I would like to thank you all very much for being here today and taking part in HBF’s Roundtable Summit, entitled: “Zero carbon homes – delivering the agenda”.
I would particularly like to thank Yvette Cooper, Minister for Housing and Planning, for co-chairing the first part of today’s summit.
The Minister will be leaving us at about mid-day to return to the Commons to lead a Bill in standing committee, but will be returning shortly after one O’Clock to assess our feedback and conclude the summit.
I know how hard the Minister has fought the Whips and Commons authorities to give her the leeway to take time out of her committee responsibilities this morning.
Overturning two-hundred years’ worth of Parliamentary precedent indicates the level of importance the Minister attaches to today’s event, and I am most grateful to you for that.
In welcoming you all here today, I want to communicate two brief points: firstly to outline the background to this event, and secondly to re-state what we hope to achieve today.
We are, as you know, living in a new era – one in which the nascent environmentalism of the ‘80s and ‘90s has translated into a new environmental consciousness.
It is championed by all the main political parties.
It affects all industries in all parts of the UK economy.
It has broad and growing public support.
It is here; and it’s here to stay.
Last month the Chancellor announced that every new home will be zero carbon and that Britain will be the first country ever to make this commitment.
Just a week later, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly, announced a consultation on a challenging package of proposed measures to make this commitment a reality.
The provisions of that consultation were the result of close consultation with the HBF and the home building industry.
Sitting alongside the Secretary of State during the announcement with John Callcutt and Paul King – both of whom I am delighted to say are here today – I came out saying that we, the HBF, broadly welcomes the Government’s ambitious targets.
Why?
Not only do I believe that we have a responsibility to act, but I also believe that there is a compelling business rationale behind change.
The environmental agenda is here. We can choose to embrace it, lead it, and shape a regulatory environment that is both effective and business-friendly…
… or we can wait for that regulatory environment to be constructed around us.
I know which one I prefer, and I know which one builds greater shareholder value and leads to future and sustained commercial success.
I also know what sort of relationship with Government we want – one of partnership, in which we share the same goals and work towards the same results, in which the Government sets the framework and we are given the room to work within it.
An important opportunity now exists to work with the Government to shape an effective policy and regulatory environment - one that delivers the Government’s sustainability targets while also allowing the industry to achieve the step-change in output that the country so badly needs.
The HBF has convened this roundtable summit for a simple reason: while the Government’s target cannot be delivered without the work of Britain’s home building companies, nor can the industry deliver without the support of the many other stakeholders who have an integral part to play.
This summit therefore aims to be the start of a process: to begin the task of identifying roles and responsibilities in partnership, utilising our collective expertise to help deliver results.
The key to the success of today’s event, I think, is to remain focused and be realistic in what can be achieved in half a day.
As such, we have three simple and clear objectives, the first of which I am delighted to say has already been achieved:
1) To bring together the key stakeholders needed to deliver the Government’s overall objective of building all new homes to zero carbon standards.
2) To identify the opportunities and potential barriers to delivering the
Government’s targets according to the timescale it has announced.
3) To identify appropriate mechanisms and tasks amongst the stakeholders present to advance issues critical to successful delivery.
With today’s agenda in front of you in your packs, I will quickly run through the format of this morning’s discussions to give you a better idea of how the constituent parts will work:
1) Yvette Cooper, the Minister for Housing and Planning, will now outline in detail the Government’s agenda…
2) This will be followed by a presentation by Dr David Vincent, Technical Director of the Carbon Trust, on managing the transition towards carbon zero both sustainably and profitably…
3) We will then begin the main session by spending fifteen minutes assessing the definition – as determined by DCLG – of a zero carbon home, drilling down a little further into what the definition really means…
4) The main discussion will then start, looking at the key issues to address. A free-flowing discussion, I am keen to tease out the main barriers to achieving the Government’s 2016 target, looking in particular at:
i. how major these obstacles are…
ii. who is best placed to overcome it
5) Shortly after One O’clock, with the Minister’s return, we will conclude the session and work out next steps…
In order for everyone to speak as candidly as possible, we are holding the discussion under Chatham House rules. It means that participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affilitation of the person speaking may be revealed.
It leaves me with little more to add than to thank you again for joining us and to hand you over to the Minister, Yvette Cooper.
Links
Extracts from a speech given by Yvette Cooper MP to The Home Builders Federation.