“The scientists have told us about this problem, very clearly back in the late 1970s and early 1980’s and we haven’t really achieved a huge amount since then. We have wasted nearly 40 years.”
These were the comments from Gregor Craig, Skanska UK president and CEO, who set the scene for the live event, hosted by BBC news presenter Maryam Moshiri. Also taking part were: Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive, UK Green Building Council; Peter Miller, environment and town planning director, HS2; and Jeremy Greenwood, managing director, national commercial and construction solutions, Tarmac.
The construction industry’s usage of the top five carbon emission sources: electricity, heat, combustion engines, waste and materials, was a key focus of the discussion, as well as a critical look at what can be done to reduce their usage.
With additional contributions from Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, and Rune Stene, managing director, Powerhouse — there was a call to the industry to shift the dial on collaboration, which would ensure speedier action and more inclusive and broader partnerships across the industry.
“There are fantastic examples of where we’ve made some progress, but there is a long way to go. We need to maximise the collaboration potential that the construction industry can generate, to achieve the changes needed.
“In order to make a substantial change you need to think big and deliver some quite radical options. There's a real imperative for action now”, said Gregor Craig.