Last edited 18 Jan 2021

Delivering low carbon infrastructure

On 12 July 2017, the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) published ‘Delivering Low Carbon Infrastructure’, a report recommending the establishment of a whole life carbon target for infrastructure.

Informed by detailed client interviews and desktop research, the report’s main findings are:

There is no specific whole life carbon target for infrastructure that organisations or projects can work towards.
There is wide variation in the ambition, duration and scope of the targets currently being set.
There is no single method used by all the surveyed clients to set their carbon targets.
Regulators play a role in addressing carbon, but are not explicit in setting targets for carbon reductions or for driving performance.

Based on the findings, UK-GBC recommends the establishment of a whole life carbon target based on climate science and from which organisations can derive commensurate targets. The monitoring of such a target, and the reporting of progress against it, will be crucial.

The report was prepared with support from Atkins, CEEQUAL, Ferrovial Agroman, Osborne, Skanska and Responsible Solutions, and has been endorsed by the influential ICE Infrastructure Client Group. The group, which is chaired by Tideway CEO Andy Mitchell CBE, features C-suite level representation from the biggest infrastructure client organisations in the UK.

Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive, UK-GBC said:

“I’m pleased that UK-GBC has been able to provide the industry with a lucid view on carbon target setting in infrastructure. There is a great deal of support for setting a carbon target, based on climate science, for this part of the built environment, and I hope this report provides the catalyst for achieving this.”

Andy Michell CBE, Tideway CEO, chair of the ICE Infrastructure Client Group and chair of the Infrastructure Industry Innovation Platform said:

“Carbon is a key concern in infrastructure. Clients across all infrastructure sectors are taking action to reduce emissions, but we must ensure our actions go far enough to tackle the challenge that lies ahead. It is clear that the setting of an industry-wide carbon target for infrastructure, as recommended in this report, is essential. This will ensure we have a clear trajectory to a low-carbon future, in line with climate science.”