GREEN JOBS & MMC
PLACEMAKING WITH PURPOSE
How can offsite methods create green jobs in order to help meet sustainability targets and improve the built environment? Rory O’Hagan, Director at Assael Architecture, explains what can be done to help in the race to net zero.
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2 Building energy-efficient homes and retrofitting existing housing stock is a vital puzzle piece in improving the built environment's impact on carbon emissions and reaching a net zero future. Offsite manufacturing is a key part of this, and the latest figures from the Green Jobs Task Force are
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a stark reminder that not enough is being done to support this part of the housing and construction sector. To significantly reduce the impact of buildings and ‘build back better', the government must place more emphasis on, and invest in, green jobs.
According to a recent report from the Green Jobs Taskforce, every UK job has the potential to be ‘green’. The Government’s vision is an investment drive in skills that will see an industrial revolution carried by low carbon, reducing our dependence on unsustainable practices. This transition to make sustainable skills ‘second nature’ is no more urgent than in the built environment sector, which contributes up to 40% of the country’s total carbon footprint. Green jobs in architecture, development and construction are as necessary as they are transformative. The Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) has forecasted that retrofitting existing stock could cost as much as £400billion, identifying a critical ‘skills gap’ which will need to be filled to meet legislated targets. The Future Homes Standard, too, sets expectations on the carbon neutrality of new homes, which will only intensify over time. While the transition may seem daunting, much of the infrastructure we need to lower emissions is already in place. Through tried and tested modern methods of construction (MMC) such as offsite modular housing and timber frame construction, the property industry has a real opportunity to make a difference and meet this target in the race to net zero in 2050. Innovation also serves to promote ‘green’ skills as the bi-product of more environmentally sustainable and progressive approaches to traditional housebuilding methods, accelerating that change. In practice, the adoption of sustainable methods starts with a fresh perspective. If the UK is to truly become net zero by 2050, we can no longer afford to look at sustainability as a tick box exercise. As architects, we must rise to the challenge of designing sustainable buildings on a holistic
WWW.OFFSITEMAGAZINE.CO.UK | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021
