Your construction sector sustainability plan

Use this sustainability plan if you’re a small or medium-sized business in the construction sector and any of the following:

owners
managers
employees

Understand your business emissions
Get finance and support
Actions you can take right now
Longer term actions
Indirect emissions
Share your progress

Understand your business emissions

1) What causes emissions in the construction sector

Direct carbon emissions produced by the construction industry include:

energy use – for on-site machinery and lighting and heating in work buildings
transport – using vehicles which run on petrol or diesel
general waste – when it isn’t recycled and ends up at landfill sites

2) Calculate your emissions

Use a free carbon calculator to work out your business’s carbon footprint. This is measured in tonnes, over a year.

3) Estimate the cost of your emissions

Once you have your carbon footprint, you can calculate how much your emissions are costing you. This will give you an idea of potential savings you can make by taking action.

Get funding and support

1) Get help and advice from the following organisations:

the UK Green Building Council (GBC)– offers sustainability advice, courses and networking for paid members
the Centre for Low Emission Construction– provides guidance on reducing emissions
Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA)– provides information on waste issues relevant to the construction industry
UK Concrete and Cement Industry Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero – find further guidance from the UK Concrete roadmap to Beyond Net Zero

You can also learn how to run your business in a more environmentally friendly way by hiring a sustainability consultant.

2) Get financial support

Find grants, schemes and loan programmes across the UK.

Actions you can take right now

1) Save energy at your office and workplace

Quick low-cost actions include:

lighting – use LED bulbs for greater efficiency
heating – put your thermostat on a timer and seal your windows for extra insulation
office equipment – try to turn off and unplug devices when they’re not being used

2) Do an energy walk-round

Walk around your buildings and see where energy is being used.

Prepare a checklist

Look out for wasteful energy use and maintenance issues in the following areas:

Look at lighting, heating and refrigeration systems, as well as ventilation and water heating.
Identify wasteful energy use and maintenance issues.
Check at different times of day and compare day and night time use.
Monitor over a period of a week for accurate average figures.
Make sure equipment is checked and cleaned regularly to ensure maximum efficiency.

Improve ventilation

Routine maintenance checks and cleaning will improve the efficiency of your ventilation system.

3) Change your energy tariff

Switch to a green energy tariff with your energy supplier. This will reduce your reliance on energy produced by fossil fuels.

4) Switch to a smart meter

This will allow you to see and control how much energy you use. Find out more about smart meters.

5) Manage your construction waste

Recycle waste to prevent it being taken to landfill sites where it takes longer to break down and causes more emissions.

6) Get training in energy efficiency

You can train your team to be aware of energy efficiency in the workplace. Find a sustainability course.

Longer term actions

1) Make changes at your office and workplace

You can take a number of long-term measures to improve energy efficiency at your work buildings.

Check planning permissions guidelines before you go ahead with any structural changes.

Improve insulation and windows

You can make long-term savings on energy bills by insulating buildings and replacing old windows.

Install renewables

You might also consider installing renewable sources of energy on your land.

For example:

heat pumps for heating and water
solar panels or a wind turbine for electricity

By doing so, you could make significant long-term savings on energy bills.

2) Make changes at the construction site

Avoid using fuel-powered generators

More efficient alternatives include:

a high-capacity electricity grid connection
hybrid power generators (HPGs), which work with renewable technologies such as solar, wind, battery and biodiesel

Use sustainable materials

Many building materials contain high amounts of embodied carbon. Find out about sourcing low-carbon building materials from the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products

3) Reduce transport emissions

Over 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions are caused by transport.

Take measures to reduce emissions from freight and logistics.

If you have employees you could introduce a cycle-to-work initiative or encourage them to take public transport.

Find out more about switching employee mode of transport.

Electric vehicles

If you use a work vehicle, you can reduce emissions by switching over to an electric vehicle (EV). You would be exempt from congestion charges and parking fees in certain areas.

For easy overnight charging you could install EV chargers at your home or workplace.

Find out more about installing chargepoints.

Indirect emissions

To reduce indirect or ‘supply chain’ emissions you need to consider what happens before and after your business provides a service or makes a product.

1) Choose greener ‘upstream’ suppliers and products

use suppliers that measure and reduce carbon
help your suppliers with carbon reduction projects
buy products that take less energy to make, transport and operate

Discover how to source products and services from green suppliers.

2) Reduce emissions ‘downstream’ of your business

make products that take less energy to make, transport and operate
reduce water consumption and waste disposal needs
make investments in lower carbon financial products
give incentives for lower emission activities in leased assets or franchises

3) Certify your supply chain action

PAS 2060 has historically been used to demonstrate carbon neutrality. However, it is now being phased out and replaced by the international standard ISO 14068‑1: Carbon Neutrality.

ISO 14068‑1 builds on the principles of PAS 2060 and provides a more robust, globally recognised and evolving framework for making credible carbon neutrality claims.

The standard process for achieving carbon neutrality includes these steps:

• Assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using accurate and verifiable data
• Reduction of emissions through a clear, target-driven carbon management plan
• Transparent documentation, independent verification and public disclosure

Independent verification (for example through the British Standards Institution (BSI) or other accredited bodies) can help demonstrate that your business meets the requirements of recognised carbon neutrality standards.

Businesses should consider aligning with ISO 14068‑1 to meet current best practice and maintaining credibility as standards continue to evolve.

Sharing your progress will help employees and customers feel confident that you’re reducing carbon and moving towards net zero.

You should share your progress once you’ve done both of the following: