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Key areas include:

* Reducing the carbon footprint of activities within the sector;

* Producing zero net waste at construction site level;

* Developing voluntary initiatives between the industry and its clients with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint and use of resources within the built environment;

* Creating a safer industry by improving skills, boosting training numbers and retaining more skilled workers.

Construction minister Stephen Timms stressed that the built environment accounts for around 47% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. He said: 鈥淣ot only must the construction industry rise to the challenge of reducing those emissions, it must also consider how it will adapt its products to deal with the impacts of unavoidable climate change.鈥�

Within the draft, mechanisms by which this vision of a sustainable industry can be realised include more effective use of government procurement power, greater recognition of design quality as integral to sustainable construction and increased use of sustainable materials.

鈥淭his strategy is not about introducing new legislation, it is about making existing regulation work better,鈥� said Timms.

Mike Davies, chairman of the Strategic Forum for Construction, said: 鈥淢ost importantly, the strategy requires all parts of the industry and our stakeholders to work together. To develop a sustainable future, we must combine the processes for improving the built environment with the policies to increase competitiveness, and this will be the key to the success of this strategy.鈥�

The proposed strategy is now available, and feedback is welcome. The deadline for comment is 30 November 2007.