SPACES Virtual Conference 2021: Net Zero Carbon and the Climate Emergency

Thank you to all those that attended our Virtual Conference on the theme of Net Zero Carbon and the Climate Emergency. Below you will find information from our sponsors, Atkins, Faithful+Gould, IES, NPS Group and Willmott Dixon, as well as links to slides and presentations.

Nearly 75% of District, County, Unitary & Metropolitan Councils plus eight Combined Authorities/City Regions have declared a Climate Emergency to date. So all those working within and for the public sector are seriously considering how their organisation can reduce its impact on the environment whilst working within restrictive financial times. Our chosen theme for SPACES in 2021 was Net Zero Carbon and the Climate Emergency, and looked to support our members by organising webinars and technical meetings to cover various aspects and challenges on the topic to assist in project delivery.

As a collaborative organisation, encapsulating all the professions of the Built Environment, we focused on how we can work together to meet the UK target to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The emphasis will be on real experiences, lessons learned and the need to work collaboratively to deliver workable solutions to reduce our carbon emissions.

On the 28th April, we launched by holding a Roundtable Discussion with four leading experts covering the challenges we all face and how they themselves are tackling them in their own organisations. The discussion was focussed on:

How do we decide what to “green” and what to “offset” and is there an acceptable ratio?
What is our ethical responsibility to green assets we no longer need?

Hosted by Alex Gee, we were very pleased to welcome:

Marina Robertson, Senior Director, NPS Group
Patrick Begg, Outdoors and Natural Resources Director, National Trust
Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director, Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University
Sheryl French, Programme Director for Climate Change and Energy Investment, Cambridgeshire County Council

You can watch the video on our YouTube channel: Roundtable Discussion Video, Host Alex Gee with Marina Robertson, NPS, Patrick Begg, National Trust, Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Climate Repair, Cambridge University, and Sheryl French, Cambridgeshire County Council

The host, Alex Gee spoke to them beforehand about their career, the important lessons they have learnt, what they think we should do to actively achieve net zero carbon, and why we need to be involved.. You can find links to the podcasts below:

Between Monday 7th June and Friday 18th June, we held a Virtual Conference with experts from client side, design, construction, academia & the public sector discussing Zero Carbon, the Climate Emergency and why we must act now! There were a variety of our previous annual Study Days on a wide range of subjects including:

The Latest Technologies
Regulations and Standards
Insights Into Sectors – Schools, Houses, Offices
Refurbishment
Design Tools

You can download a copy of the Delegate List, Summary Programme and Detailed Programme on the presentations and presenters below:

To support our members in their roles, we need to ensure that we are focusing on the right areas when planning for conferences, webinars etc. So please just take 2 minutes to complete this questionnaire. It’s as important for us to understand why members didn’t attend as well as feedback from those who did. Thank you for supporting SPACES.

General

Part Z – A proposed amendment to UK Building Regulations 2010 (new 28th July 2021)
CROSS Theme Page – Safety of structures in the climate emergency (new 28th July 2021)

Monday 7th June 2021 @9:00am Keynote – Managing Ventilation in COVID Whilst Minimising Energy Use Dr Shaun Fitzgerald FREng, Director, Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University Download the slides and watch the presentation below:

Monday 7th June @4:00pm Addressing the Climate Crisis in Essex Samantha Kennedy, Director, Environment & Climate Action, Essex County Council