FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11th July 2007: Leading civil engineering and construction bodies have today launched a new action plan to make their industries more sustainable. This is being launched at a seminar at which recent Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Awards Scheme (CEEQUAL) progress will be reported and five recent awards celebrated.
The Sustainable Development Strategy details industry-wide priorities for action which will be measured and evaluated over the next few years. This builds on the success of the first Strategy and Action Plan launched in 2002/3.
The Strategy arose from a steering group comprising the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), CIRIA and Construction Products Association.
Among the actions proposed are a report, by the end of the year, detailing the priorities for climate change that the construction industry must face up to, to become more sustainable and a ‘top ten’ list of things clients and designers must do to make their work more sustainable.. Another key action is to promote the take-up of CEEQUAL Assessments across the industry (more information on CEEQUAL can be found at www.ceequal.com).
Outside of the construction industry, the group is aiming to liaise with academics to support the inclusion of sustainable development in the Further and Higher Education curriculums.
Quentin Leiper, Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) President, commented: “There is a real opportunity for the construction sector to help the Government deliver more sustainable communities. As civil engineers and construction professionals, we possess the knowledge to deliver sustainable solutions that represent real value for clients and for society.”
To view the Sustainable Development Strategy in full, go to: www.ice.org.uk
ENDS
Media contact: Paul O’ Grady, ICE Press Office, t: 020 7 665 2104; e: paul.o’grady@ice.org.uk
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is the pre-eminent engineering institution in the world. Established as a learned society in 1818, it has over 80,000 members and provides a voice for civil engineering, continuing professional development and promoting best practice throughout the industry.
CEEQUAL is an awards scheme assessing the environmental quality of civil engineering projects, originally conceived as a civil engineering equivalent to BREEAM for buildings.
Its development was led by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and project-managed by Crane Environmental Ltd, and is now run through CEEQUAL Ltd, a company set up for the purpose and owned by ICE, BRE, British Waterways, CIRIA, the Civil Engineering Contractors' Association, CIWEM, Costain, Crane Environmental, Hyder Consulting, Responsible Solutions, Temple Environmental and WSP Group.
CEEQUAL's vision is to progressively increase the use of the CEEQUAL Scheme and its principles by both clients and their project teams, so that demonstrably high environmental performance becomes an integral part of accepted good practice on civil engineering projects.
visit www.ceequal.com
CIRIA is a member-owned organisation that works with the construction industry, government and academia to provide performance improvement products and services in the construction and related industries. It was founded in 1960 and currently engages with around 700 subscribing organisations.
Activities include collaborative projects, networking, publishing, workshops, seminars and conferences. About 40 projects are run at any one time, about 100 events are staged every year, and 25 books published per annum.
For further press information, contact James Milne at the above postal address or email: press@ciria.org or visit www.ciria.org/press.htm
Programme delivery
Both CIRIA and Sustainable Drainage Associates have a credible reputation
for delivery of SUDS related training and projects, including the design of
SUDS schemes and the production and dissemination of SUDS guidance.
Course tutors
Steve Wilson, Sustainable Drainage Associates – Steve has over 20 years practical experience of geotechnical and environmental design for civil engineering and building structures including drainage design and redevelopment of contaminated land. He is co-author of CIRIA publication C582 Source control using constructed pervious surfaces and is lead author for CIRIA publication C609 SUDS hydraulic, structural and water quality advice relating to SUDS techniques.
Bob Bray, Sustainable Drainage Associates – Bob is a landscape architect, who has been prominent in the design, management and promotion of sustainable drainage since 1996, and developed an environmental approach to managing rainfall. He was responsible for the inception of SUDS guidance at South Gloucestershire Council and the design of two early SUDS ‘demonstration sites’ at Oxford and Hopwood motorway service areas. Bob has also designed SUDS for housing, schools, wildlife sites, commercial development and public parks.
He is co-author of SUDS hydraulic, structural and water quality advice and has contributed to The operation and maintenance of sustainable drainage systems (and associated costs) based on experiences gained from the two MSA’s
CIRIA is a member-owned organisation that works with the construction industry, government and academia to provide performance improvement products and services in the construction and related industries.
It was founded in 1960 and currently engages with around 700 subscribing organisations. Activities include collaborative projects, networking, publishing, workshops, seminars and conferences. About 40 projects are run at any one time, about 100 events are staged every year, and 25 books published per annum.