Written evidence submitted to the Environmental Audit Committee : submission to enquiry on 'Sustainability of the built environment'

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Giesekam, Jannik (2021) Written evidence submitted to the Environmental Audit Committee : submission to enquiry on 'Sustainability of the built environment'. UK Parliament.

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Abstract

Total embodied carbon emissions attributable to the UK built environment have not reduced over the past two decades as improvements in the carbon intensity of material production have been outweighed by increased construction activity. This trend is unlikely to change in the absence of additional policy. Based upon current and planned policies, if embodied or whole life carbon assessment is not integrated into Building Regulations or another policy instrument by the middle of this decade the UK will be an outlier compared to usual comparator countries. The Government (through BEIS/MHCLG) should set out an indicative long term trajectory for policy in this area and immediately provide funding to support development of critical underpinning policy infrastructure (e.g. common database and methodology). The longer this investment is delayed, the longer it will take to develop the metrics, benchmarks, and targets upon which effective policies and changes in practice depend. The Government should set in place formal structures to learn from the wide range of alternate approaches in emerging international policy when formulating the details of a domestic response.

ORCID iDs

Giesekam, Jannik ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2915-1323;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)