City Building (Glasgow): An Inspirational Model of Low Energy Social Housing and Public Building Production

The aim is to investigate trade union policies and engagement in initiatives in the area of sustainable construction. The research is comparative and identifies case studies illustrative of trade union involvement in four European countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy and UK/Scotland) as well as in Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Ontario). The concern, in particular, is to identify and promote ‘good practice’ examples and document, for instance, associated terms and conditions of employment for workers, vocational education and training (VET) programmes in low energy construction (LEC), and the extent that green transition pathways prioritise workers’ interests alongside the protection of the environment. City Building (Glasgow) in Scotland provides one such example, particularly in the context of a sector dominated in the United Kingdom (UK) by sub-contracting, self-employment, agency labour and a highly fragmented and restricted VET system.