News in Brief

The Confederation of Construction Specialists has warned housebuilders that the "well has already run dry" in squeezing their subbies. Reacting to reports of housebuilders calling on their subcontractors to cut costs, CCS spokesman Richard Noble said: "It is patently unfair to expect out members to cover their costs."

CCS

Published in Contract Journal, 11 June 2008, page 3

Olympic Sustainability

The Olympic Sustainability Authority (ODA) has pledged to use only sustainable timber during the construction of the London 2012 games.
The authority has started the search for up to 20 timber suppliers to form a Timber Supply Panel, which will supply all hardwood, plywood and softwood to contractors and suppliers on the Olympic site. All timber suppliers will have to comply with certification schemes approved by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET).
ODA chief executive David Higgins said: 'We want London 2012 to be a truly sustainable Games and this ambition runs through the heart of the construction project.' The authority has also published its latest sustainability update, showing that it is beating its target for reusing or recycling more than 90% of demolition materials on the Olympic Park site.

Published in the March 2008 BCIS Newsletter No 161 page 1

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Published in the March 2008 BCIS Newsletter No 160 page 1

Government Buildings Fail to Meet Eco-standards

The Government is far from meeting its own targets for sustainable buildings, according to a Commons committee.
Since 2002, Government departments have been required to carry out BREEAM assessments on new projects and to attain a very good rating for refurbishment contracts or and excellent rating for new builds. A report from National Audit Office, however, found that only one third of new builds and even more surprisingly, only 18% of major refurbishments had undergone appropriate assesments. Furthermore, the required standards had been met on just 9% of major building and refurbishment projects during 2005-2006.
Edward Leigh MP, Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, said that the Government was a long way off meeting its own targets for the sustainability of its buildings and that it should practice what it preaches and set an example for others to follow.
The committee recommended:
- a 'BREEAM-lite' should be developed to increase assessments on smaller projects;
- the Treasury should simplify the application of whole-life costingm promote and monitor its take-up by departments and improve consistency in its accounts.

Published in the March 2008 BCIS Newsletter No 160 page 2

Multiplex No More

Australian firm Mutliplex will formally change its name to Brookfield on 17 March after being Bought by the Canadian asset management firm late last year.

Carrillion pays late

Carillion is the third worst payer of suppliers, taking an average 80 days to pay its bills. The figures, compiled by the Chartered Institute of Management, are the first time a league table of every single public company's payment practices has been published. The worst payer was United Utilities, taking an average 99 days to pay.