Next week the shutters come down on Part L 2010 – and the building industry will be tasked with delivering more energy efficient buildings.

Over the past decade or so the energy ratings of our buildings has been dramatically increased though regular revisions to Part L (conservation of fuel and power). This regulation driven change has created a new burst of investment in construction, bringing new products and skills to the industry which (hopefully) building owners will benefit from.

At Smith and Wallwork we think it is about time our industry embraced what regulation can do for us and started thinking about where else regulation could be the catalyst for change. What about the construction process itself and the 400 million tonnes of construction materials and products used each year…it is possible to regulate the amount of steel or concrete we use and where we use it?