Standards Development

Scope

This Standard gives recommendations for core criteria for sustainability in the built environment to promote high standards of performance and low levels of environmental harm in and around built environment projects and as a result of built environment works and operations in the wider world, whether direct or indirect. It is applicable to developments of all types and scales. It is intended to have wide application and relevance in design, construction, facilities management and property markets throughout the UK and beyond.

Built environment sustainability in the context of this Standard relates to both the physical, social, environmental and ecological conditions created by new or existing developments and their surroundings and how these impact on the wider world throughout the building lifecycle. This Standard does not cover other matters, which might affect sustainability, such as out of the ordinary accidents and incidents or warfare.

This Standard is intended for use by persons or organizations with responsibility for the development, maintenance or application of sector-specific competence frameworks for roles, functions, activities or tasks undertaken by individuals where these are critical to and directly influence the sustainability of the built environment. This includes competence frameworks for technical and non-technical roles, and for individuals working under their own authority as well as under the supervision of other competent individuals.

This Standard is also relevant to commissioning clients’ understanding of their expectations of relevant parties that they might appoint or instruct to undertake work on their behalf.

This Standard might also be relevant to roles (some regulated, duty-holding or statutory), including, but not limited to:

• Those commissioning and funding services

• ESG and sustainability professionals;

• Client and technical advisers;

• Principal Designers;

• Principal Contractors;

• Designers;

• Economic and commercial advisors;

• Insurers;

• Planners and development control officers;

• Contractors;

• Installers;

• Product manufacturers and suppliers:

• Procurers;

• Retrofit coordinators;

• Building control professionals;

• Health and safety, environment and quality managers;

• Facility Managers;

• Waste managers; and

• Responsible persons for buildings in occupation.

NOTE Responsibility for ensuring that sector-specific frameworks are kept up to date rests with framework owners given that the scope of regulation and duty-holding roles is likely to change over time.

Persons acting as professional regulators and accreditors, trainers, educators and insurers as well as investors and commissioning clients for building work might also find the recommendations of this Standard of use.

This Standard is not intended to replace existing professional, technical or vocational training or competence frameworks, which continue to reflect the full range of competences required for particular disciplines, roles, functions, activities or tasks.

 This Standard does not provide recommendations for inclusion of organizational and team competence in competence frameworks.

Purpose

This proposed Standard was developed as a Seed Document by the Edge for the Construction Industry Council’s Climate Change Committee in discussion with the British Standards Institution. It's development was supported by the University College of Estate Management (UCEM). The document has been issued for general use by the built environment sector in the development of sector-specific competence frameworks to help ensure sustainability is fully considered and appropriately incorporated.

This Standard is intended to support wider sector reform, with the ultimate objective of achieving sustainability targets and goals, including international, national and local targets for environmental performance and reducing or reversing environmental damage, in and about the built environment.

There are three overarching objectives, to: 

a) set core criteria for achieving sustainability, including on carbon emissions, pollutants, biodiversity levels, water quality and accessibility, social outcomes, wellbeing and resilience, for all individuals working on the built environment, to achieve defined outcomes throughout their lifecycle;

b) facilitate consistent and objective development, evaluation or use of sector-specific competence frameworks by certification, licensing, accrediting, qualifying and validating bodies, regulators, clients and employers; and

c) support progressive development of a more consistent approach in the development and use of competence frameworks across the built environment.

This Standard also supports and intends the following outcomes to be met as critical means to achieve sustainability goals:

1) development of a robust oversight, monitoring and feedback process for sector-specific competence frameworks;

2) development of competence frameworks for key roles in delivering a sustainable built environment and equitable and just transitions to such environments;

3) identification of core sustainability criteria that are likely to be common to all sector-specific competence frameworks;

4) commonality and consistency in built environment sustainability competence across sector specific frameworks;

5) encouragement of greater interdisciplinary awareness, communication and consideration across the built environment;

6) individuals and organizations working in the built environment to move towards progressively adopting an approach based on validation and periodic revalidation;

7) individuals and organizations providing or monitoring education and training for those working or proposing to work in the built environment to develop curricula, courses, materials and assessments that assist in developing and validating sustainability competence; and

8) employers and those commissioning built environment works to assess the areas of competence of individuals, organizations and disciplines to ensure comprehensive coverage.