NAO reports on Sustainable construction and refurbishment on the Government Estate

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Published: 24 April 2007

NAO reports on Sustainable construction and refurbishment on the Government Estate

The majority of government departments and agencies are failing to meet targets to make their new buildings and major refurbishments sustainable, according to a report published by the National Audit Office.

As a result, value for money may be lost from the £3billion which departments and agencies spend each year on this activity.

A defining feature of a sustainable building is its ability to reduce significantly environmental impacts.

This can include measures to:

· reduce energy consumption & carbon dioxide emissions

· minimise the use of resources such as water

· reduce the release of pollutants

· maximise the use of reclaimed & recycled materials, and

· promote sustainable travel choices such as public transport & cycling

The report found that most departments have started to consider sustainability in construction and refurbishment projects. But departments are not consistently carrying out the required environmental assessments on new projects.

Under the Office of Government Commerce’s Common Minimum Standards for the procurement of built environments in the public sector, a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) assessment or equivalent is required.

In 2005-06 only 35% (37 of 106) of new builds and 18% (61 of 335) of major refurbishment projects had carried out, or planned to carry out, these environmental assessments.

The report also found that, of the projects that did carry out an assessment, the majority failed to meet the required target of ‘excellent’ for new builds and ‘very good’ for refurbishments.

Only 38% (14 of 37) of new builds scored ‘excellent’ and 44% (27 of 61) of refurbishment projects scored ‘very good’.

For all 2005-06 projects, only 9% (41 of 441) achieved the required standards.

The NAO, with the assistance of specialist consultants, examined a sample of projects that had not been assessed. Of these, 80% would have failed to meet the required assessment standards.

However the report also identifies some examples of good practice, including the:

· refurbishment of offices by Defra

· refurbishment of the Treasury’s headquarters and

· Defence Estates’ construction of Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College

In the report, the NAO has identified a number of barriers to progress towards more sustainable buildings on the government estate including:

· a fragmentation of policy responsibility among government bodies for improving sustainable construction & refurbishment and an absence of a coherent approach to monitoring progress and ensuring compliance

· a widespread perception of conflict between sustainability & value for money, partly because project teams are failing to assess the long-term costs and benefits of more sustainable approaches

· a lack of sufficient knowledge & expertise in sustainable procurement among those departmental staff responsible for construction and refurbishment, and

· a failure to specify expected benefits & undertake rigorous post-occupancy reviews to evaluate performance against them, and the consequent lack of robust data to inform business appraisals for new projects

Among the NAO’s recommendations are that the bodies with central responsibility for sustainability in construction – including Defra, OGC and possibly DTI – should:

· establish a source of expertise available to all departments

· promote low cost approaches for use in smaller construction & refurbishment projects, and

· advise departments on when it is appropriate to undertake environmental assessments of different types, for example on smaller projects or minor refurbishments

Much remains to be done by individual departments, for example:

· by specifying their requirements for environmental performance in terms of outcomes, including carbon emissions and energy & water consumption, and

· taking full account of the government’s sustainable operations targets when assessing value for money in business cases and project appraisals.

Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said:

“When I last reported on construction in 2005, I emphasised the need to consider both the costs and benefits over the whole life of a building, not just the initial capital required.

Despite this, today’s report highlights a continuing failure by departments to consider the long-term value of sustainability in their new builds and refurbishments.

This is particularly disappointing given the importance of sustainability in promoting a deeper understanding of value for money.

Government departments and agencies spend in the region of £3 billion each year on new builds and major refurbishments. If sustainability is well handled, and addressed at the very beginning of construction projects, it can and should provide better value for money in the long term.”

Further information

Building for the future: Sustainable construction and refurbishment on the government estate

Executive Summary

OGC Common Minimum Standards for the procurement of built environments in the public sector

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) assessment

Related articles

Energy Ratings for Public Buildings

Green Gown Awards

UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan

Sustainable behaviour targets for government estates

Greener air-conditioning in planes, trains and buildings

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