To be effective and stand the test of time sustainable development needs to be built into everyday work activities and decision making and not just ‘bolted on’ at the end, often as an afterthought.
By integrating sustainable development principles across an organisation, it enables a cultural change that ensures sustainable development is always the required outcome of decisions and activities.
Actions were identified to develop tools and guidance on sustainable development which encourage innovation, the sharing of knowledge and promoting greater material resource efficiency.
Tools and Guidance
Tools and guidance to embed the principles of sustainability include:
- the CIRIA C650 Training pack on good site environmental practice
- the Central European Networks CEN TC350 which is ‘responsible for the development of voluntary horizontal standardized methods for the assessment of the sustainability aspects of new and existing construction works and for standards for the environmental product declaration of construction products.’
- the ICE handbook on Risk Analysis and Management for Projects – this is currently being revised toaddress the appraisal and management of environmental and social risks.
Innovation and Sharing of Knowledge
The CECA toolkits on Corporate Responsibility, ICE workshops in 2010 on corporate responsibility and ACE sustainability awards mentioned earlier also apply to this section.
Material Resource Efficiency
There has been good progress in improving material resource efficiency by campaigns and products such as the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) designing out waste tool for civil engineering. The CPA has worked closely with the ODA to ensure manufacturers were consulted early in the design stage with the aim of enhancing the sustainability of the resultant structures.
The ICE Quality and Demolition protocols and State of the Nation waste and resource management have also strongly championed the importance of Material Resource Efficiency.
The ICE held an event in 2011 on Retrofit and will continue to explore this with further events later in the year.