On Tuesday 26 January, Burges Salmon hosted a virtual roundtable, ‘The road to net zero: The impact on the built environment’, inviting leaders from different key sectors to join the discussion on the shifts that will be required within the sectors supporting the built environment in order to drive decarbonisation.
The roundtable is the fifth in the series, the first instalment of 2021, which the firm launched to address the challenges and opportunities of achieving the government’s Net Zero 2050 target.
Burges Salmon welcomed Julie Hirigoyen, CEO for the UK Green Building Council, as the session’s keynote speaker who shared the organisation’s latest research and thinking on the topic. Rachel Hay, lead analyst for buildings at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), also spoke during the session, outlining the current advice to the UK and devolved governments for this sector.
The roundtable facilitated an in-depth consideration of the role the built environment sector will play in helping the UK meet its Net Zero targets, the short- and long-term opportunities and challenges for the sector, the changes in policy and regulation that will be needed and how these changes will be funded.
Burges Salmon partner and chair of Net Zero Services, Ross Fairley, facilitated the roundtable, which attracted representation from 14 key organisations such as Skanska, Costain, St Modwen Properties and Severn Trent.
Ross says: “This latest roundtable was a great success and it was a privilege to be joined by so many prominent industry figures to discuss the impact on the built environment.
“The sectors in which Burges Salmon has particular expertise – such as transport, energy, land use, food production and built environment – will be key in shaping the move to Net Zero, putting the firm in a strong position to understand the implications of changing policy and regulation. We have embarked on this series of workshops and roundtables to bring sector leaders together and facilitate the necessary joined up thinking.”
With thanks to all who attended: Oxford Properties, Severn Trent, University of Bristol, St Modwen Properties, UK Green Building Council, ICG, IV Real Estate, ENGIE, Skanska, The Committee on Climate Change, YTL Developments, Tritax Group, Costain and The Crown Estate.