UK Building Services Engineers Declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency!

We are proud to be one of the first signatories of Building Services Engineers Declare.

Following the recent Architects Declare commitment, that was founded by 17 UK winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize, we are urging all UK Building Services Engineers to sign up to the commitment and the open letter to the Government declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency.

The construction industry plays a major part in producing energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions – which accounts for almost 40% of energy-related emissions. The carbon emissions produced have a major impact on the climate and the natural habitats of wildlife.

“For over 50 years we’ve been leading the industry in terms of sustainable, low energy and low carbon design. Building Services Engineers Declare is an important commitment that we wholly support. It’s important for the whole construction industry to work together to deliver zero carbon buildings in operation and I am proud that the construction industry is making these long-awaited commitments. Max Fordham will work with those who commit to the declaration to continue to push the agenda further.” – David Lindsey, Senior Partner

Supported by the Happold Foundation, Building Services Engineers Declare is an important initiative and we are committed to implementing the vitally necessary actions that are outlined in the declaration. Through this and our other actions we will continue working towards significantly reducing the carbon emissions produced by our practice and our projects, while also collaborating with clients, architects, contractors, and other engineers to work together to reduce construction waste.

“It was a privilege to contribute to the UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework and I am pleased that it encourages both good design and optimised operation of buildings. The Framework - along with the recent declarations by architects, structural engineers and building services engineers - is essential for guiding clients through the journey towards Net Zero Carbon. This can and must be achieved.” - Joel Gustafsson, Partner, Principal Engineer and representative on the industry task group that defined the principles of the UKGBC Zero Carbon Framework that was released just prior to the Architects Declare commitment.

Furthermore, in the coming weeks we will be announcing additional far-reaching and change-focused commitments that we, as a practice, will be making to help tackle the urgent Climate Emergency and deliver net zero carbon buildings.

We hope and encourage all other UK Building Services Engineers to read the commitment and sign up: buildingservicesengineersdeclare.com