The inside track to ISO 20400
Shaun McCarthy OBE, Director at Action Sustainability and lead of the UK's delegation creating ISO 20400 will present an overview of the new global standard. With a strong connection to the existing British Standard for sustainable procurement that Action Sustainability authored, BS 8903, the new standard will bring value beyond the procurement and purchasing community by helping to embed and disseminate sound sustainability practices throughout supply chains, and ultimately the entire economy.
Fees
FREE for CIRIA members.
£35 + VAT for all other attendees
Background
The global population is predicted to increase significantly over the course of the first half of this century. In theory this is good news for the construction industry because all those extra people will need homes, schools, workplaces and infrastructure. However, the world is of finite resources and within this timescale, many of the natural resources that are taken for granted such as oil, water, some base metals and minerals, will be in very short supply. Also, climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions will fundamentally change the way that people live and do business. The ethics of doing business on a global scale is under increasing scrutiny, particularly the exploitation of workforces. This is not just a developing world issue, a major construction company suffered huge damage to its reputation for using a road surfacing team from Latvia working under forced labour conditions.
The long-term winners will be those who take responsibility for their effects on society and the environment, and address those issues in a positive manner. Both businesses and public bodies need to explore why they want to be sustainable to have an effective strategy. This could be to reduce cost, differentiate their offer to the market, attract better people or better clients, or simply because it is the right thing to do. Every organisation will have their own profile of business reasons to do this and a clear understanding of this is significant when considering sustainability ambitions and risks.
Action Sustainability is leading the UK's delegation in creating ISO 20400 - the new international standard for sustainable procurement. With a strong connection to the existing British Standard for sustainable procurement that Action Sustainability authored, BS 8903 and CIRIA’s guidance to sustainable procurement in construction, the new standard will bring value beyond the procurement and purchasing community by helping to embed and disseminate sound sustainability practices throughout supply chains, and ultimately the entire economy.
Currently out for consultation ISO 20400 will standardise guidelines and principles for all stakeholders working with internal and external purchasing processes – including contractors, suppliers, buyers, and local authorities – as part of an effort to demonstrate good practices for sustainable purchasing.
Why attend
- To present an overview of the forthcoming global standard
- To highlight the strong connection between ISO 20400 and BS 8903
- To highlight the value of embedding and disseminating sound sustainability practice in procurement
Who should attend
Contractors, environmental managers and advisors, construction managers, site managers, site foremen and site supervisors
Speakers
Shaun McCarthy OBE, Director, Action Sustainability
Philip Charles, CIRIA (Chair)
Partners
Action Sustainability
When
Tuesday, 17 May 2016
13.00 - 14.00
Booking
If you are unable to book online please contact Patrick Williams on 020 7549 3300. Your completed booking form can be returned by post or email to Patrick Williams.