11.6  Improving environmental value

The Construction Playbook expects contracting authorities to 'set out strategies and plans for achieving net zero GHG emissions by or ahead of 2050 for their entire estate/ infrastructure portfolio', and it states that 'systems and processes should be in place to ensure their projects and programmes deliver on the targets set'.

Company directors have a statutory duty to have regard to 'the impact of the company's operations on the community and the environment' (Companies Act 2006, Section 172.1(d)), and there is a pressing need for approaches to procurement that fulfil this duty. For example, the search for ways to maximise energy efficiency and reduce waste can benefit from ideas developed not only by design consultants but also by contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers and operators.

The Construction Playbook states that 'Contracting authorities should require that solutions put forward by potential suppliers are accompanied by a whole life carbon assessment. This should be conducted in collaboration with the wider supply chain, reflecting ways of minimising the GHG emissions across the life of the asset'. In order to evaluate and utilise proposals for improved sustainability, it is essential to engage with supply chain members using ESI during the planning and pre-construction phase of the project. By inviting proposals at a time when they can be jointly reviewed, costed and integrated in the delivery processes, a project team can deliver significant reductions in environmental impact.

Relevant contributions, as demonstrated in Trial Project case studies, include:

■  Proposals as to the most buildable and least wasteful interpretation of consultant designs

■  Proposals in respect of reduced waste and increased recycling

■  Proposals as to the efficient use of energy on site, including modern methods of construction such as off-site fabrication

■  Proposals as to the efficient use of energy by reduced maintenance and repair in the operation of the built facility.

Collaborative procurement can deal with the conflicting pressures of cost management and improved sustainability whereas these pressures can undermine a traditional single stage approach. If single stage bidders are asked to put forward sustainability proposals, they may hold back or compromise good ideas in order to reduce their bid prices. Following a single stage bid, clients may reject sustainability proposals as unaffordable or unbuildable having had no preconstruction phase opportunities to investigate them in detail.

Collaborative ESI and Supply Chain Collaboration enable the cost and quality benefits of sustainability proposals to be developed thoroughly and to be assessed by all team members. This provides clients, as noted by Housing Forum in 'Stopping Building Failures', with 'the means to evaluate the cost of environmental issues ...and to balance this against their demonstrable benefits'.

The new lines of communication and the additional time created for joint working on the Trial Projects led to team members offering new proposals for sustainable solutions that were practical and affordable within the Client's budget.

The Trial Projects also showed how environmental initiatives can be combined with support for SME businesses, particularly where the scale of the programme enables consistent procurement practices and where collaborative systems facilitate an exchange of ideas.