Almost 850 contractors took part in the Green Perspective report examining the industry's attitude towards climate change and the role of sustainable construction.
 
Michael Brown CIOB deputy chief executive said: "From the survey we can see that there is clear concern about climate change and a desire to enforce sustainable construction but there is a lack of understanding about what is being done and what can be done to tackle these issues. The problem may lay in the fact there is still much debate among experts and political leaders concerning possible solutions and the affect that they will have in reducing climate change. What is certain is that reducing waste and carbon emissions from buildings will not only help the environment, but is also profitable to businesses."
 
In addition 98% accepted that construction has a role to play in climate change while 86.2% believe that there are financial benefits to producing energy efficient buildings.
 
However 67% of respondents felt that the current UK building regulations do not go far enough to create energy efficient buildings. In addition, building regulations were seen as the most valuable way for the built environment to reduce C02, with the majority believing that building regulations were enforceable.
 
Brown said: "Although this survey has identified an increase in demand for sustainable development over the last five years, this increase appears not yet to have reached significant enough levels. The reason for this lack of widespread market appetite is seen as a shortage of client awareness and education towards the financial benefits for building green projects. And yet 86% of respondents believe there are financial benefits to be had from producing energy efficient buildings."