Unlocking sustainability in the built environment in Nottingham

Peter Conboy, Blueprint development director recently attended a workshop delivered by Willmott Dixon, the UK’s leading independent construction and property services company. The workshop aimed to gather a panel of experts to discuss a range of subjects around the topic of sustainability in Nottingham’s built environment. 

The roundtable was the first in a series of regional events by Willmott Dixon. Nottingham was chosen as the city has an opportunity to become the first carbon neutral city in England by 2028. 

Alongside Peter, the panel included Nick Gibb, Jo Mills and Ed Reynolds of Willmott Dixon, Hugh Avison and Nick Gregory of CPMG Architects, Umesh Desai from Nottingham Trent University, Gary McGinty at Nottingham College, Alex Jones from Chord Consult, Joanne Murray of Gleeds, Chris Clarke at Scape, Matthew Hannah from Innes England, and Peter McAnespie from Nottingham City Council. 

The panel discussed a range of subjects, including the estates of influential local organisations, what it will take for everybody to truly support the drive for lower carbon emissions, and finding a solution for unregulated energy. 

Peter Conboy, development director at Blueprint said: 

“It was a really lively debate with a number of likeminded individuals to share insights on the approach to delivering a zero-carbon built environment in Nottingham.” 

“In particular, there was a lot of discussion on what zero-carbon really means and it’s clear that one of the challenges is to secure a robust definition which includes proper measurement and reduction of embodied carbon emissions from construction and the built environment contribution that is required to securing a fully decarbonised electricity grid by 2035. We identified the need for a bottom-up education process from schools, third-level institutions, professional bodies, government and industry leaders to ensure there is better understanding of what zero-carbon means for the built environment and to get young people interested in working in the sector to help deliver this.” 

 At Blueprint, a broad-based approach to sustainability is at the heart of our responsible approach to development. We are driven by igloo’s footprint® methodology, with People, Place, and Planet at the centre.  

You can catch up on the panel discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2BHzqGPUy8