Road funding more important than climate change, say contractor bosses
A lack of adequate government funding to repair UK roads is a greater threat to the future of UK road infrastructure than climate change, say contractor bosses.
According to new climate change research commissioned by Tarmac, which polled chief executives and chairmen of the UK's largest contractors, three quarters of bosses cited inadequate funding for road repair as their biggest concern, with only 23 per cent of senior management believing that the increased risk of flooding due to climate change was the biggest threat.
One of the biggest fears about the impact of climate change for 75 per cent of respondents was the rising cost of developing or using energy efficient products.
There was wide-scale divergence regarding what effect the economic crisis would have on sustainability targets, with around 40 per cent believing that they should be relaxed.
Staff engagement to tackle the threat of climate change was revealed to be high with three quarters of respondents saying they had appointed a sustainability champion in their company. Only 12 per cent of respondents were not concerned that their company's lack of sustainability credentials would affect business.
Commenting on the research results, Martyn Kenny, Tarmac head of sustainability said:
"The estimated £1 billion shortfall to tackle the UK's 11-year backlog of road repairs clearly remains the most pressing issue for industry leaders. However, aside from these funding issues, it is critical that the industry does not ignore the very real threat posed by climate change to the future of our road network. Clearly, more needs to be done to embed sustainability into working practices and deliver the right solutions for a more sustainable future for the whole sector."
Other key research findings
- 64 per cent think climate change is threat to their Business
- 44 per cent think premium pricing on sustainablesolutions is an opportunity for their company
- 62 per cent think carbon offsetting is not important to their company
18 May 2009
