INDUSTRY NEWS 5
Construction professionals concerned about industry greenwash, survey fi nds
Misleading or inaccurate sustainability claims by fi rms selling to the construction sector are a concern for 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 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 said the industry needed a “universal term” to enable informed decisions, so they were “not open to interpretation and misuse.” Currently, it said, 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 for that purpose.
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: “Green claims must be substantiated by evidence,” however he added that Futurebuild “understands the complexities businesses face in marketing their products.”
Beal Homes secures planning approval to complete £210m development
CEO of Redrow announced as co-chair of Future Homes Standard Implementation Board
Matthew Pratt, the CEO of leading housebuilder, Redrow, has been appointed as co-chair of the Future Homes Standard (FHS) Implementation Board. Alongside Catherine Adams, director of Building Systems and Net Zero at DLUHC, Matthew will lead the board, bringing together housebuilders and industry partners to anticipate, identify and monitor key issues and actions required to deliver the Future Homes Standard 2025. Over the next three years the Board will focus on driving greater collaboration across the sector to meet climate and environmental goals, with water effi ciency improvements, biodiversity net gain and improving sustainability metrics, the key priorities alongside the successful delivery of the FHS.
The Future Homes Standard 2025 represents a signifi cant and early milestone in England’s pathway to net zero, with substantial implications for how new homes are built. Successful implementation is therefore critical both for the homebuilding sector and more widely Government and Society.
Regional housebuilder Beal Homes has secured full planning permission to complete a £210m development in one of Yorkshire’s fastest-growing towns. The planning approval from East Riding
of Yorkshire Council is for 600 homes, giving the green light for Beal to continue to deliver The Greenways in Goole. The Greenways is Beal’s largest-ever development, ultimately extending to 806 properties, and will become the biggest housing scheme in the East Yorkshire town for decades.
The Greenways development is set on a 73-acre site equivalent to almost 50 foot- ball pitches off Rawcliffe Road and is a key element of an ongoing wave of invest- ment in Goole, including a £200m-plus rail village being developed by Siemens Mobility and a worldwide distribution hub for FTSE 100 company Croda, which are creating hundreds of highly-skilled jobs in the town.
Chris Murphy, land director at Beal said: “The Greenways has transformed the quality and variety of housing in Goole, providing luxury, contemporary homes for local residents as well as attracting new people to the town. As the largest single development in our company’s history, securing full planning permission for the remainder of The Greenways marks an- other signifi cant milestone in our delivery of this long-term scheme.”
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