Pictured above is Yvonne Foy, LOETB; Trish Flanagan, CIF, Padraig Boland, LOETB; Gloria Callinan, TUS; Irene Rondini, IGBC and Seamus Hoyne, TU
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has announced the launch of BUSI2030 (Build Up Skills Ireland 2030) – a new initiative aimed at ensuring Ireland’s built environment is decarbonised with the right set of skills.
The built environment accounts for 37 per cent of Ireland’s national emissions, the same as agriculture. Halving emissions by 2030 is extremely challenging and will require significant investments in skills.
The construction industry is facing labour and skills shortages that need to be overcome to successfully decarbonise the built environment. The initiative is a collaboration between the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC), Laois-Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) and the CIF.
It is co-funded by the European Union. As part the BUSI2030 initiative, a roadmap of key skills needed by building professionals and construction workers to decarbonise the built environment is being developed.
The roadmap, which will be developed through extensive stakeholder engagement, will refine and refresh the ‘BUILD UP Skills – Ireland National Roadmap for Energy Training in Construction’ published in 2014.
Considering emerging trends and new policy development, the new version of the roadmap will not only cover energy efficiency but also decarbonisation of heating and cooling, digitisation, the circular economy and embodied carbon emissions.
BUSI2030 was launched at the IGBC recent conference ‘Decarbonising our built environment – making sure we have the right skills’ that brought together members of the public, construction companies, workers and suppliers along with the education sector, policy makers and government departments to discuss and debate construction skills.
Build green now 2023
The Irish Green Building Council is hosting a Zero Carbon and circularity conference: Build Green Now 2023 on May 12. Panellists will explore solutions to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment across its whole life cycle, looking at operational and embodied carbon emissions and the role of circularity.
Highlights of the day will include a keynote speech by Audrey Nugent, Director of Global Advocacy, World Green Building Council on the proposed revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
There will also be discussions with national and international industry leaders on decarbonising Ireland’s building stock and transitioning to circular business models.
The event takes place at The Gibson Hotel, North Dock, Dublin from 9am to 2.30pm.
