The UK building industry has a desire to
become sustainable, one sector commentator has claimed.
John Alker, public affairs manager at the UK Green Building Council, said: "Whether that is in terms of the materials or whether that's in terms of the performance of the buildings on issues such as energy use and water use [and] a desire to make that also profitable."
However, he added that the building sector was currently struggling with sustainability due to pressure from customers, clients, the government and construction regulations.
Yet despite the economic downturn, Mr Alker said that sustainability was now in the mainstream.
This comment may be reflected in recent figures from NextGen, which reveals that the green building materials market will grow to over £350 billion by 2013.
And Nationwide has also suggested that factors such as energy efficiency are likely to play an increasingly popular role in property value.
The group claimed that in the future, more government funding may be made available to help homeowners invest in
sustainable energy technology such as wind turbines, solar panels and ground source heat pumps.
