Sustainability remains an important topic. It is not considered something that ‘might be good to do’ anymore, it is starting to be on top of most companies’ agendas.
This is partly driven by the UK Government, which was the first government to commit to a net zero target by 2050, but is also driven by the clients, contractors, innovative product manufacturers, and architects keen to be market leaders. Willmott Dixon, for example, published its ‘Now or never – 2030 sustainable development strategy’ in which they lay out their ambitions for all their new buildings and major refurbishments to:
- achieve net zero operational carbon;
- be future-climate ready and optimise the users’ health and wellbeing; and
- be net zero in embodied carbon.
Willmott Dixon has also committed to working with its supply chain to achieve net zero operational carbon. Many of the tier 1 contractors have started to measure their carbon footprint and have come to realise that a big part of it is generated by their supply chain. The need to collaborate up and down the supply chain is, therefore, vitally important.
While sustainability for manufacturers is often associated with carbon emission reduction, ‘sustainability’ can mean a number of things. It can relate to aspects, such as: resource efficiency, adaptability/flexibility, health and wellbeing and biophilic design.
