Sustainability and the contribution we can make as an industry

At our Members’ Forum this year we enjoyed an excellent presentation by David Stockdale on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which really got me thinking about what sustainability means and the contribution we can make as an industry.

After COP 26, we are in no doubt about the urgent need to preserve our planet and our role in achieving net zero, we perhaps need to think a bit more about our social impact and how we can meet some of the more challenging goals around poverty, hunger and good health and wellbeing, not to mention quality education, gender equality and access to clean water. Ours is an industry that should put the health and welfare of society first.

These are things that may not seem obvious targets for construction, but we have a very important role to play in improving the lives of those who use or create our built environment and that means being inclusive and creating a socially sustainable built environment. The built and natural environment shapes our minds and our futures, and it is perhaps something that we do not fully appreciate. We have the power to change lives for the better and to have a significant social impact in reducing poverty, hunger and poor health. Every construction project has a great potential to make a positive impact on communities and society. We have for too long been focussed on cost and time, let’s now focus on the contribution we can make to improving people’s lives through Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. It will attract talented people to our industry and more importantly retain them. But let’s not focus this on social value metrics that may be too narrow and perfunctory. We should explore the rich offering we have to make in shaping minds and futures. Sustainability should be less about carbon metrics and more about creating a fair and sustainable future for people no matter where they are and recognising our contribution to that. 

I would encourage all universities to promote our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Charter to students and companies 

By embracing diversity, we can make that important social contribution. 

I would also ask you to promote CIOB Assist to student members who may be facing difficulties. To improve our societies, we need to be representative of our societies and to care for our students and employees who may face disadvantages. This is what CIOB Assist is set up for. 

The UN social sustainability goals on social sustainability fit closely with our own vison, mission and values to improve the quality of life for those who use and create our built environment. To promote professionalism, integrity, excellence and respect in our industry and in everything we do.