Cast has today been appointed as a Business Champion for Construct Zero, a collaboration initiated by the Construction Leadership Council to co-ordinate the work of industry-leading companies seeking to decarbonise the built environment. Ahead of COP 26 later this year, and in line with the UK Government’s aim to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050, immediate action is required across the construction and real estate sectors to change our culture, processes and delivery models and place making meaningful and sustainable change at the heart of our strategies.
Cast is proud to have been recognised as an industry leader and an ambassador for this change. Despite being just over 80 people strong and only five years old, we have a disproportionate impact on the industry’s direction through our advocacy for change, especially in the impact that pre-manufacturing will have on lowering both operational and embodied carbon in new homes, and through our work advising some of the leading clients in the residential development and investment markets.
We are also committed to living by the values we advocate to others. Later this year we will be reporting publicly on the steps we will be taking to decarbonise our own business and operations, using The 1.5° Business Playbook as our guide and with the support of leading sustainability consultant Greengage. Through our sector-wide advocacy, our support for leading developers, and the real, practical steps we will take as a business we will ensure that Cast plays a leading role in responding to the climate emergency and that our Cast team is proud to work for a company that is genuinely committed to the Race to Zero.
Collaboration is key to maximising the impact any of us can have on this journey, and we look forward to working as part of Construct Zero alongside other companies and industry groups that share our passion for sustainable change in our industry.
Jeff Endean, Director, and Cast’s lead for the Construct Zero Programme said
I am delighted that the work we are doing at Cast has been recognised as part of the Construct Zero initiative, and that as members we will have a great opportunity to collaborate, learn from others and share our experience of driving change in construction. Our work in advocating pre-manufactured solutions in construction and the practical tools we have developed around that will be one important part of the decarbonisation journey, however they are still only one element and through collaboration we look forward to maximising the impact we can have as a business.
Joel Hallam, Associate Director, and Cast’s Young Ambassador for the Construct Zero Programme said
As a business, Cast is already very much aligned to the Construct Zero commitments and I look forward to sharing the journey we have been on and working collaboratively with other industry advocates to tackle what is one of the most important issues for the built environment. Our team at Cast is committed to supporting our clients and supply chain to achieve practical, meaningful change to decarbonise their projects, and Construct Zero will give us all a chance to learn, collaborate and share, and make our commitment real.
Read full CLC press release below
CLC News Release
| 28.06.2021 |
New Champions to Drive Industry Carbon Challenge
Leaders from a wide spectrum of UK construction businesses have stepped up to drive carbon out of the industry.
Today the Construction Leadership Council confirms a stellar line up of businesses including major contractors and global consultants, top manufacturers and products firms, as well as specialist distributors and quantity surveyors that have committed to share their experience as they plan to hit Net Zero.
12 organisations are confirmed today as a new wave of CO2nstructZero Business Champions. They will work alongside the CLC and other major industry bodies to share innovations and best practice, acting as promotors and role models to support the industry’s move to Net Zero Carbon. The 12 organisations are:
- Adair
- Atkins
- Cast
- CEF
- Costain
- Faithful + Gould
- Ibstock Plc
- Imtech
- IStructE
- Knights Brown
- Peak
- Wavin
CO2nstructZero is the Construction Leadership Council’s campaign to bring the whole sector together in a joint effort to meet the UK’s Net Zero ambitions
As Business Champions, each organisation has made a commitment that they will share tangible evidence of their net zero carbon plans against the nine CO2nstructZero priorities, contribute to the CO2nstructZero industry reporting process and work together to support companies in the sector to develop their own plans.
Representatives from four of the companies – Atkins, Costain, Knights Brown, and Peak – will take part in an event today where they explain the work that they are undertaking to tackle carbon.
Construction Leadership Council co-chair Andy Mitchell welcomes the new Champions. He said: “We all know that tackling carbon will be the single biggest challenge our sector faces over the coming decade. To advance as an industry, we need to learn from those who are leading the way. I am delighted that we have such strong Champions coming on board, providing guidance for companies across UK construction on how they can drive out carbon”
Notes for editors
- Details of the CO2nstructZero programme are available at https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/constructzero. New Business Champions will be announced monthly.
About the Construction Leadership Council (CLC)
The CLC’s mission is to provide sector leadership to the construction industry. The expanded CLC has twelve workstreams that operate collaboratively to address the biggest issues facing the sector, focused on the Industry Recovery Plan.
Workstreams include skills and inclusion, building safety and business models. The CLC is co-chaired by Ann-Marie Trevelyan MP, Minister for Business and Industry, and Andy Mitchell CBE, CEO of Thames Tideway.
Business Champion profiles
Adair
Adair founder Justin Sullivan is chair for International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS), a standard looking at carbon which comes out in Q4 this year. I chair the coalition. To be able to reduce carbon first you need to be able to measure it, if you can’t measure something, you can’t manage it. This standard will enable us to measure carbon, in which case we can manage it and we can help decision makers design it out.
Atkins/ Faithful+Gould
Atkins and Faithful+Gould, members of the SNC-Lavalin Group, are a leading engineering, design and project management organisation with capability and experience in delivering major capital projects and programmes that span the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors. It has provided a framework to allow all of its teams the chance to lead the way on net zero carbon, with its Engineering Net Zero blueprint.
Cast
Cast is committed to playing its part in the decarbonisation of the construction industry and being an exemplar for how SME consultancies can make a difference in construction.
Despite being just over 80 people strong and only 5 years old, Cast
has a disproportionate impact on the industry’s direction through advising some of the leading clients in the residential development and investment market and its
participation in wider industry change initiatives. This is Cast’s business focus in relation to Scope 3 emission impact whilst also developing its strategy on more directly controlled Scope 1 and 2 business emissions.
Cast are currently developing a corporate plan with specialist consultancy, Greengage, to enable it to commit to a deliverable plan.
Through this Cast will report publicly on the difference it is making and ensure the Cast team is proud to work for a company that is genuinely committed to the Race to Zero.
Cast’s guiding principles for the formulation of its corporate strategy will be the 4 pillar framework set out in The 1.5°C Business Playbook
CEF
CEF was established in 1951, and the economic, social and environmental footprint of its business activity is a fundamental consideration in its commitment to responsible and sustainable growth. Climate change is a key part of the sustainability strategy it is currently developing and meeting Net Zero will be instrumental within it.
As a responsible supplier, CEF are also committed to delivering carbon reduction as well as wider sustainability gains for its customers
Costain
Costain has set the agenda and pace for tangible action to be taken now to tackle climate change, meet net zero and embed the business case for sustainability across all stages of infrastructure through Climate Change Action Plan.
Leading by example and being a clean growth leader, Costain is not only eliminating emissions from its direct footprint but also tackle the much-needed scope 3 emissions from its client’s and supply chain partner’s footprints. In 2019 the Action Plan was launched which set out a detailed 15-year plan to transition to a net zero by 2035 at the very latest without resorting to offsetting as a primary solution.
Ibstock
Ibstock is a long-term business with a deep heritage operating for around 200 years. As such part of its DNA is to steward its resources and ensure it has a sustainable and positive impact on the world. It has a history of significant investment at a number of factories to improve its environmental and carbon performance.
The Net Zero journey is one its shares with its customers. Ibstock has seen a transformational shift in attitudes from all of its key stakeholders; and there is a ‘sea-change’ in how its customers, and, in turn, their customers, view environmental issues. As the UK’s leading building products manufacturer Ibstock recognise that it has to adapt and respond – and this is reflected in its Sustainability Roadmap to 2025 with a key measure of a minimum 15% reduction in CO2 by 2025.
Imtech
Climate change is a priority for Imtech and its businesses have a direct impact on future construction projects, both new build and refurbishments. The progress of Net Zero and being a part of it will affect its business workflow and business earnings. It is providing EV charge point solutions to customers and changing its business company car policy to low carbon alternatives. It also intends to provide Net Zero road map on all projects and identifying the GHG emissions impact plus ways to reduce.
IstructE
The IStructE exists to serve society, to ensure structures are being built in a way that protects people. On a longer-term scale, net zero is part of that necessary protection.
The IStructE wants to help to drive change rather than react to it. It appreciates that there is going to be dramatic transformation across all walks of life over the next 30 years, in ways that are pretty hard to imagine. It doesn’t want to see its members having to react to demands enforced by others that haven’t fully accounted for the nuances of structural design. Instead of letting others choose the path towards net zero, the IStructE wants to be part of the conversation to help set a vision that is ambitious yet achievable.
Knights Brown
Knights Brown is an independent, multidisciplinary, construction company. In April 2021 it set out Goal 13, its comprehensive strategy to respond to the climate and nature emergency. The name of the strategy reflects of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, of which Goal 13 is climate action.
Knights Brown has a clear objective for carbon reduction – to transition to net zero, accelerating progress to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2030 in line with a science-based target pathway, compensating for residual emissions through potential high-impact climate and nature actions that deliver long-lasting, quality results alongside environmental and social benefits.
Peak
Peak is one of Europe’s fastest growing technology companies. It has developed proprietary vehicle routing technology called Beatroute. It combines best-in-class routing with predictive capabilities, allowing any company that is operating a fleet to better understand customer demand and project progress. It can then augment its algorithms with external data such as weather, as well layering in numerous unique business constraints, to ensure that vehicles are more productive and travel fewer miles. It means that customers can do more with less, and reduce carbon emissions from their fleets.
Wavin
Wavin’s purpose is to ‘Build healthy sustainable environments.’ At the centre of its approach is a very clear target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Wavin wants to play its part in helping to reduce emissions in the built environment. Ultimately, its ambition is to lead the industry in sustainability by 2025 and demonstrating significant progress towards reaching net zero will be key to achieving this’.
