Oral - Sustainable Buildings

The Assembly Government is committed to promoting sustainable development. It is our statutory duty to do that but we also have a moral responsibility to drive this agenda forward.

Buildings play a key role in sustainable development, particularly as they account for up to half of our carbon emissions. Since devolution, the Assembly Government and its partners in the public and private sectors have been working to improve the quality and sustainability of buildings in Wales. Standards for building performance that underpin sustainability are being promoted, and a variety of methods are used to ensure that the standards are implemented.

The Assembly Government has started work with its own estate, with the opening of the Senedd, which has now been transferred to the Presiding Officer; the Merthyr Tydfil office; and the offices planned for Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction. We have also supported other large and small-scale flagship developments.

However, in light of the climate change agenda, it is now time to increase the pace and bring about a step change in the sustainability of buildings in Wales, and do everything possible to strengthen the catalysts for change. Andrew Davies, Jane Davidson, Edwina Hart, Sue Essex and I have been looking at this as part of the work of the Cabinet sub-committee on sustainable development.

The key aim is for a common standards framework to be adopted, within which all types of new building in Wales can be assessed in terms of their environmental performance. We should also expect a high standard for all types of building. The effectiveness of existing standards, legislation and guidance, and how they are implemented, is being reviewed. The review is ongoing, but I think that it would be helpful for me to outline our key intentions and actions now.

In keeping with our climate change agenda, our aspiration is for all new buildings in Wales to be zero carbon by the end of the next Assembly. It will take time for the necessary technology to become fully commercialised, but laying down this goal now gives us a clear direction in which to step up the journey to zero emissions. To help achieve this goal, and for wider sustainability purposes, I want a Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method rating of excellent to be the standard to which all new buildings should aspire.

Standards need to be clear and consistent if they are going to work. The BREEAM family is favoured because of its national recognition and credibility. It comprises assessment methods for different types of building and sets performance ratings. We want compulsory, challenging targets within BREEAM for energy efficiency, for water and waste reduction, to ensure key areas of environmental impact are tackled, and to realise the aspiration for all new buildings in Wales to achieve zero carbon emissions by the end of the next Assembly.

The Assembly Government’s role in driving forward excellence is crucial. We need to maximise the levers that are in our power and look to new mechanisms, too. The review is taking a twin-track approach, exploring actions for both the shorter and longer term. One action already underway is the consultation on the draft ‘Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change’, published in December. That provides leadership to local authorities, which will start to influence how they consider stepping up the standards of development by the private sector above those in current building regulations.
Over the next six months we will be setting a BREEAM rating of excellent as a condition of funding for all projects and programmes that receive financial support from the Assembly Government, and in respect of land disposals. It will be made a core condition of all Assembly Government funding, grants, investments, joint ventures and land disposals that involve new buildings. These levers should not be underestimated—given the level of Assembly Government spend, they are considerable. We only envisage departure from a rating of excellent in exceptional circumstances.
In making this move, we want to issue a constructive challenge to the privately funded sector, and to local authorities in developing planning policy for private sector proposals. The visible adoption of demanding, sustainable building standards at a national level should help to encourage their application at the local level and by the private sector. We will involve stakeholders, including the Welsh Local Government Association and the industry, in the detailed application of the standard.
The procurement process will be strengthened. A culture shift is needed in the way that buildings are procured. The lowest initial cost can no longer be the key driver. A greater emphasis on the balance of cost and quality in the way that design and construction partners are selected is needed. Work on improving jobs, skills and business development in the construction industry, initiated by Jane Davidson and Andrew Davies, will inform this process, as will the continuing work that the Design Commission for Wales is doing across the public and private sectors. We also need to look at establishing national awards to celebrate innovative sustainable building in Wales.
We believe that the building regulations are key to moving the sustainability of buildings forward. In the longer term, devolved powers would allow us to prescribe a standards framework for all buildings, whatever their source of funding, which is tailor made for Wales. A level, mandatory playing field for both the public and the private sectors could be created and reflected consistently in planning and in building performance legislation. With that in mind, my colleague, Edwina Hart, will be opening discussions with the UK Government and examining the wider implications for the Assembly of devolving the building regulations.
Our aspiration is that all buildings built from 2011 onwards will be zero carbon. The actions that we intend to take provide the framework for achieving this, as well as for improving the sustainability of the built environment more generally. This is a significant step forward in creating a greener, cleaner Wales. I commend these actions to the Assembly.