Architect Rab Bennetts, chair of the Movement for Innovation sustainability working group, said: 鈥淭he strategy is heading in the right direction, although it is a bit long and a bit wordy, but there is nothing wrong with the contents.鈥�
Bennetts said the big question now was whether the government would give the strategy some teeth. He said: 鈥淧eople won鈥檛 do this voluntarily. They won鈥檛 implement sustainability in construction unless they are given an incentive. The document needed to be more focused on the key points.鈥�
The Construction Confederation also expressed reservations. A spokesman said: 鈥淭he general view is that it is a comprehensive summary, but there is not much of a strategy.鈥�
Sonny Masero, senior consultant at ABS Consulting and a member of sustainable construction pressure group Sponge, said the government had to lead by example: 鈥淲hat we need now from the government
is a wider demonstration of its commitment to the sustainability of the industry, both as a client and a regulator.鈥�
In the document, the DETR defines sustainable construction in terms of quality of life, customer satisfaction, flexibility and efficient use of resources, but does not describe in detail how this should be achieved.
Michael Ankers, chief executive of the 黑洞社区 Material Producers, said the document needed to address detailed issues. He said: 鈥淭o sell it to the industry, we need a far more communicative approach.鈥� Ankers said he was glad that the document acknowledged the importance of profitability, but said he would have liked to have seen other examples of how to make sustainable construction work.
The document has only one example, Carillion鈥檚 Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon.
鈥淎ctual examples that capture the imagination are the nub of getting a commercial focus,鈥� he added. The confederation spokesman agreed, saying: 鈥淭he business case for sustainable construction is yet to be wholly made.鈥�
