Major clients sign up to CLC’s Client Carbon Commitments
Six major infrastructure clients have pledged to switch to lowest carbon-sourced concrete and steel on their projects.
The Lower Thames Crossing, National Highways, Heathrow, Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water and Sellafield have all committed to procure for low carbon construction and scale-back or phase out the use of diesel, steel, and concrete, which are the biggest carbon emitters on infrastructure construction projects.
They are the first clients to sign up for the Construction Leadership Council’s “Five Client Carbon Commitments” designed to help the industry advance to Net Zero.
CLC’s five Client Carbon Commitments are:
Procure for low carbon construction and provide incentives in contracts.
Set phase-out dates for fossil fuel use.
Eliminate the most carbon-intensive concrete products.
Eliminate the most carbon-intensive steel products.
Sign up to PAS 2080, allowing a common standard in carbon management and reporting.
The five pledges also include setting dates to ban diesel on sites, driving the transition to green hydrogen, and electric-powered plant.
The CLC is also asking client organisations to commit to using PAS2080, creating a common carbon management standard across the industry, and to put carbon reduction at the heart of their procurement processes.
These pledges have been piloted by the Lower Thames Crossing, resulting in a 50% reduction in carbon in its recently concluded procurement process.
Matt Palmer, Industry Sponsor for Net Zero and Biodiversity at the Construction Leadership Council and Executive Director, Lower Thames Crossing said, “The UK relies on the infrastructure that organisations build and run, but the way we have been doing so is incompatible with a Net Zero future. We cannot simply stop building and maintaining infrastructure, so we must change and to adopt new materials and technologies. We need to be bold, and we need our partners and supply chain to come with us.”
Industry Minister and Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council Alan Mak said, “From investing in green skills and tech to boosting investment and innovation, there are huge opportunities in decarbonising for the UK construction sector. Through the Construct Zero framework, we could see thousands of new green jobs and billions in private sector investment being added to the UK economy.”
Mark Reynolds, Group Chairman and Chief Executive of Mace and Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council said, “We are now at an inflection point where wholesale changes, brought about through cross-industry collaboration, are the only way to meet the speed and scale that Net Zero 2050 demands.”
In the coming months, more organisations are scheduled to sign-up to the pledge, including East West Rail, the Environment Agency, National Grid and the Houses of Parliament Restoration & Renewal.