Construction - big part of the Climate Problem or Vital Solution?

ARU in partnership with Wilmott Dixon invites you to explore the impact of the construction on the climate to determine if less is more.

Introduction: Professor Saul D Humphrey MSc PhD FRICS FCIOB FICE MCIArb FRSA CEnv – Professor of Sustainable Construction Management at ARU.

Lecture: Will Arnold FIStructE – Head of Climate Action at The Institution of Structural Engineers.

The construction sector is a huge part of the UK economy. It directly accounts for about 6% of GDP and about 10% of all employment.

More importantly, it delivers the critical infrastructure that society requires. From schools and roads to hospitals and houses, from renewable energy projects to flood protection, the construction industry creates the places in which we learn, work and play.

However, the built environment is responsible for circa 40% of all carbon emissions. If it continued to emit carbon through its activities at the current rate as it has historically, it would single-handedly raise temperatures by +3°C, double the Paris Accord targets.

The problem is not just operational carbon, from heating and cooling buildings, but also embodied carbon caused by the extraction and production of construction materials such as cement and steel.

Construction and the built environment must respect the planet's finite boundaries, the tipping-points that are being exceeded and the potential feedback loops that could accelerate climate change.

Many in the sector are shifting the paradigm towards more sustainable construction. Realising this attracts premium values, lower running costs, a much smaller carbon footprint and, done properly, enhanced landscaping, water savings and a biodiversity net gain.

But many more are not, instead persisting with ‘business as usual’. How do we inspire change and motivate the next generation that will build the sustainable, modern, and resilient solutions that tomorrow’s society requires.

This is the conundrum that will be explored in this session.

Aligning sustainable interventions supports the business strategy: 'Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (1987 Brundtland Report).

Event overview

The evening lecture is designed to introduce business organisations to the challenge posed by the impact of extreme weather events on their business. The briefing will start by describing the types of extreme weather Essex can expect over the next few years and will consider how the different types of events could affect the performance of their business.

The briefing will present a risk framing tool that participants can complete during the briefing to identify the direct and indirect risks to their organisation and business continuity planning tool that participants can use to begin to explore options that they could take to reduce and manage the risks.

The briefing will then consider how potential options can be integrated into their organisation’s sustainability strategic planning, including identification of funding sources and further advice available to businesses through Innovate UK Edge’s innovation support and Anglia Ruskin University’s innovation voucher scheme.

The final part of the evening will include a VIP will be an opportunity for one-on-one discussions between participants and the briefing team.

This event will be taking place in MAB221 at Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford. It will be followed by a debate and discussion for invited guests in the ARU Corporate Suite.

Speakers

Will Arnold FIStructE – Head of Climate Action at The Institution of Structural Engineers

Prof Saul D Humphrey MSc PhD FRICS FCIOB FICE MCIArb FRSA CEnv