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DELIVERING A BETTER SOCIETY

PHOTOGRAPHY © THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL

2 | EME Outlook Issue 57

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

BRITISH CONSTRUCTION I N D U S T RY S P OT L I G H T As European countries continue to prioritise energy efficiency, sustainability, and technological integration in building projects, the UK construction sector has been compelled to adapt to these evolving trends to remain competitive Writer: Ed Budds | Project Manager: Dave West

verall productivity in British construction remains below the UK average compared with other industries and has experienced little change in the past 50 years. As a result, the government has repeatedly tried to improve the sector’s efficiency, all while having to contend with a plethora of difficult circumstances in recent years. The construction industry was pushed into a period of turmoil following the Brexit vote in June 2016, with fears of post-Brexit EU labour shortages being cited as a key reason for the vast uncertainty that subsequently engulfed the construction landscape. Further disruption followed during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 onwards, and the sector has also had to contend with inflationary pressures as a consequence of rising fuel prices following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the construction industry accounted for 11 percent of UK company insolvencies as numerous businesses were affected by rising inflation and interest rates.

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The Construction Industry Council uses expertise to shape a built environment that delivers a better world by bringing professionals together through a collective interest in enhancing the industry to have a greater positive impact and contribution to society. Graham Watts OBE, CEO, tells us more

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he Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the representative forum for the professional bodies, research organisations, and specialist business associations in the British construction industry. Graham Watts, CEO, has been involved with CIC since 1989. Initially joining as a member of the council, he subsequently was part of the Executive Board, before becoming Director. He was then appointed Chief Executive and Secretary in October 1991. Prior to joining CIC, Watts was Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), which has been a member of CIC since 1988. Today, he is responsible for the general policy and direction of CIC and for maintaining effective communication with the government and other external agencies, as well as establishing and maintaining the CIC office.

PHOTOGRAPHY © THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL

INTERVIEW: THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

EME Outlook (EO): Firstly, could you talk us through the origins of CIC – when was it founded, and what was its initial vision?

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Graham Watts, CEO (GW): The construction industry and the built environment professions are very fragmented. There are at least 250 organisations in the construction industry, including trade associations, professional bodies, and more, and it never really had a unified voice before CIC was formed. The council was originally established as the Building Industry Council in 1988, after several attempts to bring the industry together and provide a single voice for professionals in all sectors of the built environment. It’s 36 member organisations give CIC a collective membership of 500,000 professionals. It also provides an interface for members in the wider industry and government. It supports the Strategic Forum for Construction, Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), and the Construction Umbrella Bodies Limited and its subsidiary initiatives, and works with the government through the Construction Sector Unit of BEIS, the Building Regulations and Standards Division of MHCLG, the Green Construction Board, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment. We offer a range of professional services, including dispute resolution, policy development, maintenance and operation of the Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR), the provision of a Design Quality Indicator (DQI), and so on. We’ve always had a very close relationship with the umbrella bodies of the trade organisations, and we work collectively with

them for the betterment of society and the entire industry. EO: Are there any key investments or recent projects you’re working on that you’d like to pay special mention to? GW: There’s a lot of things we are doing that I think are going to help the industry in the long run. For example, a health and safety course that we’ve developed is designed specifically for professionals, the people who are responsible for starting projects in terms of design and management, whether it’s from a brownfield site or an existing construction site. The current courses that exist for health and safety professionals are exclusively aimed at people who are permanently based on-site. In this way, we’ve tapped into something that doesn’t exist and it’s a really important course that will help improve health and safety across the industry as a whole. We’ve also introduced an inclusive environment scheme that builds on work started for the London 2012 Olympics in creating accessible environments. As a legacy from the Olympics, we integrated the work in association with government departments and developed a series of essential principles that were a guide for consultants, asset managers, and building owners on how to make their properties more accessible. We are recognising employers that are creating buildings that their staff and visitors can enjoy, whatever their circumstances. So, if they are in a wheelchair, deaf or blind, the buildings take into account their specific needs and be transformed into inclusive spaces.

Low carbon and nature positive must go hand-in-hand Two initiatives on nature positive design and carbon reduction for the built environment look set to change industry practice on sustainability. While they focus on distinct areas, it’s increasingly apparent that reversing systemic environmental damage requires a broad array of solutions working in harmony. Why a shift to nature positive is critical for both the planet and your bottom line. When it comes to winning work, the prevailing wind is blowing towards demonstrating strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials. It’s partly driven by pressure from clients and shareholders that are focussed on sustainability. But while much attention has focussed on carbon performance, stakeholders are now increasingly aware of the need to be nature positive which is adherence to a position where species and ecosystems are being restored and are regenerating rather than declining. In the UK, for example, there’s a clear business imperative since most developments seeking planning permission from January 2024 must

Damon Schünmann,

Insights consultant for Barbour ABI

deliver a minimum 10 percent uplift on a site’s current biodiversity, with some local planning authorities targeting more. This will see applicable sites put through a metric developed by Natural England, the government’s adviser for the natural environment. This metric provides a biodiversity score that must be exceeded by 10 percent once the development’s completed. To get ready for such initiatives, construction industry firms are already signing up to be nature positive by adopting the recommendations made within the internationally recognised Taskforce on Naturerelated Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework that was published in September. Critically for their supply chains, these companies are already examining which businesses can provide them with products and materials that aren’t just zero carbon but are also nature positive. The firms that can satisfy this need are not only well positioned to become suppliers of choice but will actually be positioning their businesses as marketable entities.

Nature positive clients A full list of TNFD forum member companies that have already aligned with its mission and principles, and will likely be assessing their supply chains, can be found here. While market forces are already driving takeup, the UK is likely to see supportive legislation in the near future. Indeed, conversations in

the industry about TNFD compliance aren’t so much about whether it will become mandatory, so much as when this will be, with a general expectation of within three years. Companies that are ambitious on sustainability see the writing on the wall in terms of maintaining a competitive edge. Many of these have previously complied with a similar, but climate-focussed regime called the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which passed into UK law in 2022. These businesses ‒ many of whose corporate financial performance is based on whether they meet their net zero targets ‒ already have structures in place that will serve for TNFD, as it’s essentially modelled on TCFD. These organisations can start to incorporate a nature positive aspect to the governance they’ve already established for carbon. Fortunately for those that are further behind on sustainability compliance, the TNFD is a useful framework in its own right. It does this by

navigating a path via an assessment of impacts and dependencies on nature and provides clarity and a footprint. Even though the resulting picture is often more detrimental than expected, users can see what actions are needed to get to nature positive. The first step is to pick up TNFD, understand what nature positive is and apply it. You certainly won’t be alone because few organisations are yet to rigorously assess all their impacts on nature. To do so will call for innovation, not least through the need to consolidate many different datasets, but the good news is that TNFD gently takes you through what’s required through its ‘LEAP’ approach of locate, evaluate, assess, and prepare. To find out more and begin your nature positive journey, download the TNFD recommendations here.

A recent and potentially game-changing release of carbon data for infrastructure offers the chance for meaningful reductions on future projects. While we know that the built environment is responsible for an estimated 40 percent of global carbon emissions, part of the problem is the scarcity of both industry data sharing and reliable benchmarks. ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’, goes the saying, and so a step towards addressing this is a game changing new tool. The Built Environment Carbon Database (BECD) can help close the gap for carbon reduction targets. The publicly available BECD is being developed by a consortium of infrastructure organisations, led by the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS). An initial substantial body of infrastructure carbon data for highways projects has been

uploaded to the BECD for highways. Supplied by consultant Mott MacDonald, following client approval, it incorporates data collected from seven years’ worth of projects. These include a range of highway types and constituent elements such as bridges and roundabouts, which together can portray the carbon impact for new projects. When a new highway is being conceived, the system can produce an asset-level assessment of the likely carbon intensity from materials as well as construction activity emissions for various design solutions. These are drawn from comparable highway projects that have previously been measured against industrystandard databases such as the ICE, along with specification information from supply chains. Accuracy is improved because the database contains multiple projects of a given type, and this will further increase with the ongoing addition of new projects, something the BCIS is keen to receive from other construction businesses. Simply put, the more data that is added to the BECD, the more valuable it will become for all.

Measurement drives integrity

The BECD also opens the door for informed and constructive challenges in the industry, as a shared reference point introduces much-needed transparency and integrity. Companies will only be able to claim its solutions are driving down

carbon if emissions are demonstrably lower than for equivalent projects represented in the database. This supports a theme highlighted in the 2023 revision to PAS 2080, the global standard for managing infrastructure carbon, co-authored by Mott MacDonald. It’s a revision that includes an emphasis on benchmarks to aid decision making in the early stages of projects. BCIS CEO James Fisks is passionate about the need to share data in a transparent, responsible way. “The only way we can be sure that we are making the right decisions to reduce the environmental impact of our activities in the built environment is to learn from and share data with each other,” he says. “The BECD is designed to facilitate this. “The clock is ticking and we can no longer hold back on sharing anything that could help in our fight against climate change. This doesn’t mean losing your competitive advantage – more central data storage benefits everyone and helps reduce risk,” he adds.

Multi-sector rollout Mott MacDonald UK and Europe climate change lead, Kim Yates explains that carbon modelling for highways is just the start. “For the benefit of all, BECD will be expanding; we will be contributing data we hold for rail, energy and water projects in coming months. We invite you to do the same,” she says. BCIS launched the database in October via a webinar that explains how the BECD works and how you can both access and submit data.

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We’re also very concerned and occupied with improving building safety. As such, the Competence Steering Group (CSG) which was set up under the auspices of the Industry Response Group, established jointly in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 by the (then) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Build UK, CIC, the Construction Products Association (CPA), and the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC). The CSG brings together hundreds of organisations across the industry to improve the competence of the people working on higher-risk buildings, ranging from engineers, architects, and building designers to the installers of equipment on higher-rise buildings, the fire risk assessors, and even fire and rescue services. This is going to have a massive impact on the industry going forward because it means everybody has got to qualify in a way that takes into account fire and structural safety on complex buildings in a way that was never in existence before the Grenfell Tower tragedy. So that’s something I’m particularly proud of. EO: How do you see the organisation developing over the next five years? GW: I think we’ll continue to move more towards the natural environment as well as the built environment. Our other priorities for the next two years are geared towards 10 | EME Outlook Issue 57

CIC STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES • Interface with professional bodies to promote quality, cohesion, and societal good (embracing the development of skills and talent). • Climate change /environmental sustainability. • Equality, diversity, and inclusion, embracing productivity. • Well-being in its broadest sense, embracing health and safety and building safety. • To add value and emphasis to the work of members.

nature-based solutions. We have a very active climate change committee, which has 10 separate work streams for the role of the built environment professionals who are helping to deliver net zero. Again, we work very closely with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) on a series of carbon net zero policies, and that’s a major priority for CIC going forward. We aim to bring organisations together and we’ve done that very successfully amongst the construction

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

“ W E ’ V E A LWAY S H A D A V E R Y C L O S E R E L AT I O N S H I P W I T H T H E U M B R E L L A B O D I E S O F T H E T R A D E O R G A N I S AT I O N S , A N D W E W O R K C O L L E C T I V E LY W I T H T H E M F O R T H E B E T T E R M E N T OF SOCIETY AND THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY” – G R A H A M WAT T S , C E O , T H E C O N S T R U C T I O N I N D U S T R Y C O U N C I L

professions, but I think we’ll continue to build on this moving forward into a wider base of organisations.

EO: What specific targets do you hope to achieve moving forward?

EO: Since its inception, how has the council developed and progressed in terms of overcoming adversity?

GW: The main priority for us is to ensure that our Members remain with us and we work together collectively for the good of the industry and society as a whole. We recently developed a corporate affiliate scheme where companies can share the information, guidance, and everything else CIC produces. We also have some targets going forward about the number of companies we can attract for the scheme. CIC aims to break free from being the best-kept secret in the industry and share our work on risk, liability, and other essential guidance. At present, many people in construction spend an awful lot of money on legal fees before finding out that this is guidance CIC already provides at no cost. We’ve grown from five professional bodies to 36, comprising the majority of the built environment sector. Additionally, we’ve experienced a gradual movement from being purely a construction body to an association that spans the whole of the built environment, now taking into account issues such as landscape and natural environment planning. Moreover, we are proud of the role that we’ve played in helping to integrate the broader industry through bodies like CLC. Another aspect that people don’t relate to CIC is that we own a significant amount of other vehicles used within the industry. For instance, if you walk up and down the streets anywhere in the UK, you often see a banner that says, ‘we are a considerate constructor’; this is a constructors scheme that CIC took ownership of in the 1990s, alongside the Construction Products Association (CPA) and it’s now run as a completely separate subsidiary.

GW: In a counterintuitive sense, the COVID-19 pandemic helped the construction industry in terms of integration. At the beginning of the crisis, there were lots of calls for construction work to stop because people thought that workers travelling to sites would increase the spread of the virus. In response to this, CIC and CLC called together all the disparate elements of the industry, including the bodies representing contractors, manufacturers, civic builders, and merchants, alongside the government, represented through various departments such as the Cabinet Office, Department of Business and Trade, Department of Housing. It was great to see everyone pull together as a collective. This collective met every day for an extended period and still meets every week.

Tel: 0207 399 7400 enquiries@cic.org.uk www.cic.org.uk

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THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL Tel: 0207 399 7400 enquiries@cic.org.uk www.cic.org.uk

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