investment through construction process to end use and eventual demolition.
Sets out the main sustainability issues relating to the built environment
And what the key functions need to be able to do to achieve them
It acknowledges and tries to rate the different roles/levels of involvement across the disciplines
Broadly this is what it looks like …

12. Sustainability Skills Matrix for the Built Environment
COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABILITY
To achieve sustainability by:
ABILITIES
The ‘Functions’ need to be able to: 1 2 F U N C T I O S
SOCIAL
[4 subsections]
14 ‘abilities’
ENVIRONMENTAL
[3 subsections]
15 ‘abilities’
ECONOMIC
[2 subsections]
10 ‘abilities’
Ratings on level of functional involvement:
*** = Primary role
** = Involved in
* = Aware and take action as necessary
No * = Aware
The Sustainability Skills Matrix – developed by the SF Skills W/G (chaired by me) in association with 12 other orgs and DTI plus 3 SSCs.
I felt that we (as a SSC) needed a high level skills framework to help us shape skills dev planning for the sector and suggested this as a development. It contains four main areas:
Components of sustainability under social, environmental and economic headings
12 Functions across the Built Environment from investment, client, and design through the construction process to end use and demolition
The abilities needed by those functions to deliver the sustainability components
Star ratings on the level of functional involvement in those activities (not importance):
Primary role
Involved in
Aware and take action as necessary
Aware

13. Some examples … *** * ** COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABILITY ABILITIES SOCIAL
To achieve sustainability by:
ABILITIES
The ‘Functions’ need to be able to:
Plan-ning
Procure-ment
Ops & Mgnt
SOCIAL
[eg second component]
‘Promoting sustainable communities through planning and design’
Ensure appropriateness of development to needs of the community including multiple use and adaptability
*** * **
ENVIRONMENTAL
[eg first component]
‘Taking account of natural capacity’
Respond to projected impacts of climate change
ECONOMIC
‘Enhancing business opportunities’
Capitalise on funding/grant available for more sustainable development
Here is an example of one or two of the components, abilities by three functions …
It was formally handed over to the three SSC Chief Execs on 7 June – where it will be used for many joint and individual actions to support a sustainable built environment – including our skills gap analysis research.

14. Potential uses … Uses? SD SKILLS MATRIX Influence/inform initial
training, NOS, CPD
Frame database of
skills/training for industry
- build capacity
Frame research (needs
gaps, provision)
Provide structure for
shared SSC activity
Determine provision
‘fit for purpose’
Uses?
The main purpose of this framework was to help the relevant SSCs with their SD skills identification/mapping for their sector – we all have to do it and it makes sense in the built environment to do it together - with industry. Future potential uses we identified include:
Influencing and informing initial training (FE/HE), NOS, CPD etc
Framing research all SSCs are bound to do re SD skills in their sector – skills and provision gap analysis
Help to determine current/future provision/training ‘fit for purpose’
Enable SSCs and industry itself to measure progress from a baseline on skills for SD
Enable SSCs to measure their own progress (re above) and to ensure integrated planning for skills across the built environment
Provide a structure for shared SSC activity in future – research, skills development, materials etc
Frame a database for training/skills for the sector(s) – help to build capacity
Measure SSCs progress/
inform integrated future
planning
Measure industry
progress year on year –
generate baseline

15. Why should we support SD skills?
Industry wants/needs it
Govt/legislation is pushing it
Clients (esp public sector) are demanding it
SSC licence requires it
Partners see the opportunities in it
Large development projects need it
LSC and HEFCE strategies point to it
Time is right – politically
But why should ‘we’ be interested in supporting the development of SD skills in the construction sector?
There are some fundamental reasons …

16. So what next? Can you help… - to deliver the Strategic Plan …? and/or
- use the Skills Matrix in skills/education development for the built environment …?
So now what?
I am keen to hear from anyone who is interested in helping to deliver the actions on the Strategic Plan – either in a lead or partnering capacity or if you have money to invest …!
I am also interested in hearing from anyone who can see how they might use the Skills Matrix for the Built Environment. We want feedback on its usefulness and uses, content and future development/revisions. We are already using it to shape skills gap analysis research, will be using it to frame the development of our NCC products and services and in future revisions of the NOS, S/NVQs and the like.
Perhaps we can discuss this in the remaining period of this session? I have copies of the Strategic Plan (needs updating from the workshop) – sorry but I have been on post-operative sick leave for the past 3 weeks so the updates have not yet been done!!
In the meantime, however, I will leave you with a couple of pictures to think about … and that maybe will help our discussions …

17. Sustainable? Definitely not!
A sustainable construction? Lasting a long time is not the only consideration … impact on the environment (emissions etc), people (unemployment) and the economy (paying dole, lost productivity where people are stuck in traffic congestion etc)
A luxury log cabin in picturesque forest surroundings … built, of course, entirely from locally, but not sustainably, sourced timber !!!