Columnist Rudi Klein writes in about our Green Construction Board feature

Heat sensitive house picture

I refer to Vern Pitt’s excellent article on the Green Construction Board (“It’s not easy being green”, 20 June, page 22).

I was astounded to read that the board had dropped (as one of its actions) a project to determine whether “it is possible to deliver, using collaborative working principles, a sustainable retrofit of a school that achieves a 70% reduction in carbon emissions for the same capital cost as refurbishment to Building Regulations standards”.

If this was the only thing the board had done (and in doing so, had managed to achieve the 70% reduction) that would have made a real difference. The consensus in the industry is that procurement innovation embracing collaborative working from the outset - with supply chain expertise fully engaged - will help reduce carbon and improve energy efficiency.

I urge the board to link up with the on-going work on one of the government’s model procurement options using integrated project insurance.

Professor Rudi Klein, via email

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