International Construction Law Review
PURSUING ZERO CARBON TARGETS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE CONSTRUCTION PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING
ROXANA VORNICU, EUR PHD AND PAOLO ETTORE GIANA, PHD*
ABSTRACT
Climate change is the greatest challenge of our times, and the UK is the first economy that has committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.1 Achieving this goal requires significant changes in the procurement and contracting practices of our construction industry to ensure that members of a collaborative team can identify and implement new carbon reduction measures. This paper explores how collaborative procurement and contracting systems can help the industry to develop and test integrated solutions during the preconstruction and construction phases of a project, and can help to deliver sustainable built assets in line with zero carbon targets.
1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Combatting climate change is arguably the greatest challenge of our times. It demands fresh thinking and urgent measures in all commercial and industrial practices, including those of the construction sector. The UK is the first economy to commit to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,2 and Europe aims to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050.3 However, climate change cannot be tackled effectively without the support
* Roxana Vornicu, Eur PhD is a Research Associate at King’s College London Centre for Construction Law and Dispute Resolution. She holds a Magna cum Laudae PhD in European procurement law from the University of Verona, Italy. She is also a practising lawyer in Bucharest, Romania. She can be contacted at roxana.vornicu@kcl.ac.uk. Paolo Ettore Giana, PhD is a Research Associate at King’s College London Centre for Construction Law and Dispute Resolution. He holds a PhD in architecture, built environment and construction engineering from the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. He can be contacted at paolo.giana@kcl.ac.uk. This paper has been prepared by the authors within the framework of a research programme supported by Innovate UK, Centre for Digitally Built Britain (CDBB) and Construction Innovation Hub (CIH). The authors are grateful to Professor David Mosey for his help on the fi rst draft.
1 See the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019 (SI 2019 No 1056) at https://www.gov.uk/gocevernment/speeches/law-for-net-zero-emissions-begins-passage-through-parliament (last accessed in 9 September 2020).
2 See fn 1.
3 See the EU Commission’s proposal for the first European Climate Law which aims to write into law the goal set out in the European Green Deal – for Europe’s economy and society to become climate-neutral by 2050.
Pt 4] Pursuing Zero Carbon Targets
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