Insight sought on how Green Book reform could help achieve net-zero

A new consultation by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is seeking expert views on reform of the UK government’s Green Book, to help achieve net-zero.

How can reforming the Green Book best help policy makers respond to the need to lower carbon emissions, and should the Green Book’s five case model be expanded to six to respond to the urgent 2050 net-zero target, are just some of the questions being asked of industry professionals and local government stakeholders in the new consultation. 

Concerns over unequal investment levels throughout the country have resulted in the government conducting a review of the Green Book, potentially leading to a re-evaluation of the methodology and guidance that determines what gets built where, who benefits and how they benefit. 

In a discussion paper, ICE provides insights about the operation of the Green Book as it is applied to the infrastructure sector, and sets out a range of questions to help inform its policy views on how reform might achieve better outcomes from infrastructure investment.  

Simon Webb, ICE fellow who led the paper’s development, said: “We know that infrastructure has a key role in ‘levelling up’ the UK and creating better outcomes for society and the environment. So, it is important that the appraisal and evaluation processes used to assess projects and programmes best enables this to happen.  

“The last review of the Green Book came before the net-zero emissions target was enshrined in law. How to best bake long-term policy objectives like this into appraisal frameworks is something we are keen to hear views on, so I encourage all those working across the sector to engage with our consultation to help us contribute to the debate on how to place net-zero front and centre of decision making.” 

The consultation is open until Monday 9 November and all industry professionals are encouraged to submit their thoughts. Questions and views can be sent to ICE’s policy team at: policy@ice.org.uk

Click here to download the discussion paper.