A SIGNIFICANT housing project has been announced as the first large-scale project procured through national framework provider Pagabo’s Developer Led Framework. Southwark Council has selected Linkcity as developer for its Tustin Estate scheme, which will feature nearly 700 new homes. This includes 200 replacement council homes, around 50 shared equity
Designer Contracts, the UK’s largest flooring contractor, is spearheading a new industry initiative aimed at reversing the crisis level shortage of skilled fitters. On January 17, 2022, the company took on its first cohort of 10, 16 to 18-year-old apprentices under a new block release training scheme launched as a
Doncaster MBC has granted Leeds based Wilton Developments Outline Planning consent for up to 3.52 Million sq ft of Logistics and Industrial space on 180 acres adjacent to Junction 6 of the M18 at Thorne, Doncaster. Elsewhere in South Yorkshire Wilton Developments has recently completed its c. 300,000 sq ft
With increasing demand across the construction sector for products that offer reduced, or are completely free of, plastic components, a leading manufacturer of fire resistant mineral insulated cables says specifiers and building designers can have the best of both worlds when it comes to building safety and environmental credentials. Wrexham
The COP-26 summit in Glasgow has led the world to think more deeply and more urgently about climate change, and how we must all live and work more sustainably to combat it. Clark-Drain is no exception – and we are stepping up to the mark, as we have done in
Building Transparency is proud to partner with The Passive House Network (PHN) and the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) for the US launch of the PHN PHribbon, a toolbar add-on for Excel. Developed in association with the PHN, AECB and Building Transparency, this add-on enables Passive House designers to calculate the embodied carbon of a given
Refurbished unit at Cambridge Science Park gets a top mark thanks to Kawneer glazing. Architectural glazing systems by leading UK manufacturer Kawneer have helped to refurbish an office building at Cambridge Science Park into the city’s only platinum-rated building on the WiredScore commercial property ranking system. Kawneer’s aluminium AA®100 zone-drained
In the wake of COP26, a forward-looking heating, ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning business in Ayrshire is launching a drive to urgently supply domestic premises with carbon-reducing air source heat pumps (ASHPs). Ayr-based Stewart Temperature Solutions has already trialled successful installations locally and is launching a programme this year to
One of the UK’s leading suppliers of heating, plumbing and air movement materials to trade customers will celebrate its 110th anniversary in 2022. TG Lynes – which has its head office, trade counter and distribution centre all based in Enfield – is planning a series of events to celebrate the
Green construction supply chains will be vital if nations are to hit carbon neutral goals by 2050, yet challenges remain around cost and training… For businesses large and small, the COP26 climate summit brought into sharp focus just how important it is that they stay on track with net zero
A SIGNIFICANT housing project has been announced as the first large-scale project procured through national framework provider Pagabo’s Developer Led Framework. Southwark Council has selected Linkcity as developer for its Tustin Estate scheme, which will feature nearly 700 new homes. This includes 200 replacement council homes, around 50 shared equity properties, around 220 additional council homes including keyworker homes, and around 220 homes for sale. A Pre-Construction Services Agreement is set to be signed to kick off the process. The project also includes a central park, several refurbishments of existing council homes and at least 1,800 sqm of commercial floorspace. Linkcity, part of the Bouygues Construction group, will work with the authority over the coming months with a view to signing a full development agreement in summer 2022 with Bouygues UK as the main contractor for the scheme. Construction will begin late 2022 and is planned to complete in summer 2028. Pagabo’s £47bn Developer Led Framework was the first framework of its kind when it launched to the market in December 2020, with 29 companies appointed across nine lots to deliver projects across a huge variety of development sectors. Jonathan Parker, head of construction at Pagabo, said: “I am thrilled to have been involved with the procurement of a developer for the Tustin Estate low rise redevelopment programme, which will provide much needed improvement and expansion of Southwark Council’s existing social housing provision, as well as upgrading the facilities for people in the area. “The Developer Led Framework was launched as a unique market offering to help procure significant projects that make a huge social difference, and Tustin Estate is exactly that. Having been heavily involved from the outset, we’re really excited to see this project come to fruition over the coming years.” As part of the framework and procurement process, Pagabo assisted with the procurement advice, development’s business case, early engagement, expression of interest, formulating the invitation to tender, quality scoring and tender moderation, tender summary report, and notification letters. Cllr Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Council Homes and Homelessness, said: “We are delighted to welcome Linkcity to the Tustin Estate and look forward to working with them and our residents to build quality new council homes. Southwark has one of the most ambitious council house building programmes in the country and the work on Tustin Estate will not only help us reach our aim of providing new housing but also enhance the estate for current residents.” As part of the initial phase of development, Linkcity will create around 200 new homes to rehouse current tenants of the estate. In addition, the developer will deliver 440 homes across two further phases over the next three years, through its construction partner Bouygues UK, with at least half of these designated as affordable housing. Tom Jackson, development director at Linkcity said, “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Southwark Council and the Tustin Estate residents to deliver the first project on Pagabo’s Developer Led Framework. It’s a great opportunity to provide social and economic value through local employment and education opportunities, as well as new homes for this thriving community.” For more information about Pagabo please visit https://www.pagabo.co.uk/.
Designer Contracts, the UK’s largest flooring contractor, is spearheading a new industry initiative aimed at reversing the crisis level shortage of skilled fitters. On January 17, 2022, the company took on its first cohort of 10, 16 to 18-year-old apprentices under a new block release training scheme launched as a joint venture between FITA (Flooring Industry Training Association) and Webs Training Ltd. The apprentices, based around the UK, will attend the FITA training centre in Loughborough for practical training for one week in every eight. In between – over the course of the three-year apprenticeship scheme – they will train with one of Designer Contracts’ employed or sub-contract fitters FITA is also creating a bespoke Designer Contracts’ training standard so the company can assess and further develop its trained, employed fitters. The move follows a growing labour gap and skills crisis over the past two to three years which has seen the emergence of a ‘bidding war’ for the shrinking pool of available fitters. Said Louise Walters, commercial director for Designer Contracts: “The decision to take on 10 apprentices – with plans for a further 10 in 2023 – represents a significant moment for us as a company as well as the new industry training initiative. “Apprenticeships and further training are one way in which we can tackle the chronic skills shortage. As a company we have also been recruiting and directly employing more fitters rather than relying solely on contractors. Over the past two years we have taken on more than 25 fitters, many of them in the past 12 months – and going forward our plan is to directly employ even more. “We still have around 300 contract fitters on our books but as many in the industry will know, accessing this pool of trades people has become increasingly difficult over the past three years. “The CFA has been leading this drive for more training and, through FITA, started delivery of apprenticeships in Loughborough in May 2021 with its first intake of 20 apprentices “We are delighted to be supporting this industry initiative with the largest single intake of apprentices by any one company in the country. It represents a real investment in and commitment to the future of the industry and, as a CFA director and committee member, we are fully behind this scheme.”
Doncaster MBC has granted Leeds based Wilton Developments Outline Planning consent for up to 3.52 Million sq ft of Logistics and Industrial space on 180 acres adjacent to Junction 6 of the M18 at Thorne, Doncaster. Elsewhere in South Yorkshire Wilton Developments has recently completed its c. 300,000 sq ft Enterprise 36 scheme at Tankersley (J36 of the M1), delivering four warehouse and industrial units to occupiers including Williams Rowland, Dura and USL Group. Two of the buildings were acquired by CBRE Investment Management for one of its discretionary funds. Wilton is active across the north of England specialising in office and industrial development and investment. Jason Stowe, Managing Director of Wilton Developments, comments: “We are looking forward to bringing forward this key employment site within the Northern Powerhouse. We are programmed to be on-site later this year with delivery of the first buildings in 2023. Further detail and updates on our plans will be available shortly”.
With increasing demand across the construction sector for products that offer reduced, or are completely free of, plastic components, a leading manufacturer of fire resistant mineral insulated cables says specifiers and building designers can have the best of both worlds when it comes to building safety and environmental credentials. Wrexham Mineral Cables produces what it describes as the only true ‘fire survival’ cable. Offering the highest levels of fire performance, the company says it is also seeing an increased interest in the environmental benefits of its products. Government data recently revealed that plastic waste from the construction sector had risen by 46% in just two years. It follows on from comments made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that recycling plastics ‘doesn’t work’ and the industry needs to ‘cut down our use of plastics’ to solve the problem. In order to reduce plastic within the supply chain, Wrexham Mineral Cables believe that by focusing on the green credentials of products, plastic waste can be significantly reduced. For example, MICC cable is a NON-AGEING product, and does not use any plastics to aid fire performance. WMC’s bare MICC cable option consists of just two materials: Copper & Magnesium Oxide. Neither will burn, and both elements are inorganic and non-carcinogenic. This results in no added smoke or toxins in a fire situation – creating no harm towards the natural environment. The copper used in the cables is 100% recyclable. By comparison, the majority of other cables on the market require plastics or polymers to protect the conductors. A standard SWA 4 core 4mm cable can contain around 270g of plastic per 1 metre length – the equivalent of 54 plastic bags being sent to landfill. Huw Williams, Factory Manager at Wrexham Mineral Cables, comments: “Reducing plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues in recent years. As a responsible manufacturer, we understand the role we can play in reducing the impacts our products have on the world around us. “Although recycling efforts are changing, cables that contain artificial fire retardants are still extremely difficult to recycle, potentially resulting in tens of thousands of tons of unrecyclable plastic being sent to landfill. “With our MICC Cable we don’t need polymer covers to aid fire protection. Our bare cable option consists of just two inorganic materials, where the copper element is 100% recyclable. The result is a totally inorganic and silicone free cable that maintains integrity in extreme fire conditions, whilst offering an environmentally friendly solution.” For more information, visit www.wrexhammineralcables.com/environment
The COP-26 summit in Glasgow has led the world to think more deeply and more urgently about climate change, and how we must all live and work more sustainably to combat it. Clark-Drain is no exception – and we are stepping up to the mark, as we have done in the past. We are proud to announce that we signed up to the Government’s Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme back in 2018, which commits us to environmental targets over time. It was an important step forward, and complements the many other measures we have already taken, and continue to take, to reduce resource consumption, pollution, and climate change impacts. From the market’s first fully recycled and recyclable channels and chambers, to efficient drainage that increases hydraulic performance using less material, to lightweight designs that use less fuel to transport and install, Clark-Drain has always put sustainability high on its agenda. And with our CCA commitment, our long-established, family-run business is shifting its environmental conscience up a gear. So, what exactly does CCA deliver, how, and what are the benefits? Measure, report, hit the mark – consistently Primarily, CCA is about reducing our energy use and carbon emissions to agreed levels. Energy consumption is the cause of much of the world’s carbon emissions, and carbon itself makes up 80% of the greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change, so cutting down on both energy use and carbon emissions is a no-brainer. As part of our commitment to CCA, we must measure and report our energy consumption and emissions over periods of two years, until the end of March 2025, and must hit the agreed targets throughout that time. The measuring and reporting are rigorous, comprising both absolute and relative measures of energy consumption and carbon emitted. The targets, which are defined by the Government based on the industry sector we operate in, are calculated relative to a past “base year”, and are both absolute and – necessarily – challenging. In short, with the CCA scheme we are doing in environmental terms what we have always done elsewhere in our business: championing transparency, learning lessons, aiming high, and delivering a better outcome. But what’s in it for us – and our customers? CCA: making environmental and economic sense Like all the best environmental initiatives, CCA incorporates sensible financial incentives to help offset the costs to the business of managing the scheme, and potentially deliver some residual economic benefit, both of which ultimately drive uptake. By hitting the CCA targets, businesses like Clark-Drain benefit from significant reductions in the Climate Change Levy (CCL) that we currently pay as part of our electricity and fuel bills. Ultimately, we are free to deploy any surplus however we think it will benefit our customers most – in new product development, operational and customer service investment, price or quantity incentives, and so on. It’s the proverbial win-win situation, three ways: we reduce our impact on the environment, we lower our costs, and we free up funds to better serve our customers. Transparency and credibility: going public One thing that COP-26 has taught us all is that lip-service just doesn’t cut it anymore. Environmental commitments must be visible, and they must have teeth. The CCA scheme addresses this not only through its extremely specific targets, conditions, and measurement, as described above (a much fuller explanation of which is given in the various technical documents here), but also in the fact that it maintains a completely public register of businesses that continue to meet the targets and be eligible for the CCL discount. This register (called the Reduced Rate Certificates spreadsheet) is available to download here, and makes successful CCA commitment a matter of public record. Our customers can therefore be sure they are dealing with a business that has not only signed up to the CCA scheme, but is actually delivering on it. Critical changes, manageable progress As the great and the good head off from Glasgow, leaving a legacy of urgent environmental action in their wake, the ball is very much in our court – the millions of expert, specialist businesses that, across the globe, sell the things the world can’t do without, but at an environmental price it soon won’t be able to afford. Our commitment to the CCA scheme is one more demonstration of our determination to deliver products and to work in ways that are more sustainable, bit by bit, day by day. At Clark-Drain, we’re proud that what we produce is, as we always say, “grounded in expertise”- but now, more than ever, we want to make sure that how it is produced is grounded in environmental good sense.
Building Transparency is proud to partner with The Passive House Network (PHN) and the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) for the US launch of the PHN PHribbon, a toolbar add-on for Excel. Developed in association with the PHN, AECB and Building Transparency, this add-on enables Passive House designers to calculate the embodied carbon of a given design within the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP), an easy-to-use planning tool for energy efficiency. Integrated with the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3), PHribbon gives users unparalleled power to forecast the carbon emissions impact of their designs. Tim Martel, Certified Passive House Designer, Chartered Architectural Technologist AECB expert and course tutor on the AECB CarbonLite ™ Retrofit Course wrote PHribbon. It is an Excel add-on that makes using PHPP quicker and easier and draws on existing national and global database information for materials and products’ environmental impact. It estimates cradle-to-grave carbon emissions, helps users build PHPP models, and includes several useful tools and features. The PHPP energy balance design tool contains everything necessary for designing a properly functioning Passive House, a building standard that is energy efficient, comfortable, affordable and ecological. The program prepares an energy balance and calculates the annual energy demand of the building based on the user input relating to the building’s characteristics. Ken Levenson, Executive Director of PHN said: “As more leaders across the building industry are prioritizing a positive climate impact for their structures, by utilizing the PHribbon, designers can tackle both operational and embodied building carbon emissions within the PHPP tool, and comprehensively push for carbon neutral and negative buildings across the US.” PHribbon leverages existing information beyond just energy, pulling from Building Transparency’s EC3 database, and EPA carbon figures for electricity, the end-of-life of materials, and the end-of-life pathway. Stacy Smedley, Chair and Executive Director of Building Transparency said: “Building Transparency’s mission is to provide the open access data and tools necessary to enable broad and swift action across the building industry in addressing embodied carbon’s role in climate change. Partnering with PHN to support programs like the PHribbon furthers that mission. We are proud to work with PHN to integrate EC3’s 50,000 materials records into the tool to help clarify whole life carbon emissions for a building’s design and influence positive procurement decisions.” Andrew Simmonds, CEO of AECB said: “Collaboration with PHN and Building Transparency marks a step-change in the AECB’s strategic goal to build more and stronger international partnerships. We enthusiastically welcome the positivity and synergy that is already flowing from this joint initiative.” For further details please contact: Sue Garland, AECB Development & Communications Manager – sue@aecb.net
Refurbished unit at Cambridge Science Park gets a top mark thanks to Kawneer glazing. Architectural glazing systems by leading UK manufacturer Kawneer have helped to refurbish an office building at Cambridge Science Park into the city’s only platinum-rated building on the WiredScore commercial property ranking system. Kawneer’s aluminium AA®100 zone-drained curtain wall and thermally superior AA®720 entrance doors feature on all elevations of Unit 216 at the UK’s leading science park, while AA®190 TB severe-duty doors have been used on the main entrance. The unit was taken back to a concrete shell and rebuilt with a brick and glazed façade by main contractor Hutton Construction and is now the new home for Amgen, one of the world’s largest independent biotechnology companies. Amgen, which focuses on R&D in Cambridge, relocated from the neighbouring Units 214 and 240, which will be remodelled and refurbished to the same standard as 216 by LGIM Real Assets, a division of Legal & General Investment Management. Unit 216 was externally remodelled with the addition of a new second floor at a cost of £7.2 million to provide 35,746ft2 of new, Grade A offices delivered to a BREEAM “Very Good” standard. The design by architects Broadway Malyan included projecting feature fins around the perimeter of the curtain wall on the front elevation. These were glazed into the Kawneer curtain wall by approved specialist subcontractor Elliston Steady & Hawes (Aluminium). Elliston Steady & Hawes (Aluminium), who offered an alternative quotation using the Kawneer system, had teams of up to four operatives on site to complete the work.
In the wake of COP26, a forward-looking heating, ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning business in Ayrshire is launching a drive to urgently supply domestic premises with carbon-reducing air source heat pumps (ASHPs). Ayr-based Stewart Temperature Solutions has already trialled successful installations locally and is launching a programme this year to gradually roll out supply and installation nationally. In fact, Director Gregor Stewart, who established his business in 2008 and now employs nine people, is introducing an ASHP system into his own home and removing his gas boiler, which is a primary source of carbon emissions. He now expects to take on at least one additional team of specialist fitters to meet expected demand, as well as considering employing apprentices to develop robust future skill sets within the company. Gregor Stewart, whose father also ran a refrigeration business in Ayrshire, said: “There is really no question that ASHPs are the future and, by installing them now, we are protecting against the price of gas, which is expected to soar as international tensions and supply issues are exacerbated. “In the long term, as well as saving on energy bills, ASHPs are a giant first step towards comprehensively reducing our carbon footprint which, as COP26 so vividly illustrated, has to be addressed as a matter of urgency. “So long as they are proportionate to the size of the house, the pumps can be used for heating and cooling as well as space heating and hot water, and they have a high seasonal co-efficient of performance [SCoP]. They are also eligible for Renewable Heat Incentive payments.” ASHPs work when outside air passes over tubes filled with liquid refrigerant, which warms up and turns into a gas. This gas is compressed, adding more heat, and passes into a heat exchanger surrounded by cool air or water, which it warms. This is then circulated around the home. The installation requires a unit outside the home which encompasses the heat exchanger, and a large water tank inside the house. Some homes may need larger radiators. The Stewart Temperature Solutions ASHP programme has been given added urgency by the UK Government decision to ban gas boiler installation in new homes from 2025 – just three years away – and to ban the sale of new boilers completely by 2035. The company’s website currently markets its ASHP service and, in line with its commitments to environmental improvements, it is also buying electric vehicles for its fleet as its diesel vans come up for renewal. It will also market on social media. Gregor Stewart added: “As well as being good for the environment, this diversification will make the business less seasonal, and reduce our reliance on air-conditioning work in the hot summer months. “It is essentially about future-proofing not only our business, but also making valuable changes in our wider society. These changes are coming, and it will be to everyone’s benefit to embrace them.” Stewart Temperature Solutions is predicting a turnover of in the region of £1 million by the end of the year.
One of the UK’s leading suppliers of heating, plumbing and air movement materials to trade customers will celebrate its 110th anniversary in 2022. TG Lynes – which has its head office, trade counter and distribution centre all based in Enfield – is planning a series of events to celebrate the longevity of the business throughout the year. TG Lynes stocks industry leading brands and supplies thousands of products including valves, steel and copper tubes and fittings, press systems, composite and plastic plumbing, drainage solutions and support systems and tooling. An extensive plant hire service is also available. The celebration events will see engagement with local communities, colleagues, customers and suppliers. Martin Hastings, Managing Director of TG Lynes, said: “2022 will be a special year for us at TG Lynes as we celebrate our 110th anniversary. Everyone connected with the business is extremely proud of our longevity and we are firmly focused on laying further foundations to continue serving the trade for many years to come. “It has been an incredible team effort and the relationships we have forged – and continue to do so – with colleagues, customers and suppliers have been crucial. “Our success is built on outstanding customer service, a huge range of stock and excellent technical, industry and distribution knowledge. “Those pillars will continue to be the hallmark of the business moving forward, as well as embracing the changing landscape to ensure we are operating in the most sustainable way possible as we start looking towards the next 110 years.” TG Lynes has an ambitious sustainability programme and is fully committed to achieving Net Zero. The company has installed a 110KW solar system on the roof of its Enfield headquarters to generate its own electricity and all imported electricity comes form 100% certified renewable sources. An impressive 90% of its company vehicle fleet is either fully electric or hybrid and new hi-vis workwear uniform is made from 100% recycled plastic. Other sustainable initiatives already in place at TG Lynes include an on-site carboard compactor, reusable plastic bottles for staff and a switch to energy-efficient LED lightbulbs. Martin added: “We have already made great strides on our sustainability journey and we have many more exciting and innovative plans for the next 12 months and beyond.”
Green construction supply chains will be vital if nations are to hit carbon neutral goals by 2050, yet challenges remain around cost and training… For businesses large and small, the COP26 climate summit brought into sharp focus just how important it is that they stay on track with net zero deadlines. The British government was one of the first to enshrine in law its commitment to be net zero as a nation by 2050. The clock is ticking ever louder. Construction giant Balfour Beatty says the UK’s building and infrastructure sector supply chain will have a vital role in helping the country meet its net zero commitments. It says the supply chain is responsible for 80% of the sector’s emissions. Balfour Beatty is at the forefront of efforts to make sure construction supply chains are as green as can be. Recently it published a paper, called ‘Greening the Chain’. For this, the company surveyed around 40,000 UK construction and infrastructure industry suppliers, in a bid to understand the barriers, issues and opportunities around sustainability faced by the sector. It was a joint effort with the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS). Sustainability a struggle for smaller construction firms One of the strongest messages to come out of ‘Greening the Chain’ was just how difficult it is for smaller businesses to make progress on sustainability, because they lack the resources and expertise of larger companies. “It’s more challenging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to meet new sustainability requirements, such as supplying carbon data,” confirms Katherine Rusack, senior sustainable procurement manager at Balfour Beatty. She continued: “Last year we spent £1.28bn with SME suppliers. They are a key part of our supply chain. For us to achieve our sustainability goals, we need to support them in a way that’s relevant to their business and operations.” To this end, the company has partnered with the SCSS, who provide materials and training free to Balfour Beatty supply chain members. “It’s a collaborative initiative,” Rusack says. “Many customers, such as National Highways, and larger supply chain partners, also support the school. This is a great example of the construction industry coming together to support the upskilling of the supply chain of all sizes.” SME businesses need all the help they can get on sustainability training, agrees Megan Adlen, group sustainability director at Travis Perkins. She says: “Smaller companies have smaller teams. Unlike larger suppliers, like us, or larger manufacturers, they won’t necessarily have in-house teams who understand sustainability, who can calculate carbon, or who understand net zero and the key interventions needed to achieve it”. Supplier forum will share sustainability best practices She adds: “This is why we’re looking to bring them together in a supplier forum, starting next year. The aim is to share best practises across the supply chain, and hopefully inspire some of the smaller manufacturers around measures they can take to decarbonise their operations and supply team.” Adlen says a great starting point for smaller companies struggling with sustainability is to use the free SCSS carbon calculator tool. “It’s no good talking theoretically to smaller companies about what needs to be done if they have no understanding of exactly what it is they’re supposed to be measuring and managing. It’s that old adage: if you want it to count, count it.” To that end, she says, the SCSS tool is a good first step to supporting smaller companies’ carbon calculations. In ‘Greening the Chain’ Balfour Beatty says one barrier to companies in the building supply chain moving to net zero is the skills gap, and a lack of training to plug that gap. Balfour Beatty’s Rusack says design is one of the areas in which sustainability training is important. “Equipping the design community with information about more sustainable products and methods can and should be implemented where possible,” Rusack says. Balfour Beatty developing carbon conscious training She adds that Balfour Beatty is also developing carbon-conscious training to help its workforce understand the carbon costs of their behaviour, both for them as individuals and Balfour Beatty as an employer. Yet she also sounds a note of caution, warning that businesses need to be careful not to go over the top: “Not everyone needs to be a sustainability expert. The challenge is to provide training which is relevant and proportionate to an individual’s role.” There’s no doubt that some of the net-zero training that’s required in the building supply chain is onerous. Adlen offers the example of the switch from gas boilers to heat-exchange systems: “Adapting to new technologies such as heat-pumps means tradespeople skilled in traditional boilers will either need to upskill, or an entirely new trade will be needed to support the installation of these new solutions. What will probably happen is that it’ll be a blend of the two.” Adlen adds that the pace of change across the built environment means upskilling is absolutely vital. She says the construction sector has already approached the government for help on this front, but anticipates that much of the upskilling provision is likely to fall to the supply chain itself. “A number of different upskilling solutions are likely to evolve,” she says. “Certainly in Travis Perkins we’re looking at how we might be able to play our part in supporting the upskilling of the trade in some of these areas.” She explains the company is exploring options on this front. Whichever route Travis Perkins ends up taking, there will be plenty of training to provide. “I gave the example of upskilling around heat pumps but that’s just one example among many, many others.” Procurement sustainability training ‘vitally important’ Asked what the most important steps Balfour Beatty has taken to green its own chain, Rusack says that providing its procurement team with training on sustainable procurement is right up there. She said: “We’ve reviewed all the products and services we regularly use and have conducted a heat-mapping exercise against 13 key sustainability areas, including social, environmental and economic impacts.” On the back of this,