It was encouraging to see the sharing of knowledge and experience nationally and internationally across all sectors to solve issues and accelerate the move to net zero. There is a lot happening from both a top-down and grassroots approach. One issue that was discussed and often is forgotten by our side of the industry is the issue of having the skilled workforce to realise the nation’s green transition. It is estimated that we need somewhere between 700,000 and 1,200,000 skilled workers. We can make our designs super-efficient but unless we have the people with the skills to actually build/install we are never going to achieve net zero.

— Adam Engström, Senior Engineer, Building Services Team

I ascertained a lot about regenerative construction and how it embraces every aspect of the development process and aims to create sustainable, resilient and thriving communities. For me, it is clear there is a need and desire for a cultural shift across the construction industry. Public and private investments cannot be driven by only price and value parameters and delivering social value through nature-based solutions has become paramount in the decision-making process. Change can be uncomfortable and perceived as a risk. However, it is necessary, and the role of engineers is fundamental in promoting and encouraging radical changes towards sustainable development.

— Agata Lo Certo, Director, Civil and Structural Team

As an industry, we have a lot of knowledge and resources about the carbon impact of materials and how to quantify this, but we still have a lot we must learn about other impacts they have on the environment/climate and how to monitor them — ecological impacts, land use, water use, pollution, biodiversity, etc;

Commercial tenants are demanding higher quality, greener buildings that have a more positive impact on staff wellbeing, helping to increase demand for sustainable buildings. There has been a 68% in take-up of recently built or refurbished office space this year, up from 40% pre-Covid;

Steel — the UK is currently a net exporter of scrap steel. An electric arc furnace in the UK will help offset our demand for virgin steel, although we obviously need to reduce demand generally as well. There’s hope for lower carbon steel beyond electric arc furnaces. Directly reduced iron or electrolytic iron are alternative lower carbon methods;

Building insurers and asset owners in the UK are beginning to assess the risk of climate change on buildings, particularly flooding and overheating. It is likely many existing buildings will need adaptations to become insurable in the future. New buildings will need to demonstrate more rigorously how they deal with climate change.

I also learned about the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC)’s Materials Map, which highlights where we source our materials from. Interesting to learn how far we go to source even sustainable construction materials.

— Dan Cole, Senior Engineer, Civil and Structural Team