32
ROUND TABLE REVIEW
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDUSTRY & GOVERNMENT
• Tim Martel, AECB: You have to have someone on site to check that what has been designed is being built, and you can’t prove they are doing it right unless you have a photo. Setting up toolbox talks and dummy examples can bring all of the site team together; things like taping junctions are not easy.
• Jon Ducker, Kingspan Insulation (event sponsor): Signposting from Government would be hugely welcome plus onsite performance evaluation and certifi cation.
• Marina Topouzi, University of Oxford: It’s not fabric or renewables fi rst, we need both, and we need understanding at all levels, from design until operation.
AT THE CENTRE OF THE INDUSTRY DEBATE
Building Insights LIVE continue to host the leading round tables for construction sector academics and associations to come together with supply chains
role, to coordinate delivery of designs onsite, spot cost-cutting, and enforce quality. Rather than a national regulator policing energy effi cient buildings, delegates supported the Clerk of Works option, pointing out that Berkeley Homes for one still employed them. Simon Storer summed up the simple maxim why fabric had to
be ‘fi rst’ for FHS-compliant homes: “If fabric fails, the heat pump cannot operate effi ciently.” Jon Ducker said the proof of poor outcomes would be seen in consumer complaints; “any structural fabric failure will be immediately evident to the consumer through poor heating performance.” Storer pointed to the future, saying that part of recruiting the next generation of construction professionals was that “we must create specialised, well-paid compliance roles,” as opposed to box-tickers. Ducker was optimistic that “systematically tracing real-world building performance will force the industry to address underperformance.”
Simon Storer offered a strongly-worded conclusion in making his recommendations for industry and government, which homed in on the fundamental problem of Government setting targets, and sometimes imposing measures, without any depth of industry knowledge. This spoke to the need for industry initiatives on maintaining focus on good fabric such as those highlighted at the round table to receive greater consideration by the Government, especially rigour and transparency. He said that the Government “needs to stop beating the industry up and imposing so much on it. How many consultations have there been in the past fi ve years, and what do they do with them? Release another consultation because they don’t like the answers?” Pinpointing the knowledge gap between the Government and industry on building performance, he said “a much better, collegiate relationship” was needed, given the challenges the whole value chain was undergoing. “Work with us, trust us to prove it, and stop doing things ‘to’ construction.” He asserted that the industry was “seen as the enemy,” but there was huge scope to improve on the interface between the sector and Government, for the good of all.
• Naomi Sadler: I’d like more transparency from industry and for the Government – to be able to upload photo evidence to a Government portal to be accessed by all.
• Rob East, Newland Homes: When you produce something that’s substantially better than an EPC ‘A’ rating, it ought to be recognised, in a way that’s easy for a home buyer to see at a glance.
• James Towt, Useful Simple Trust: We need transparency around the direction of travel from the Government.
• Alan Collier, Don & Low (event sponsor): Communication and education; training onsite such as around VCLs, and onsite supervision, and I’m all in favour of bringing back Clerk of Works.
• Ness Scott, Greencore Homes: Regulation for embodied carbon is absolutely essential, that would drive the change we are all looking for. The industry needs to do more post-occupancy evaluation.
• Roly Ward, Head of Business Development, Medite Smartply (event sponsor): The proposed Part Z is key, mandating measurement of embodied carbon, to shift focus from operational energy. We need encouragement and engagement from the Government, their high targets weren’t really backed up with any substance or assurance.
• Paul Christmas, EWIPRO: The Government should focus on reducing energy consumption via fabric fi rst, rather than putting all their focus on cheaper energy.
• Chris Pears-Ryding, Tarmac Group (event sponsor): We need that embodied carbon information from the Government.
• Tom Westwood, The Green Register: The Government could partly ease the transition to increased regulatory requirements by funding training.
• Simon Storer: We need to move to the Building Passport idea as soon as possible; it may be diffi cult to get going, but once it’s in place you build on it, you don’t have to have the fi nal model from day one. And unless you have a proper inspection regime, the standards don’t mean anything.
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ADF JUNE 2026
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