CIOB Study: Construction Professionals See Future in Building Green

August 28, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The Green Perspective report from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) revealed that more than 94% of construction professionals believe that "green" building is the future for the construction industry.

Nearly 850 construction professionals took part in the CIOB survey that examined the industry's attitude towards climate change and the role of sustainable construction.

"From the survey we can see that there is clear concern about climate change and a desire to enforce sustainable construction, but there is a lack of understanding about what is being done and what can be done to tackle these issues," said Michael Brown, CIOB deputy chief executive.

"The problem may lay in the fact there is still much debate among experts and political leaders concerning possible solutions and the affect that they will have in reducing climate change. What is certain is that reducing waste and carbon emissions from buildings will not only help the environment, but is also profitable to businesses," he said.

Results showed that the industry itself sees the importance of sustainable building, however 67% of respondents felt that U.K. building regulations do not go far enough to create energy efficient buildings.

In addition, building regulations were seen as the most valuable way for the built environment to reduce C02, with the majority believing that building regulations were enforceable. According to CIOB, this suggests that the industry would like to see a more forceful and demanding set of regulations in place to drive sustainable development and market demand.

"Although this survey has identified an increase in demand for sustainable development over the last five years, this increase appears not yet to have reached significant enough levels. The reason for this lack of widespread market appetite is seen as a shortage of client awareness and education towards the financial benefits for building green projects," Brown said.

The study showed that awareness within the industry has been heightened in regards to environmental issues and their implications for the future of the industry.

Top line statistics:

• 98% of respondents believed that the construction industry had a role to play in the solution to climate change, with 54% considering that the industry's participation was vital in reducing C02 levels.
• 91.4% believe that this role is either important or vital to climate change.
• 66.6% of respondents said that U.K. building regulations do not go far enough to create energy efficient buildings.
• 73% had seen an increase in demand for energy efficient buildings over the last 5 years.
• 86% believed there is financial benefit to producing energy efficient buildings.
• 46.4% felt that renewable energy would see the majority of U.K. investment in the future.
• 94.6% felt that green building was the future for construction.
• 37% regarded the use of building after construction as the highest contributor to CO2.
• 44.9% believed that a lack of financial incentives and client demand were holding back the industry from producing zero carbon buildings in mass.

Source: The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).