November 2022

Sustainability: Comment
KEEPING THE FOCUS ON
SUSTAINABILITY
Will the current focus on sustainable solutions remain a priority if the market cools?
Lorna Stork, ESG Director at distributor SIG, outlines why she thinks it will…
Those of us with long memories will
remember the Code for Sustainable Homes,
with its original target of 2016 for the
introduction of zero carbon new homes. The
financial crisis of 2008 effectively scuppered that
programme and the question is: is it different this
time?
I genuinely think it is – for three main reasons.
Firstly, the effect of climate change is becoming
more apparent every year and there is a national
and global consensus around the urgent need to
reduce carbon emissions. The UK has been ahead
of the curve in this regard, being the first
country to declare legally binding
targets to become a net zero
carbon economy by 2050.
Secondly, I would argue that
the current energy crisis should
give additional impetus to the
carbon reduction agenda by
focusing on the financial cost of
consuming energy.
Finally, I think that this time around we have
collectively invested properly in the move towards
sustainable building. Product innovation,
technical advances and new ways to measure
and demonstrate low carbon emissions have all
been developed in the last decade. Not only do
we have to continue, I think there is a genuine
consensus that we will.
Direction of travel
Building Regulations lay down the direction of
travel for new buildings and we are in the middle
of the implementation of the Future Homes
Standard, currently requiring a 31% reduction in
carbon emissions compared to the 2020
Images: SIG stocks the Marley SolarTile PV system as part of its drive to offer more products that
support a sustainable building agenda, plus provide customers with the products to meet demand.
regulations.
This time we really do know
how to build high
performance homes that are
approaching zero carbon in use. It’s
challenging and the technical team at SIG is
frequently involved in providing product solutions
to meet increasingly stringent thermal
conductivity targets for the external fabric of new
homes.
The game-changer this time, however, is the
recognition of the importance of embodied
carbon. We can’t hope to get anywhere near our
national carbon reduction targets if we simply
ignore the impact of the manufacturing process.
There is no point in striving to create buildings
that generate no carbon emissions in use if they
have achieved that result by using materials that
have themselves generated huge amounts of
carbon during their manufacture.
Developers, housebuilders and even main
contractors are starting to publish their zero
carbon commitments, fully aware that these can
only be met if the supply chain works together.
As a major distributor, SIG has produced its own
zero carbon roadmap but, like everyone else, we
are only able to control the emissions from our
own business operation. With targets in place to
eliminate carbon emissions from our transport
fleet, offices and warehouses, we also need to
work with product suppliers to find or develop
lower carbon products.
We’re in a great position to stimulate the
development of such products as we can provide
an immediate distribution channel for promising
new offers, helping to build a market fast for
emerging businesses.
And we are also in a position to help responsible
Continued on page 26
24 TC NOVEMBER 2022