Sustainability Policy Group

CPA Sustainability Policy Group

Sustainability has been a central priority of the Construction Products Association for almost 20 years.

A CPA Sustainability Policy Group has been functional for 18 years supported and led by a full time CPA Sustainability Policy Advisor.  Over 200 people from the CPA membership of companies and trade associations are listed on the Sustainability Group, creating a community of sustainability professionals.

The group convenes 8 -10 times annually.  Since COVID, the group now meets online with meetings tending to be 90 minutes long focused around a specific topic.

Members knowledge of sustainability ranges from those at the start of their journey to those who have been sustainability professionals within their companies or trade associations for several decades. 

The themes the group discusses cluster around the following topics:

• Industrial Decarbonisation and Net Zero commitments and action plans
• Sustainability Measurement and Reporting – at product, company and project level
• Procurement Net Zero Asks, e.g. the requirements from PPN 06/21 or Construction Playbook
• Resource Efficiency, Zero Avoidable Waste, and the Circular Economy – can waste be reduced and material efficiency increased along the supply chain; can products be manufactured to facilitate reuse, remanufacture and recycling. Similarly packaging.
• Innovation funding opportunities for decarbonisation – bringing knowledge of the opportunity of innovation and research funding to CPA members

To support the Sustainability Group the CPA provide regular briefings on key topics, and regular publication of short Briefing and Discussion Papers, to improve understanding and knowledge.  These also give greater visibility to the wider construction industry to actions being taken by manufacturers to deliver a Net Zero and Sustainable Built Environment.  Net Zero Plans and Sustainability Reports from manufacturing companies and sector trade associations are listed in the CPA Decarbonisation Directory.

The group is also the vehicle whereby CPA members are kept informed of forthcoming government policies and initiatives and provides a mechanism for developing and articulating views of the construction product manufacturing sector back to government.