A leading expert on sustainable construction has criticised the government for a key omission from its recent announcements of backing for major infrastructure projects.

Tim Reeve, managing director of Net Zero Consulting (NZC) Solutions and a former technical director of UK top 20 construction company Winvic, who has over three decades’ experience in the building industry, said the missing element was an explicit commitment to encouraging sustainable construction when the work began.

The high-profile initiatives include the creation of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, the Lower Thames Crossing – a tunnel between Essex and Kent, providing direct access to the port of Dover for exporters in the midlands and north – and a new railway arc between Oxford and Cambridge. The latest major development in the story came last Friday (7 February), when energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband confirmed, despite earlier speculation to the contrary, that he supported the government’s Heathrow expansion plans.

Mr Reeve took the example of a speech on the projects by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the Siemens Healthineers site in Oxford to make his point about sustainable construction.

He said: “This address ran to over 5,500 words, yet mentioned carbon only four times, with emissions and net zero being referenced merely twice each, for example.

“Moreover, none of these inclusions was in the context of the government being willing to use its undoubted influence to encourage sustainable construction, through elements such as making developments as energy efficient as possible, using low emission materials, adopting enlightened waste management techniques and minimising water usage.”

Mr Reeve acknowledged that the UK was still committed to important overall environmentally friendly objectives, such as having net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

He added, however, that his regret about the government’s omission was particularly acute, as the forthcoming projects were not only major initiatives in themselves but would induce significant knock-on effects too.

Mr Reeve said: “Take the example of the Oxford-Cambridge railway arc. Although on the surface this is less significant than many of the other measures, it’s likely to lead to new reservoirs in Cambridge and make any number of new homes necessary and viable in places such as Milton Keynes, as well as the two varsity cities.

“The government is even talking about building a whole new town at Tempsford, in Bedfordshire, where the projected Oxford-Cambridge railway line will intersect with the East Coast Main Line.”

Mr Reeve said the government’s omission was all-the-more more disappointing as many industry professionals apparently still needed to be informed that sustainable construction was not that difficult to achieve in 2025.

He said: “Energy efficiency can be enhanced easily, through measures such as installing appropriate insulation, fitting double or tripled glazed windows, and incorporating features such as solar panels, wind turbines and ground source heat pumps.

“Readily available sustainable building materials include recycled steel, concrete and glass. You can also use timber from responsibly managed forests and items like bamboo and straw bales, which have low carbon footprints compared to traditional ingredients, for example.”

Mr Reeve said effective management of the considerable waste that major construction work could produce centred on minimising the amount going to landfill sites. He said this could be achieved through steps such as having project waste management plans in place from the outset, sending materials like concrete, bricks and metals for recycling, and using prefabricated components, where possible.

He said: “When it comes to reducing water usage, available initiatives include installing facilities for collecting and storing rain for purposes such as toilet flushing. You can also install low-flow taps, showers and toilets, plus incorporate equipment to treat and reuse greywater from sinks and showers for landscape irrigation.”

Mr Reeve said the government’s silence apparently meant the level of environmental friendliness among the vital projects it was backing would be left to those working on them.

He said: “In my view, this is a significant oversight and represents an important opportunity missed, especially as we’ve just learned that last month was the warmest globally since records began.”

NZC Solutions, founded by Mr Reeve during 2023, develops innovative software helping businesses in the UK construction industry accurately calculate, report, reduce and promote their carbon footprints. Its customers include developers, main contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers and manufacturers.