NEWS 5 INDUSTRY SURVEY
Construction professionals concerned about greenwashing, survey fi nds
Misleading or inaccurate sustainability claims by fi rms selling to the construction sector are a concern for industry professionals, according to a new report, while most respondents said they would pay more for products with verifi ed claims for eco credentials.
An industry survey by Futurebuild
and the Anti-Greenwash Charter of 430 professionals across the construction sector, ‘Greenwashing: What’s true, what’s not, and does it matter?’ found that 88% saw greenwashing as a “problem” currently. Architects made up the largest segment (11.6%), followed by academics, ‘sustainability managers,’ and engineers. Half of the respondents said they had
been in “face to face interactions with someone telling them a more positive version of events than was verifi able,” in terms of the eco performance claims made for products or services.
The report said that sustainability EDUCATION
Planning granted for Holmes Miller Passivhaus education campus
Planning permission has been granted for a ‘community campus’ in Faifl ey, West Dunbartonshire, designed to Passivhaus standards by London-based practice Holmes Miller. It will bring together two primary schools, a nursery and ASN provision with a host of community facilities, including a library. As well as Passivhaus, the campus is also designed to the Scottish Government’s Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard. It will require little energy for space heating or cooling, minimising emissions and bills. The new facility for West Dunbartonshire Council, which will be delivered through hub West Scotland and which received part-funding from the
Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Improvement Programme, will improve services for local people by co-locating education and community facilities under one roof.
It will replace the existing St Josephs and Edinbarnet primary schools, Auchnacraig and Lennox early learning and childcare centres and the Skypoint community centre with modern, accessible facilities that benefi t from signifi cantly reduced maintenance and running costs, as well as low carbon emissions. The sports hall and all-weather outdoor pitch will be available out-of- hours to community sports groups, and the fl exible design will allow the school’s dining space to double as a drama or
dance facility for local groups. Community allotments and an ‘arrival plaza’ will feature in the grounds of the campus, along with a forest school area and biodiverse garden.
Designs and colour palettes for the facility take inspiration from the nearby Cochno Stone, which features Bronze Age carvings. The ‘cup and ring’ pattern found on the stone is referenced in both the building’s interior and exterior.
messages were often “more generous than companies were willing to commit to,” and one verbatim quote from respondents said that manufacturers were not the only source of questionable claims: “‘Net zero carbon’ is the biggest claim we see for developers at the moment, and when their embodied carbon rates are published, they are often higher than LETI/ UKGBC/GLA targets.” The respondents said that the least trusted ‘eco’ marketing phrases were ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘environmentally friendly.’ The report’s authors said the industry needed a “universal term” to enable informed decisions, so they were “not open to interpretation and misuse.” Currently, according to the report, with “no nationally agreed standards of vocabulary,” professionals were “relying on individual interpretation, which can vary wildly.” The Futurebuild/Anti-Greenwash Charter report said there could be “huge
consequences for a brand’s reputation” of engaging in greenwash, although 56% of respondents admitted they did not have a “verifi ed published green claims policy” in their organisation. 57% had however become “more rigorous in asking for evidence” from suppliers,” and 49% were using Environmental Product Declarations to that end.
A resounding 72% of respondents said they’d pay more for a product which was from a company “investing in providing greater evidence for sustainable claims.” The Anti-Greenwash Charter is a leading body providing accountability and transparency on claims for eco performance and criteria such as embodied carbon. Martin Hurn, event director at Futurebuild, commented on the fi ndings: “Green claims must be substantiated by evidence,” added however that “we understand the complexities businesses face in marketing their products.”
ADF OCTOBER 2023
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