Webinar #1: Systems change in the construction industry now!

It is time for systems change for the construction industry – what will you do?

According to the UK Green Building Council, the built environment contributes around 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint. There is a large body of evidence from research and practice/industry setting out what needs to be done and by whom beyond the construction industry need to engage such as economists, behaviour scientists, investors, insurers, amongst others as well as policy makers.

The 'construction industry' has been described as 'not fit for purpose' in the face of the current challenges and a systems change has been called for as part of the Hackitt Review. However, the 'construction industry' is not one joined up industry, but is at least four sectors – housing, buildings, infrastructure and mega projects – each with their own fees, procurement, design process and structures. This add further complexities for system change.

How should we address our 3 questions on

i) what are we learning from our time of lockdown and beyond to change both as individuals and professionals?

ii) What do we keep and what do we change in the industry?

iii) If we embrace change, what is our vision for the future? If we don’t, what are the risks?

The proposition put forward in this session is that construction needs a cultural change, and a reinvention if we are to play our part in mitigating climate change. We will explore what this could mean in practice.

Hear the following presentations from our speakers:

Chair: Robin Nicholson

• Learn from COVID-19 for Climate Change Crisis - Dr Dorte Rich Jørgensen

• Responding to a Crisis: A reductive vs a progressive driven approach – Chris Blackwell

• A study of values in the construction industry – impact of Covid and messages for the desired future – Deborah Henderson

• Systems change for construction: putting climate change at the heart – Jennifer Whyte

This will be followed by a live Q&A session, where you can pose your questions to our experts.

In partnership with Futurebuild.