Sustainability

SSEN Transmission has committed to invest £22bn in its infrastructure, according to its new business plan. Proposals for the period covering April 2026-March 2031, known as RIIO-T3 price control, will see investment leading to the north of Scotland transmission network having the capability to meet 20 per cent of Britain’s…

Balfour Beatty and Costain have got the go-ahead to start work on infrastructure for a huge carbon capture project in the North East. The £4bn construction work on two sites at Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) will start in mid-2025, with both contractors helping to deliver the world’s first…

Communities secretary Angela Rayner has approved the controversial demolition of Marks & Spencer’s 1920s-built store on London’s Oxford Street. Yesterday (5 December), she ruled that the retailer could press ahead with its plan to replace the building with a 10-storey office scheme by Pilbrow & Partners, reported Construction News’ sister…

Contractor Renew Holdings has pushed its revenue above £1bn for the first time due to onshore wind sector work. The contractor announced a “record financial performance” in the year to 30 September 2024, with a revenue of £1.1bn and a pre-tax profit of £60.2m, up from £56.8m the year before.…

The proportion of electric vans (EVs) used by the construction industry has barely increased in the past year, despite being a priority for the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). The organisation revealed in a new report that take-up of EVs in construction has flatlined year-on-year, forming 5.2 per cent of the…

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has issued a sector directive on using data to drive better health and safety outcomes. The CLC said its Information Management Initiative (IMI), which it developed with Nima – formerly known as the UK BIM Alliance – will stimulate “sector-transforming capabilities in applying emerging digital…

Two tenders with a combined value of more than £2.3bn have been announced by public sector framework provider Fusion21. Firms are being invited to bid for decarbonisation work and building safety projects that are open to a range of firms from those with regional or national coverage to SMEs. The…

Less than 1 per cent of social value created by construction firms comes via carbon reduction measures, figures shared with Construction News indicate. Data from construction software provider Compliance Chain shows that more than 98 per cent of the £6.8bn social value created through its frameworks comes from easy-to-achieve measures…

Greater use of technology in the construction sector could boost the UK economy by £417bn within two and a half decades, according to a study by Costain. The UK’s 16th biggest contractor found that extensive use of connected and autonomous plant (CAP) in the industry could bring £356bn worth of…

Construction firms operating in London will need to meet a new “tightening” of machinery emission rules, a plant equipment firm has warned. Rules around the emissions from generators and air compressors are changing in the coming months, which Aggreko says requires rapid change by contractors operating in the capital. From…