25 January 2008
Government departments are failing to carry out mandatory environmental assessments on almost two-thirds of their construction projects, MPs have warned.
New buildings and major overhauls cost government departments and agencies about £3bn a year. But a report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee reveals that environmental checks were carried out on just 35% of new builds and 18% of major refurbishment projects in 2005/06.
Only 9% of the construction projects could be shown to meet the required environmental standards, the MPs found. Systems for monitoring compliance with standards 'have been inadequate', while accountability was split between departments, leaving responsibility for compliance 'unclear', the PAC report says.
'Departments are failing to implement Treasury guidance and assess costs and benefits of sustainable design options on a whole-life basis, partly because of pressure to reduce initial capital costs,' it adds.
The MPs called for the Office of Government Commerce to develop standard clauses setting out environmental specifications to be incorporated in government construction contracts.
PAC chair Edward Leigh warned that the government was 'a long way off' meeting its own targets for sustainable buildings, although the picture was 'not all bad', with a fifth of all new builds securing an excellent environmental rating.
But he added: 'Departments in general are clearly taking a cavalier approach to the sustainability of their new buildings.'
Leigh welcomed Treasury moves to simplify the mechanisms for estimating the lifetime costs of government buildings.
An OGC spokesman said the government was 'fully committed to delivering on its sustainability agenda, and demonstrating best practice'. The OGC's property benchmarking service would become compulsory this April, he added.
PFjan2008
