FEATURE International


n By Keith Hatch Building it green


Canadian union offers climate training for construction workers Construction unions in Canada are


getting behind a new project from Canada’s Building Trades Union (CBTU) that aims to increase workers' knowledge and skills when it comes to combating climate change. The CBTU represents over half a million Canadian construction workers, members of 14 international unions,


and has set up a project called Building it green.


Building it green is a new training initiative that focuses on the role of construction trades in addressing and adapting to climate change by building climate knowledge across the sector.


With buildings responsible for nearly 40 per cent of the world's energy related carbon emissions, a quarter from materials and construction, projects like this are vital and can give workers the skills and knowledge they need to make a difference.


Lee Loftus from the CBTU is involved


with Building it green. Talking in Canada National Observer Lee said, “I want construction workers to have a


better grasp about the benefits of the work that they do and what it means for the future of their children [and] their grandchildren.”


The project will train trades instructors on the basics of climate change, these will then roll out their knowledge in training centres and union halls to trades apprentices.


By giving apprentices an


understanding of climate change the CBTU aims to give the knowledge to join the fight to green the sector and lower its carbon footprint.


Former mechanical insulator Lee added that, “The work we do is phenomenal. Many tradespeople do more for the climate in an eight-hour shift than most people do in their lives.”


With green skills in construction and building design increasingly important it is vital that workers both understand the issues, the potential benefits and the future skills that will be needed to achieve net zero across the sector.


Unite has been working hard to ensure that building workers in the UK can benefit from the changes needed. The union has been lobbying parliament and calling for a green new deal to support net zero carbon targets, with trade unions and a just transition for working people and communities at its heart.


There is a growing interest in the role of a Unite environmental rep, with an increasing number of members and activists signing on for the new courses developed by Unite Education.


The Unite Education website explains, “The course is designed for activists who are interested in developing their knowledge and understanding of environmental issues in the workplace... and to make a difference for our members by engaging their employers and ensuring workers’ voices are heard at the bargaining table as we transition to a greener economy.”


Find out more Green construction – sustainable wooden frame usd on Canadian site


Unite Education’s syllabus is available as a uniteEXTRA special on the Unite website unitetheunion.org


28 Unite buildingWORKER Spring 2024


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