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Society, sustainability and civil engineering

SOCIETY, SUSTAINABILITY

AND

CIVIL ENGINEERING

A strategy and action plan, 2002–3

The Institution of Civil Engineers Association of Consulting Engineers Civil Engineering Contractors Association Construction Industry Research and Information Association Construction Products Association

S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

Introduction

This strategy and action plan has been prepared by a team comprising the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE), the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), the Construction Products Association (CPA) and the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA). This document is intended to build on the vision set out in Building a Better Quality of Life, the government's strategy for more sustainable construction and developed further by Sir Martin Laing's Sustainable Construction Taskforce in their report Towards Sustainability — A Strategy for the Construction Industry. Our report sets out a commitment to help the civil engineering industry to deliver more sustainable civil engineering, a series of actions that the partners to the strategy will undertake themselves, and a series of recommendations for three other groups — individual civil engineers, clients of civil engineering, and the commercial organisations in the civil engineering supply chain.

This document is the first such coordinated plan, and will be updated and extended over the coming months and years, the partners having committed themselves to review and revise it at least annually. It is acknowledged to be a first step on the long road to a sustainable industry supplying a sustainable society, and the team looks forward to comment and input from anyone concerned with the future of the earth, of society generally, and of the civil engineering industry and infrastructure on which so much of modern life depends. Anyone wishing to comment, to provide suggestions for additional content or to provide details of relevant experience that could be used to prepare the next version of this plan is invited to contact the Sector Strategy Secretariat at the address given at the front of this report (p. iv).

Published by Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AA Tel.: 020 7222 7722 Fax.: 020 7222 7500 © Institution of Civil Engineers, 2002 Designed and typeset by Alex Lazarou, Surbiton, Surrey

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

Foreword

Statement by Brian Wilson MP, Minister of State for Industry and Energy

Statement from the ICE, the ACE, the CECA, CIRIA and the CPA The ICE, the ACE, the CECA, the CPA and CIRIA are committed to the series of actions outlined in this document, which are aimed at delivering more sustainable civil engineering projects and, thus, making their contribution to enabling society to live more sustainably.

When government published Building a Better Quality of Life — A Strategy for More Sustainable Construction in April 2000, we called on representative bodies and trade associations to develop complementary sectoral strategies. I am delighted that the civil engineering sector and partners in its supply chain have accepted this challenge and produced this strategy and action plan.

Mark Whitby, President ICE

This strategy is another step on the road to a high performing construction industry, wedded to the principle of continuous improvement within a framework of environmental and social responsibility. Peter Bransby, Director General CIRIA

At heart, sustainability is about making sustained improvements to our quality of life. Civil engineering has a major contribution to make to this process as both a major employer and generator of wealth, and as a profession with the technical skills to deliver major improvements to the built and natural environment.

Roy Harrison, President CPA

The challenge of sustainable construction is a major one. I am pleased that the civil engineering sector is committed to reviewing its progress and priorities on an annual basis and to working with its partners in other disciplines to implement its strategy. I wish it success and look forward to hearing of further progress.

Rod Macdonald, Chairman ACE

Chris Harding, Chairman CECA

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

Contents

1 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................1 2 Action plan ..............................................................................................................................................................2 3 The challenge of sustainable construction ............................................................................................................6 4 The benefits and impact of civil engineering ..........................................................................................................7 5 The business case for sustainable engineering ..................................................................................................10 6 Measuring sustainability performance ..................................................................................................................13 Concluding remarks..............................................................................................................................................15 Useful contacts ....................................................................................................................................................16 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................................................................17 Summary of abbreviations used in this report ......................................................................................................18

Acknowledgements Steering Group Roger Venables Chairman, Institution of Civil Engineers Environment and Sustainability Board & Crane Environmental Ltd Mark Broadhurst Cornwall County Council & Institution of Civil Engineers Environment and Sustainability Board Gareth Brown Morrison Construction & Civil Engineering Contractors Association Jeremy Croxson Association of Consulting Engineers Martin Hunt Construction Industry Research and Information Association Tim Gamon Institution of Civil Engineers Environment and Sustainability Board & TRL Ltd Andrew McLusky Independent Consultant & Institution of Civil Engineers Environment and Sustainability Board Rita Singh Construction Products Association John Wilson Civil Engineering Contractors Association Coordinating Author and Sector Strategy Secretary Andrew Crudgington Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AA Tel.: 020 7665 2219; Email: [email protected]

iv

1

Executive summary

The civil engineering sector must address the sustainability agenda if it is to:

clients. These plans and recommendations cover the following priority areas.




(a)










deliver improvements in efficiency and resource productivity meet increasing public demands for environmental and social responsible construction demonstrate to the investment community that it is capable of preserving and enhancing shareholder value through effective risk management and the ability to adapt to a changing legal and social environment meet increasing demands from clients and end users for improved performance from buildings and infrastructure recruit and retain high-calibre staff develop the new products and techniques that will underpin the long-term future of the industry.

(b)

(c)

Furthermore, sustainable development and sustainable construction will not be possible without an immense contribution from professional civil engineers in a range of areas, including:







(d)

delivering positive environmental improvements, for example through the provision of clean water and sanitation, and the remediation of contaminated land preserving and enhancing appropriate biodiversity providing and maintaining the infrastructure, including power and transport networks, on which a modern economy depends providing a safe, well-designed and accessible built environment in which people are happy to live out their lives.

However, civil engineering cannot be divorced from the construction sector as a whole. In 2000, the government published Building a Better Quality of Life — A Strategy for More Sustainable Construction (DETR, 2000). To help implement this strategy, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE), the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) and the Construction Products Association (CPA) have, in consultation with industry, government, regulators, clients and other stakeholders, identified an action plan for ourselves and a series of recommendations for all organisations in the civil engineering supply chain (including clients, contractors, direct labour organisations (DLOs), etc.), individual civil engineers and our

1

ICE, ACE, CECA, CIRIA and CPA (Section 2.2): (i) promoting the business case for sustainable construction within the civil engineering sector (ii) promoting resource productivity in the civil engineering sector (iii) promoting cultural change and innovation in the civil engineering industry. Individual civil engineers (Section 2.3): (i) continuing professional development (CPD), personal development and professional behaviour (ii) knowledge sharing. All organisations in the civil engineering supply chain (Section 2.4): (i) management of impacts and resource productivity (ii) stakeholder engagement (iii) accountability. Clients and end users (Section 2.5): (i) client education for sustainability (ii) stakeholder engagement (iii) management of impacts.

2

Action plan

2.1 Introduction — everyone can make a contribution

These action plans and recommendations reflect our consultation with industry, government, regulators, clients and other stakeholders during 2001.

The first half of this action plan sets out in detail the actions that the sector strategy steering group — the ICE, the ACE, the CECA, CIRIA and the CPA — are committed to carrying out to help deliver more sustainable construction.

We intend to review our priorities and progress against this action plan on an annual basis.

2.2 ICE, ACE, CECA, CPA and CIRIA — priorities and actions for 2002–3

In the second half of the action plan we list the actions we recommend be taken by all the organisations making up the civil engineering industry, by individual civil engineers and by our clients. Many of the steering groups' actions will make it easier for other stakeholders to implement our recommendations. In the next stage of this process, the steering group will discuss actions we can take to help others implement our recommendations.

The three tables below (Priorities 1–3) show the actions the ICE, the ACE, the CECA, the CPA and CIRIA will take to meet the priorities for action identified for trade and professional bodies.

Priority 1: Promoting the business case for sustainable construction within the civil engineering sector Action

Participants

Expected by

1. Develop CEEQUAL (see Section 6.3 below) from feasibility to operational phase

ICE, ACE, CECA, CIRIA

April 2003

2. Develop a research proposal for improving understanding and use of whole life costing and whole lifecycle environmental assessment in the civil engineering sector

ICE, ACE, CECA, CIRIA, CPA

September 2002

3. Dissemination and reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) for construction clients

ACE, ICE

June 2002

4. Sustainable Construction in Practice Roadshow

TRL, Environment Agency, CIRIA, ICE

Autumn/winter 2002

5. Management and publication of results from CIRIA's Sustainable Construction Indicators Pioneers Club

CIRIA

December 2003

6. Production and dissemination of at least six case studies, demonstrating aspects of sustainable construction

ICE

September 2002

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

Priority 2: Promoting resource productivity in the civil engineering industry Action

Participants

Deadline

1. To facilitate and disseminate research and demonstration projects by way of the ICE/Institute of Wastes Management (IWM) Resource Sustainability Initiative (see Section 5.5). Projects to include: (a) development of protocol for recycling demolition waste (b) development of best practice guidance for civil engineering applications of tyres (c) mass balance and resource flow studies of London, Scotland and Northern Ireland

ICE (with IWM)

Ongoing

ICE ICE

April 2003 December 2002

ICE

First results (London), September 2002

2. Development of a register of construction and demolition waste recycling sites

CIRIA, ICE

September 2002

3. Mass balance study of construction industry

VIRIDIS with CIRIA, ICE

June 2002

4. Construction Products Industry KPIs: to publish performance results for the industry and sectors annually with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) pan-industry KPIs

CPA

First results February 2002, thereafter annually

5. Dissemination of TRL, Building Research Establishment (BRE) and CPA tools for measuring indicators for extraction and use of quarry products in construction

CPA, ICE, CIRIA

June 2002

Priority 3: Promoting cultural change and innovation in the civil engineering industry Action

Participants

Expected by

Creation and Development of ICE online Environment and Sustainability Professional Interest Network (PIN) and forum, with free access to all

ICE

PIN in place, development ongoing

Launch new learned society journal, Engineering Sustainability

ICE

March 2003

Roll out CPD events using materials from the Professional Practice for Sustainable Development Project developed by the Institute of Environmental Science, the ICE and 14 other professional bodies

ICE

From May 2002

Open discussion with the Joint Board of Moderators with regard to the sustainability content of undergraduate courses

ICE

To be confirmed

Promote publication of sustainability reporting in annual reports

ACE, CECA, ICE

Ongoing

Promote adoption of environmental management systems

ACE, CECA, ICE

Ongoing

Open discussion with GCCP and the CCC with a view to developing client education materials

ICE, ACE, CECA

To be confirmed

Production and dissemination of 15 ICE Environmental Position Statements

ICE

April 2002

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

2.3 Recommended actions for individual civil engineers

(c)

The ICE recognises that it has a special role in providing the leadership and resources that will allow individual civil engineers to meet these priorities. To this end, the ICE's network of regional liasion officers and local associations will be asked to advise members of the following priorities.

2.4 Recommended actions for all organisations in the civil engineering supply chain Case studies on a range of topics, including whole life costing, sustainable construction, supply chain management, partnering, lean construction, integrated design and construction, IT, heath and safety, and culture and people, can be found at the Movement for Innovation (M4i) website (http://www.m4i.org.uk/innovations/). In making the recommendations below, we point companies towards the lessons learnt through the M4i case studies and encourage them to submit proposals for inclusion in M4i's register of demonstration projects at http://www.m4i.org.uk/membership/. Alternatively, the ICE will also be publishing a series of Good Practice Case Sheets. To submit a case sheet proposal, contact the Sector Strategy Secretariat at the address at the front of this report (p. iv).

Priority 1: CPD, personal development and professional behaviour (a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Individuals to ensure that their CPD programmes equip them to deal with sustainable development issues. CIRIA's Construction Industry Environmental Forum (CIEF) (certified by the Construction CPD Service and recognised by the ICE) stages over 30 seminars and workshop per year (details at http://www.ciria.org.uk/cief_events.htm). To adhere to the standards set out in the ICE's Environmental Policy Statement Civil Engineers and the Environment and to keep up-to-date with the ICE's Environmental Position Statements (all available at www.ice.org.uk). To engage with the ICE's online Professional Interest Networks (PINs), particularly the Environment and Sustainability PIN (at www.ice.org.uk). Develop an understanding of key components of sustainable construction, including: (i) whole lifecycle environmental assessment/ whole life costing (ii) nature conservation and biodiverity issues (iii) waste minimisation/resource productivity (iv) the use of environmental management systems (v) community engagement (vi) design for disassembly (vii) alternative design solutions, e.g. Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS).

Priority 1: Improve management of impacts and resource productivity (a)

(b)

(c) (d) (e)

(f )

Priority 2: Knowledge sharing (a)

(b)

To increase effectiveness of (a) and (b), and identify and focus on likely opinion leaders among professional colleagues and contacts.

(g)

Analyse the sustainability performance of projects and share the results with professional colleagues and, where possible, the ICE Environment and Sustainability PIN. Share and promote information on tools, standards and methodologies contributing to sustainable construction with professional colleagues.

Designers and contractors to develop an understanding of whole lifecycle environmental assessment, trial its use and make results publicly available. Design, specify and use recycled materials or materials with lower than normal environmental impact based on whole life performance. Introduce an environmental management system. Create mechanisms for sharing sustainability best practice within companies. Develop and implement waste minimisation policies at all stages of the design and construction process. Develop skills in the reuse and improvement of existing built assets. Develop an understanding of biodiversity impacts of projects on the chosen site.

Priority 2: Stakeholder engagement (a)

4

Supply chain — all parties, including contractors, designers, suppliers and clients, to engage at the earliest possible stages of projects. Lessons on

S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

(b)

(c)

(d)

different means of ensuring continuity in the supply chain can be learnt from the M4i demonstration projects at http://www.m4i.org.uk/innovations/. Financial world — to open a dialogue with the City and other financial institutions to promote the benefits of investment in companies pursuing sustainability policies. Communities — learn from and employ best practice in community consultation and involvement, see CIRIA/CIEF (Construction Industry Environmental Forum) briefing note Community Interaction (2001). Clients — to actively promote the benefits of sustainable construction to clients.

(iv)

(b) (c)

link between best value and sustainable construction (v) the incentives for developers to provide sustainability features for end users (vi) consideration of refurbishment over new build (vii) locations of projects in relation to transport and other services. Create mechanisms for sharing sustainability best practice within organisations. Understand and promote the benefits to end users of improved sustainability performance, e.g. reduced energy usage and easier maintenance.

Priority 3: Accountability

Priority 2: Stakeholder engagement

(a)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Include sustainability reporting in company annual report. Develop and publish company policy in key areas such as: (i) staff employment conditions (ii) green transport plans (iii) pension fund investment. Develop and use transparent processes for planning, designing and constructing projects, and take positive steps to ensure that this information is available to all stakeholders. Develop existing health and safety practices.

(b)

Priority 3: Management of Impacts (a)

2.5 Clients and end users

(b)

We recognise that our agenda will require positive action and investment by clients. A key action for the Sector Strategy Steering Group is therefore to open negotiations with major clients and their representative organisations to discuss means of implementing these recommendations.

(c) (d)

Priority 1: Client education in sustainability (a)

Earliest possible engagement with all parts of the supply chain. Lessons on supply chain engagement are available from M4i demonstration projects (http://www.m4i.org.uk/innovations/). Major clients to proactively engage with local authorities over local plan development to help ensure that planning applications are not submitted for unsuitable sites/land use and transport planning are effectively linked.

To develop training for procurement staff in sustainability awareness in consultation with trade and professional groups. Issues that might be covered include: (i) whole lifecycle environmental assessment (ii) use of specifications (iii) importance of time for dismantling and sorting, pre-tender discussion, etc.

5

Develop an understanding of whole lifecycle environmental assessment, trial its use and make results publicly available. Insist on positive action by designers and contractors to minimise the waste of human and physical resources. Seek opportunities for refurbishment over new build. Take part in demonstration projects on sustainability practice.

3

The challenge of sustainable construction

This definition draws the useful distinction between the objective of sustainability, an end state in which all human activities can be maintained within the carrying capacity of the earth, and sustainable development, the process by which we can move towards that goal. Within this statement it is possible to make out the three key themes of sustainable development, the triple bottom line (see Fig. 2) of:

By working together, the ICE, the ACE, the CECA, CIRIA and the CPA have sought to apply the strategic vision set out in the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions' (DETR) Building a Better Quality of Life, A Strategy for More Sustainable Construction and developed in Towards Sustainability, the first report of the Sustainable Construction Task Group chaired by Sir Martin Laing (see Fig. 1) to the civil engineering sector.






What do we mean by sustainability and sustainable development? Writing in Civil Engineering in November 2000, Sara Parkin, Director of Forum for the Future, suggests that: 'Sustainable development is a process which enables all people to realise their potential and improve their quality of life in ways that simultaneously protect and enhance the Earth's life support systems.'

social progress that meets the needs of everyone high and stable economic growth and employment effective protection and enhancement of the environment with prudent use of natural resources,

all of which needs to be achieved in the context of a continuous improvement in resource efficiency.

A Better Quality of Life — A Strategy for Sustainable Developement in the UK (DETR, 1999)

Towards Sustainability, A Strategy for the Construction Industry (Sustainable Construction Focus Group/Construction Confederation, 2000) Building a Better Quality of Life, A Strategy for Sustainable Construction (DETR, 2000)

Steps to Sustainability Promoting awareness and educating people

Themes for Action

Steps to sustainability

Reuse existing built assets

Collecting information on sustainability initiatives

Design for minimum waste

Collecting practical examples of sustainability in action

Aim for lean construction

Monitoring and observing performance

Minimise energy in use

Demonstrating a clear business case for more sustainable buildings and construction

Do not pollute Preserve and enhance biodiversity

Stakeholder dialogue

Conserve water resources

Spreading best practice

Respect people and their local environment

Settling and promoting targets

Set targets

Establishing a voluntary code of reporting Reviewing performance Learning from failures

Society, Sustainability and Civil Engineering — An Action Plan and Strategy (ICE, ACE, CECA, CPA and CIRIA, 2002)

 Fig. 1. Relationship of strategy and action plan to other initiatives Environment

Society

Sustainable development

Economy


Fig. 2. The triple bottom line

6

4

The benefits and impact of civil engineering

4.1 Imagine life without civil engineering





To understand the huge positive contribution civil engineering and civil engineers can make in this area we need to understand our impact on the 'triple bottom line', referred to in Section 3.






The industry has constructed nearly 400 000 miles of roads in the UK and almost 11 000 miles of railway track that is still in use. The industry is responsible for constructing and maintaining many high-profile facilities, such as the Channel Tunnel, the Cardiff Bay Barrage, the London Underground, sewerage systems, as well as thousands of smaller, less well-known, but equally important, projects throughout the country.

It is difficult to assess the impact of any industry sector in isolation from the rest of the economy, particularly so in the case of civil engineering, inextricably linked as it is to the wider construction sector. However, a good way to get a feel for the industry's contrubution to society is to pose the question, 'imagine life without civil engineering'. In the last 50 years, for example, civil engineering has brought:







reclamation of industrial land and urban regeneration water distribution networks and water purification plants waste management infrastructure flood and coastal protection heritage conservation.

The industry employs around 220 000 engineers, other construction professional staff, managers and operatives in the UK alone. Together, their output is worth around £12.5 billion a year. This figure includes the value of materials produced by other sectors that are used in civil engineering works. Without these, excluding materials, civil engineering accounts for around 2% of gross domestic product (GDP).

potable water to millions effective treatment of sewage and waste other than waste waters, with dramatic reductions in discharges of pollutants to rivers and the sea reliable electricity supplies (working in partnership with electrical engineers) extensive reclamation of contaminated land and its subsequent beneficial development extensive flood defences.

Such are the public health benefits of many parts of the civil engineering spectrum that it has been suggested that civil engineering is responsible for greater improvements in this area than the medical profession.

As an integral part of the economy, the civil engineering industry has a major effect on other industries through the purchase of materials, including cement, aggregates and steel. In addition, the industry is responsible for the provision of power and an efficient distribution network — two key factors underpinning the UK's prosperity.

4.2 The economy

4.3 The environment




4.3.1 Managing our environmental impacts

The civil engineering industry is responsible for designing, constructing and maintaining a huge range of projects, including:











Civil engineering can, and does, make a positive impact to the environment in many areas. However, as professionals we are responsible for minimising negative impacts where they arise. Some indicative figures for the environmental impact of the whole construction sector include:

roads railways docks, harbours, jetties, inland waterways and coastal protection dams and reservoirs power stations airports bridges, viaducts and other structures waste water treatment works




7

72.5 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste was produced in England and Wales in 1999, however, 35% of this waste was recycled and a further 13% was used for engineering on landfill sites (Environment Agency, 2001)

S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING





the quarrying of about 220 million tonnes of aggregate in England and Wales in 1998 the use of 24% of total energy consumption by industry in the UK in 1996 for the manufacture and transportation of construction materials (Quality of Life Counts, DETR, 1999).

Contaminated land The remediation of land contaminated by previous industrial and commercial uses reduces risks to the environment and human health, and relieves pressure to develop green sites. Civil engineering measures, such as on-site containment of pollutants, can also remove the need to extract contaminated land and to then transport the material to a hazardous waste landfill.

Civil engineering, as part of the construction sector, has a profound impact on the natural environment — both negative and positive. This is recognised by the legal requirement to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for major projects measuring their impact on a range of 'receptors', including human beings, flora, fauna, soil, water, air, landscape, climate and material assets.

Water Infrastructure built and maintained by civil engineers ensures that a supply of water of appropriate quality for the basic public health needs of every user in the UK is available at all times. Improved planning and management of this system, within an overall framework of river basin management, can reduce the need for groundwater abstraction with its damaging effects on river flows and wetlands.

Beyond the regulatory control of the EIA, many civil engineering companies are now looking to control the environmental consequences of all of their operations through the development and implementation of an environmental management system (EMS). This allows an organisation to manage its operations in line with a clearly defined environmental policy, objectives and procedures.

To help engineers understand the key environmental issues arising from their work, the ICE has published Environmental Position Statements on coastal management, contaminated land, energy, energy use in buildings, environmental management and liability, transport, transport and land use planning, urban regeneration, waste management and water resources, and these can be downloaded free at www.ice.org.uk.

A particular challenge for the civil engineering sector is that many of its environmental impacts relate to the temporary construction phase as well as the longerterm impacts of the completed project. At any one time, one company may have environmental responsibilities on a range of sites, distinguished by differences in client, output, legal and planning requirements and other local factors. Environmental management practices therefore need to be flexible enough to suit individual site or project requirements, while achieving overall improvements in environmental performance.

4.4 Society and the built environment The social element of sustainability is often hardest to grasp. A useful way of looking at this issue is to think in terms of impacts internal and external to the industry. Civil engineering provides employment in the industry and its supply chain. The employment, health and safety, and other business practices of companies within the industry have a similar direct impact on their employees and a range of other stakeholders.

4.3.2 The positive environmental impact of civil engineering works All of the above must be set against the fact that many civil engineering schemes are delivering a direct improvement to our environment and quality of life.

Externally, all construction work has a direct impact on the quality of life of local people in the construction and operational phase of projects and, in some cases such as airports, very large surrounding areas.

Transport Engineers have a key role in planning and providing facilities for more sustainable transport options, such as walking, cycling and high-quality public transport.

On a more complex level, civil engineering and construction provide the physical fabric in which people live their lives. The Value of Urban Design (DETR and

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, 2001) lists a huge range of socio-environmental impacts of good urban design, over which civil engineering and civil engineers can potentially have an enormous impact, including:









creating well-connected, inclusive and accessible new places delivering development sensitive to its context enhancing the sense of safety within and beyond developments boosting civic pride and enhancing civic image creating more energy efficient and less polluting development opening up investment opportunities, raising confidence in development opportunities and attracting grant monies.

4.5 Meeting future needs The value placed on green space or civic pride is largely subjective, adding to the difficulty in trying to construct a holistic justification for a project. This does not mean that these issues can be ignored. On the contrary, our consultations suggest that one of the most important issues we face is securing community confidence and involvement in all stages of civil engineering projects. In attempting to assess the sustainability of projects, we are also faced with difficult issues, such as the boundary to be drawn when calculating social, economic and environmental impacts and assessing the greater good. The existing land use planning system does not always provide a satisfactory mechanism for providing answers to these questions. One solution may be to develop an EIA into a wider sustainability impact assessment. However, before such an assessment method could be introduced there must be a national debate on how these fundamental issues can be resolved and an acceptable system of measurement established.

9

5

The business case for sustainable engineering

5.1 Efficiency and profitability

For example, the Government Construction Clients Panel, which is responsible for 40% of annual UK construction spend, launched its Sustainability Action Plan in July 2000. The action plan provides targets against each of the ten 'Themes for Action' in Building a Better Quality of Life, and individual departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies have undertaken to assess their current situation against these goals and to develop their own action plans.

Active management of sustainability performance can deliver significant improvements in business efficiency and profitability. The use of partnering and PFI (Private Finance Initiative) arrangements will increasingly give consultants and contractors the incentive of a direct and long-term interest in the performance of completed facilities.

Many of the advantages outlined in Section 5.1 will also accrue to the client. Other advantages to the client include:

Improved company environmental performance can achieve significant short-term business benefits. For example, lean construction and efficient resource use can generate quantifiable cost savings, as can reduced energy consumption in business activities. Project case studies can be found at the M4i website (http://www.m4i.org.uk/innovations). (Section 6.1 provides details of the high performance of these projects compared to industry norms.) Other benefits of adopting the sustainability approach include:














reducing landfill costs by increasing recycling reduced transport costs through using local suppliers increased efficiency and capacity for self-regulation through the introduction of environmental management systems positive publicity arising from environmental improvement schemes producing future tendering opportunities avoidance of pollution incidents or environmental degradation, leading to fines and court costs and damage to reputation.

5.3 The investment community 5.3.1 Socially responsible investment Socially Responsible Investment Funds (SRIs) represent a small but financially significant proportion of investment in public companies. Increased consumer concern about the conduct of companies and the funds invested in them on their behalf by their pension funds will see this sector grow in future years.

Furthermore, by working with local communities, local opposition to the project can be reduced, enabling:






demonstration by developers that they are meeting end users' expectations potential for enhanced shareholder value hedging against future legislation/regulation demonstration of corporate citizenship and social responsibility.

5.3.2 Trends in mainstream investment The investment community is increasingly aware of the risks posed by companies with poor environmental and social performance. Interbrand, the global branding consultancy, estimates that 25% of the world's financial wealth is held in intangible assets, such as reputation and brand. Companies also need to demonstrate that they are capable of adapting to future legislative changes, managing stakeholder relations and, crucially, recruiting and retaining high quality staff. These trends have been encouraged by a number of regulatory developments described below.

planning permissions to be achieved more quickly and at reduced costs minimisation of delays and site security costs arising from direct action during the construction phase positive publicity for all project stakeholders.

5.2 Meeting client expectations

(a) Many leading clients are now demanding better environmental and social performance from their supply chain.

10

Pension Scheme Disclosure — from July 2000, all company pension schemes have been obliged to disclose 'the extent to which social,

S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

(b)




environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments'. In response, fund managers are increasingly seeking relevant information from the companies in which they invest. TheTurnbull Report (Internal Control, Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, September 1999) — presses listed companies to report on their approach to risk, including risks relating to environmental performance and business probity. Failure to disclose adequate information in an annual report is likely to lead to an adverse impact on share price.

As part of our action plan, the ICE and its partners will begin discussions with researchers and companies working in this area to assess the current state of knowledge and practice, and how this can be developed. For instance, all new build and major maintenance works within the Highways Agency's construction programme are whole life costed using standard models developed by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

5.5.2 Resource productivity

5.4 Long-term benefits

Resource Productivity: Making More with Less (Performance and Innovation Unit, the Cabinet Office, November 2001) states that a key policy aim of government is 'achieving continued economic growth without the unacceptable costs of environmental and social degradation…producing more goods and services with fewer inputs of materials and energy, and with less pollution and waste'.

As Sections 5.1–5.3 show, there are long-term benefits for companies adopting a sustainability approach, including:









market differentiation and new product opportunities (e.g. green technologies) securing long-term investment managing risk to reputation/brand recruitment and retention of staff easy adoption to future legislative and societal changes protection and enhancement of shareholder value.

The ICE and its partners have already put a number of projects in train in this area. (a)

5.5 Key challenges for building the business case

(b)

5.5.1 Whole life costing/whole lifecycle environmental assessment

(c)

The use of these tools was identified in our consultation as the top priority for building up the business case. However, industry take up will be dependent on:





an easy to use mechanism for including whole life costing and whole lifecycle environmental assessment in tender documents.

Resource Sustainability Initiative (RSI) — the ICE is working with the Institute of Wastes Management and seven registered environmental bodies (EBs) to facilitate a programme of research aimed at improving resource management in all phases of the construction process. CIRIA Directory of Construction Waste Recycling Sites — CIRIA are developing an online directory of such sites that will be freely available from September 2002. Mass Balance of Construction Industry project by CIRIA and VIRIDIS — a project to measure material use by the industry. Scheduled to report in June 2002.

5.5.3 Education and training

a simple definition of whole life costing and whole lifecycle environmental assessment, and an understanding of how results from the two techniques will differ access to reliable data to allow consistent and accurate whole life costing and whole lifecycle environmental assessment to be carried out

The education and training of engineers, both through their university courses and their ongoing CPD programmes, must prepare them for, and enable them to, respond to the challenge of sustainability. As a first step, the ICE has been working with the Institute of Environmental Sciences, the Environment Agency, the

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Natural Step and 14 other professional bodies on Professional Practice for Sustainable Development (PP4SD). This project has developed CPD materials for a foundation course in sustainability for professionals.

5.6 Barriers to sustainable construction As part of our consultation with industry and other stakeholders, we asked people to identify the most significant barriers to achieving more sustainable civil engineering that they would like to see addressed. The results of this exercise were:






a need to raise awareness of sustainable development issues throughout the industry the industry to engage more successfully and earlier with clients and the supply chain to enable the implementation of sustainability principles at all stages of the construction process legal and regulatory issues such as the interpretation of the definition of waste.

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6

Measuring sustainability performance

Measurement and continuous improvement is vital if the industry is to deliver sustained improvements in its sustainability performance. Within the construction sector, a number of systems are currently available to allow measurement of industry, company and project performance.

the industry, not least a move away from competitive tendering towards long-term partnership arrangements based on clear measures of performance and sustained improvements in quality and efficiency. A set of standardised KPIs were developed by industry and the DTI, with industry performance against the KPIs published annually. Table 1, published in July 2001, shows the latest figures for the industry. The M4i is one strand of the implementation process for Rethinking Construction, which manages over 170 demonstration projects. These projects embrace a range of innovative practices central to sustainable construction, including partnering arrangements between client, contractor and supplier, down to the use of whole life costing, lean construction and standardisation and preassembly. As Table 1 illustrates, application of the KPIs to the M4i demonstration projects shows a clear performance advantage.

6.1 How is the industry currently performing? The business performance of the construction industry underpins its ability to contribute to sustainable development and has been the focus of considerable attention in recent years. Sir John Egan's 1998 report, Rethinking Construction, proposed radical changes for

Table 1. Construction industry KPIs (DTI, July 2001) KPI

Measure

1999

2000

M4i 2000

Client satisfaction — product

Per cent scoring 8/10 or better

73%

72%

93%

Client satisfaction — service

Per cent scoring 8/10 or better

63%

63%

76%

Defects

Per cent scoring 8/10 or better

65%

53%

86%

Predictability cost — design

Per cent on target or better

64%

63%

61%

Predictability cost — construction

Per cent on target or better

45%

52%

66%

Predictability time — design

Per cent on target or better

37%

41%

67%

Predictability time — construction

Per cent on target or better

62%

60%

69%

Profitability

Median profit before interest and tax

4.7%

5.5%

7.1%

Productivity

Mean turnover/employed

£27 000

£28 000

£36 000

Safety

Mean accident incident rate

1037

1088

620

Cost

Change compared with one year ago

–2%

+2%

–7.1%

Time

Change compared with one year ago

+3%

+1%

–12.9%

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6.2 Developing the industry KPIs

profitability, timely delivery, investment in training, and health and safety.

The existing industry KPIs are currently being extended in a number of areas.

6.2.3. Construction Products Industry KPIs/ aggregate production site indicators and construction indicators

6.2.1 Environmental performance and respect for people indicators

The first Construction Products Industry KPIs were launched in January 2002. The indicators comprise an initial set of ten indicators focusing on areas of key concern, such as customer satisfaction, people, and environmental issues. The CPA will publish performance results of the industry and sectors annually with the DTI's pan-industry KPI results (see Section 6.1 above).

The M4i launched its environmental performance indicators and benchmarks in July 2001. The initial suite of indicators covers:









operational energy embodied energy transport energy water use waste in the construction process biodiversity.

The Construction Products Industry KPIs will be complemented by two sets of indicators, Aggregate Production Site Indicators and Construction Site Indicators, produced by a project being led by the TRL. These indicators will allow construction clients, contractors and suppliers to benchmark the main environmental impacts associated with the production and consumption of aggregates.

Specialist indicators for civil engineering projects will draw on information emerging from the CEEQUAL project (see Section 6.3.3 below). A pilot suite of 'Respect for People' indicators were also launched in July 2001, covering:













6.3 New measures of sustainability performance

employee satisfaction staff turnover sickness absence safety working hours travelling time diversity training pay Investors in People status.

A number of current projects will provide the means to provide an even fuller picture of the industries sustainability performance.

6.3.1 OECD report on sustainable construction in the UK The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is currently reviewing UK environmental and sustainable development performance. A key focus of this review will be construction, focusing on the UK's approach to sustainable construction. The OECD report is expected in June 2002.

6.2.2 KPIs for construction consultants The first set of performance indicators for construction consultants were launched in August 2001 by the ACE. The consultants' indicators were backed by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the ICE, government and the Construction Industry Council. The KPIs apply to consulting engineers, architects and chartered surveyors, and are based on data from member firms and from Companies' House figures. The 15 indicators focus on client satisfaction, value for money,

6.3.2. CIRIA sustainable construction company indicators This CIRIA report describes a range of indicators to measure the sustainability of a company providing

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6.3.5 Government Construction Clients' Panel Sustainability Action Plan

design or construction services. The inidicators are being measured through the CIRIA Pioneers club (see Section 6.3.4 below).

The government's Strategy for More Sustainable Construction highlights the role of government and its procurement practices as a key driver for improved practice. The GCCP (Government Construction Clients' Panel) launched its Sustainability Action Plan in July 2000 on 'Achieving Sustainability in Construction Procurement ' . The action plan provides targets against each of the ten 'Themes for Action' in the government's strategy. Individual departments, agencies and nondepartmental public bodies have undertaken to assess their current situation against these goals and to develop their own action plans

6.3.3 CEEQUAL A Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme — the ICE is leading a pan-industry group to develop an assessment and award scheme, applicable to all civil engineering projects. CEEQUAL will support clients and designers in dealing positively with the environmental quality issues in their civil engineering projects, and to integrate this thinking into the design and construction processes. CEEQUAL will complement the existing BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) used for buildings. The feasibility stage of this project will be completed in April 2002 and it is hoped to have a scheme in operation by the end of 2003.

To help them report their progress against the action plan, a toolkit has been developed (March 2002) that enables organisations to assess their progress from 'doing nothing' to meeting the commitments under the action plan by March 2004.

6.3.4 CIRIA Sustainable Construction Indicators and Pioneers Club

6.3.6 Highways Agency's performance and procurement indicators

Working with industry, CIRIA has identified a series of indicators against which companies can measure the sustainability of their business and the activities they perform. The recently formed Pioneers Club encourages leading companies to pioneer the use of CIRIA's sustainability indicators to assess, improve and report on their performance.

The Highways Agency has already begun the process of identifying the appropriate indicators, from the CIRIA series, to measure the performance of its construction and maintenance contractors. Some performance indicators are being tested within existing maintenance contracts and will be introduced more widely in the future. A requirement to agree sustainability indicators and report against them has been introduced into the latest private-finance road scheme. A report on the selection of the indicators and the results of the tests will be published by the TRL later in 2002.

Over 30 months, beginning from July 2001, the club members have been, and will be, working on implementing the indicators by way of the following activities:








identification of key sustainability issues identification of appropriate performance measurement indicators analysis of data to determine key performance improvement requirements implementation of performance improvement initiatives preparation of information for a sustainability report.

Concluding remarks The strategy and action plan has been developed and published to promote action towards significantly more sustainable civil engineering. The partners look forward to working together and with their own members and others in the industry to deliver the plan and sustainable civil engineering.

The study will also consider the political issues involved in introducing the indicators throughout a company's operations.

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Useful contacts

Association of Consulting Engineers Tel.: 020 7222 6557; Fax: 020 7222 0750 www.acenet.co.uk

Department of Trade and Industry, Construction Directorate www.dti.gov.uk/construction/

Building Research Establishment Tel.: 01923 664000 www.bre.co.uk

English Nature Tel.: (0)1733 455000 www.english-nature.org.uk/

Business in the Community Tel.: 0870 600 2482 www.bitc.org.uk

Environment Agency Tel.: 01454 624400 www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Business in the Environment Tel.: 0870 600 2482 www.business-in-environment.org.uk

Envirowise (Environmental advice for business) Tel.: 0800 585794 www.envirowise.gov.uk

Construction Best Practice Programme Tel.: 0845 605 55 56 www.cbpp.org.uk

Forum for the Future Tel.: 020 7251 6070 www.forumforthefuture.org.uk

Confederation of Construction Clients Tel.: 020 7921 1670 www.clientsuccess.org.uk

Friends of the Earth UK Tel.: 020 7490 1555 www.foe.co.uk/

Civil Engineering Contractors Association Tel.: 020 7608 5060 www.ceca.co.uk

Government Construction Clients Panel Tel.: 020 7271 2624 www.property.gov.uk/services/construction/gccp/gccp.html

Construction Industry Research and Information Association (including the Construction Industry Environmental Forum) Tel.: 020 7222 8891 www.ciria.org.uk

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales www.icaew.co.uk Institute of Environmental Sciences Tel.: 01778 394846 http://ies-uk.org/

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment Tel.: 020 7960 2400 www.cabe.org.uk

Institute of Wastes Management Tel.: 01604 620426 www.iwm.co.uk

Construction Products Association Tel.: 020 7323 3770 www.constprod.org.uk

Movement for Innovation (M4i) Tel.: 01923 664820 www.m4i.org.uk (Case studies at www.m4i.org.uk/innovations/)

Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Sustainable Development Unit Tel.: 020 7944 6485. www.defra.gov.uk/environment/sustainable/index.htm

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S OCIETY, S USTAINABILITY AND C IVIL E NGINEERING

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development www.oecd.org

Transport Research Laboratory Tel.: 01344 770007 www.tr.co.uk

Royal Institution of British Architects www.architecture.com

UK Social Investment Forum Tel.: 020 7749 4880 www.uksif.org

Royal Town Planning Institute Tel.: 020 7929 9494 www.rtpi.org.uk

Urban Design Alliance Tel.: 020 7251 5529 www.udal.org

Scottish Environmental Protection Agency Tel.: 01786 457700 www.sepa.org.uk

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) Tel.: 01295 819900 www.wrap.org.uk

Sustainable Development Commission Tel.: 020 7944 4964 www.sd-commission.gov.uk/

WWF UK www.wwf-uk.org

Bibliography

A Better Quality of Life, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, May 1999.

Internal Control, Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, September 1999.

Achieving Sustainability in Construction Procurement, Government Construction Clients Panel, July 2000.

Resource Productivity: Making More with Less, Cabinet Office, November 2001.

Building a Better Quality of Life — A Strategy for More Sustainable Construction, Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, April 2000.

Rethinking Construction, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, July 1998.

Civil Engineers and the Environment — Environmental Policy Statement, Institution of Civil Engineers, 1998.

Towards Sustainability, Sustainable Construction Task Force/Construction Confederation, June 2000.

Sustainable Development: Making it Happen, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Civil Engineering, 2000, Vol. 138, November, Special Issue 2.

Quality of Life Counts, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, December 1999. The Value of Urban Design, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions/Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, February 2001.

Community Interaction, CIEF Workshop Report, CIRIA, 2001. Construction Waste Survey, Environment Agency, Spring 2000.

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Summary of abbreviations used in this report

ACE

Association of Consulting Engineers

BRE

Building Research Establishment

BREEAM

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method

CCC

Construction Clients Confederation

CECA

Civil Engineering Contractors Association

CEEQUAL

Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme

CIEF

Construction Industry Environmental Forum

CIRIA

Construction Industry Research and Information Association

CPA

Construction Products Association

CPD

Continuing Professional Development

DETR

Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (now defunct)

DLO

Direct Labour Organisation

DTI

Department of Trade and Industry

EA

Environment Agency

EB

Environmental Body (as specified in the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme)

EIA

Environmental Impact Assessment

EMS

Environmental Management System

GCCP

Government Construction Clients' Panel

ICE

Institution of Civil Engineers

IWM

Institute of Wastes Management

KPI

Key Performance Indicators

M4i

Movement for Innovation

NGO

Non-Governmental Organisation

OECD

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

PFI

Private Finance Initiative

PII

Partners in Innovation

PIN

Professional Interest Network (accessible through the ICE website)

PP4SD

Professional Practice for Sustainable Development

SEPA

Scottish Environmental Protection Agency

SRI

Social Responsible Investment

SUDS

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

TRL

Transport Research Laboratories

WLC

Whole Lifecycle Costing

WLCEA

Whole Lifecycle Environmental Assessment

WRAP

Waste and Resources Action Programme

WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

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