A new consultation that aims to provide the Government with a framework to guide future progress in the construction industry was launched this week by Alun Michael, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions.

The draft Strategy for Sustainable Construction Report 2006 consultation will seek views from key construction stakeholders on the direction they think the industry should take with a view to developing and maintaining a more sustainable future.

The review will examine key considerations such as:

• Building design and the code for sustainable homes
• New construction methods and best practice
• Improving embedded energy systems
• Waste minimisation
• Enhancement of biodiversity
• Greater efficiency in carbon emissions and thorough assessment of the impact of climate change

Alun Michael said:

"This consultation shows where we think the industry should go in terms of its future development as well as indicating where businesses believe their efforts should be concentrated. I hope that the Strategy will encourage industry to propose a positive response to some of the big questions it faces.

"The purpose of the review is to create a framework within which the industry can continue to make a strong contribution to improving the quality of our lives and take account of the dynamics of the modern built environment."

The consultation is an update of the existing 'Building a better quality of life' strategy produced by the then DETR in April 2000. It focuses on the principle of Sustainable Development to which the Government as whole is signed up to.

Due to the major developments which have occurred both in Government policy and within industry it is widely believed that a review of the existing construction strategy and update is now appropriate.

The Government believes the timing is right for this review, since it follows on from the publication, in March 2005 of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy which reinforces the Government's overall commitment to work with the industry sectors to strengthen business.  And, in a similar vein, the European Union is currently re-appraising its Sustainable Development Strategy.

The revised Strategy for Sustainable Construction will be cross-Whitehall and the main Departments to be engaged will be ODPM, Defra, DCMS, OGC, DfES and WAG. There will be consultation through a Stakeholder event on 7 March to gauge the industry focus on the process and it is hoped that the review will be completed by the early Summer of 2006.

A copy of the consultation document can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/construction/sustain/sustaincon.pdf