How on Earth?

An online event to discuss how the Built Environment sector will organise to meet monumental challenges in the race to net zero.  

The London South Bank University (LSBU) School of Built Environment and Architecture’s fourth Seminar in its Climate Emergency Events Series will ask: 'How on Earth is the Built Environment sector going to meet the monumental challenge that lies ahead?' on Thursday 22 April, which is World Earth Day.

There is huge potential for new data and analytics to contribute towards the decarbonisation of the civil engineering sector and enhance the resilience of infrastructure and the built environment to the impacts of climate change. Using data as an engineering tool will lead to better-informed, sustainably-grounded decisions to reduce resource use and ensure our assets function long into the future. Dr Jennifer Schooling

Dr Jennifer Schooling OBE, Director of CSIC, will be part of the panel discussion and will talk about systems thinking in infrastructure. Highlighting the need to change the way the infrastructure and construction industries view data – a vital asset in its own right – Dr Schooling will consider data as an engineering tool for tackling the key challenges facing the industry, such as climate change, resource constraint and resilience – as set out in the CSIC Smart Sustainability paper.

“There is huge potential for new data and analytics to contribute towards the decarbonisation of the civil engineering sector and enhance the resilience of infrastructure and the built environment to the impacts of climate change,” said Dr Schooling. “Using data as an engineering tool will lead to better-informed, sustainably-grounded decisions to reduce resource use and ensure our assets function long into the future.”

The panel will also include: Alex Rainbow, from Cornwall Council, who will talk about ‘Adopting and Adapting the Doughnut’ based on Kate Raworth's  book titled "Doughnut Economics"; Cat Drew, Chief Design Officer, Design Council, will offer insights from the 'Design in the Public Sector' programme which equips councils with the support and skills to respond to the many complex challenges caused by climate change; Ashley Bateson, MSc, CEng, CEnv, FCIBSE, MEI Partner and Head of Sustainability, Hoare Lea & Vice President of CIBSE, who will share the latest thinking about how the climate emergency is impacting the sector; and Mike Darby, CEO at Demand Logic, who will talk about the role data will play in creating a resilient future.

Discussion will follow the keynote by Jane Davidson, author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country, and architect of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, who will explain the critical importance of bold legislation and public bodies thinking about the long-term impact of their decisions.

The LSBU How on Earth? event on Monday 22 April runs from 3pm to 5.30pm. Please register for this free event here.