The traditional procurement practices employed by the construction industry act as a barrier to the delivery of sustainable buildings, according to a report launched in the House of Lords.
The report - entitled Sustainable Buildings Need Integrated Teams, and published by the Specialist Engineering Alliance (SEA) - promotes a vision for the achievement of sustainability across the built environment.

It also insists that the 'large number of interfaces' between the parties to the construction process, coupled with 'high transaction costs and risk of duplication and re-work', militate significantly against the proliferation of sustainable buildings.

On the basis of a careful review of best practice advice, industry case studies and previous reports from organisations including the National Audit Office and the Office of Government Commerce, the SEA document recommends the appointment, at the start of a project, of 'an integrated project delivery team with in-depth knowledge of the construction process'.

And it goes on to highlight the extent to which value to the client can be improved by the creation of an integrated team that can 'design in sustainable solutions' and 'design out waste and inefficiency'.

The Sustainable Buildings Need Integrated Teams report is the work of an SEA Integration and Sustainability Working Group, which comprised representatives of the contracting, consultancy and manufacturing sectors.

The group was chaired by Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan, president of the Specialist Engineering Contractors' (SEC) Group.

Membership of the Specialist Engineering Alliance comprises: the Association for the British Electro-technical Industry; the Association for Consultancy and Engineering; the Building Services Research and Information Association; the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers; the Federation of Environmental Trade Associations; and the SEC Group.