It has been suggested that costs can be reduced for infrastructure projects by reducing the use of carbon. For best results the decision to reduce carbon needs to be made at the start of the projects. The President and CEO of Skanska UK, Mike Putman has said that in order to reduce carbon used in infrastructure projects it needs to be looked at before work is started as opposed to part way through a project.

The Chair of the Green Construction Board has set out a series of actions in order to reduce carbon usage by 24 million metric tons per year in the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure assets in the UK by 2050. It is thought that cutting the use of carbon in this way could lead to the net benefit of around £1.46 billion each year. In the attempt to get companies to reduce carbon, the implication that is could also save them money means more people will be looking at different practices.

It is vital for the sustainability of UK infrastructure that carbon usage is reduced. Therefore, it is important to create an ethos within the construction industry that understands and supports a green agenda. The only way to make significant and long term changes to the amount of carbon used in construction is to have businesses collaborating across the industry.

This discussion on the reduction of carbon in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects follows Mike Putman’s contribution to the latest Construction Climate Talks episode. The Construction Climate Talks series has been produced by Construction Climate challenge, which is an initiative that is hosted by Volvo Construction Equipment. The Construction Climate Challenge has a presence on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and covers some of the more important challenges currently faced when tackling climate sustainability.