Introduction
Central Procurement Directorate is helping to promote, within Northern Ireland, a UK-wide construction industry initiative, which recognises civil engineering projects warranting special environmental merit. This scheme is known by the acronym, CEEQUAL, which stands for Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Award.
What is CEEQUAL?
CEEQUAL is an awards scheme assessing the environmental quality of civil engineering projects - a civil engineering equivalent to BREEAM for buildings. ICE, BRE, CIRIA and a group of committed industry organisations, including CPD are promoting this initiative. Its objective is to encourage the attainment of environmental excellence in civil engineering projects, and thus to deliver improved environmental performance in project specification, design and construction.
CEEQUAL uses a credit-based assessment framework, which is applicable to any civil engineering project and includes environmental aspects such as the use of water, energy and land as well as ecology, landscape, nuisance to neighbours, archaeology, waste minimisation and management, and community amenity.
A CEEQUAL award publicly recognises the achievement of high environmental performance. Awards are made to projects in which the clients, designers and contractors go beyond the legal and environmental minima to achieve distinctive environmental standards of performance.
Benefits of CEEQUAL
CEEQUAL:-
- provides a benchmark standard for environmental performance;
- demonstrates the commitment of the civil engineering industry to environmental quality; and
- celebrates the achievement of high environmental standards in civil engineering projects.
A CEEQUAL Award for your civil engineering project identifies you as an organisation that:-
- measures and compares standards of performance;
- respects people and the society in which it operates;
- undertakes its work in an ethical and sustainable manner;
- acts in a socially and environmentally responsible way;
- protects and enhances the environment; and
- is concerned about the major impacts of construction on the environment and the earth’s resources.
More information can be obtained from the website – www.ceequal.com