On Tuesday 21st June, the Supply Chain Sustainability School held its 10 Year Anniversary Summit in Coventry Building Society Arena. Attended by hundreds of sustainability experts from across the built environment industry, the Summit provided a chance to celebrate the past decade of collaboration as well as look forward to future challenges and opportunities.
Summit attendees watch the Supply Chain Sustainability School 10th Anniversary film
The Summit kicked off with the premiere of the School’s 10th Anniversary film, featuring interviews with School board members as well as thought leaders from the built environment industry. This was then followed by a welcome message from Shaun McCarthy OBE, the School Chair
Throughout the day, attendees heard from the School’s Board Members as well as various industry thought leaders. This included Ruth Todd CBE (HS2), Mark Farmer (Cast Consultancy), Liz Holford (Network Rail) and Jonathon Porritt (sustainability campaigner and writer).
Liz Holford (Network Rail) addresses the audience on delivering our social value challenge.
Subject matter experts from Action Sustainability held interactive breakout sessions focused on three core themes: net zero carbon, social value and future challenges. The slide decks for these sessions can be found below. Attendees also had plenty of opportunities to network and socialise throughout the day.
James Cadman (Action Sustainability) delivers a breakout session on designing and procuring for low carbon.
In the evening, the event concluded with an awards ceremony (sponsored by Bouygues Energies & Services) followed by a drinks and networking session. These awards recognised individuals and organisations that have been highly engaged with the School over the past decade. See below for the full list of winners:
Members Award: Janice Johnson (Briggs Amasco)
Members Award: Paul Aldridge (WJ Group)
Members Award: Nigel Ostime (Hawkins Brown)
Supply Chain Collaboration Award: National Highways Regional Delivery Partnership
Outstanding Personal Contribution: Wendy Carwardine (Action Sustainability)
Thank you to everyone who attended the Summit for helping to make it such an engaging and inspiring event. Stay tuned for additional photos, videos and insights from the event.
Anniversary Summit Feedback
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Breakout Session Presentations
Click on the links below to view and save the presentation slide decks used during the different breakout room sessions from the Summit (view the programme to see which breakout rooms correspond with which breakout sessions):
In celebration of the School’s 10 Year Anniversary, throughout June, we will be publishing a series of Q&As conducted with Partners of the School. For this, we asked each Partner to reflect on the past decade of sustainability in the UK Built Environment industry.
For the fourth edition of our ‘Reflections From…’ series, we spoke with Stuart Key, Head of Procurement Support and Performance for EQUANS UK & Ireland.
How would you describe the sustainability state of the built environment industry before the School was launched in 2012?
“Before the School was launched in 2012, there was a need to improve the level of understanding in the industry of what sustainability meant for the sector and how to translate it into action. Several competing narratives were used, and organisations were trying to move the agenda along on a smaller scale.
Training materials and resources for the industry were difficult to obtain, and there was no significant learning platform for suppliers where they could develop their knowledge and skills for free.”
What impact has the School had on the built environment industry during this last decade?
“During the last decade, the School has been instrumental in promoting a culture of collaboration in a highly competitive industry. It has sought to provide clarity and unite views on various responsible business/sustainability agenda topics.
The School’s free resources enable even the smallest companies to access and develop their knowledge on various topics from social value, health and wellbeing to climate change and carbon.”
How has the School enabled the industry to drive positive sustainable change?
“The School brings together companies to share resources, knowledge and expertise, creating a multiplier effect for what any company could achieve alone.
The nature of the School’s leadership means that the agenda keeps moving forward as new topics emerge, and the focus remains on developing practical tools and guidance to create positive change.”
21st June marks the 10th anniversary of Supply Chain Sustainability School, an industry-wide collaboration of major companies to enable a sustainable built environment through knowledge and collaboration.
The milestone marks a decade that has seen significant growth and acknowledges collaboration and innovation across the UK Built Environment Industry. The Supply Chain Sustainability School, which launched in June 2012 with only 7 founding Partners and 2000 members, today has near 180 Partners and engages with over 50,000 members from 17,000 businesses.
In April 2022, the School was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in recognition of the significant environmental, social, and economic benefits it has delivered to its Members and Partners. In addition, the recently published 2022 Impact Report reflects how the School continues to positively impact organisations and supply chains, with 73% of School members reporting that the School has helped them to better understand their organisation’s sustainability impacts.
Reflecting on 10 years of progress, Shaun McCarthy OBE, Chair of Supply Chain Sustainability School said, “I take great pride in what we have accomplished over the last decade, and I want to thank all those who have accompanied us on our journey thus far – our longstanding Members and Partners, and our dedicated and talented employees. As we celebrate this important milestone, I am even more certain that we will reach our vision of an industry where everyone will have the skills and knowledge to deliver a sustainable future.”
Join the celebration! Sign up to become a FREE member of the School here, and follow Supply Chain Sustainability School on social media.
A series of videos, including milestones and interviews with thought leaders amongst the built environment industry, will be released throughout 2022 to recognise achievements, and anticipate the exciting road ahead.
1. Welcome, Marwah! Tell us a bit about yourself?
I came to the UK in 2017 having applied for a Chevening Scholarship, which is the UK government’s international awards programme aimed at developing global leaders, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. I have a background in architecture and worked in Yemen for over 10 years and I am now working for Egis as an Urban Designer and EDI partner. I worked in heritage conservation and the concept of Contemporisation through studying the old city of Sana’a morphology and reflecting on projects in city restoration. This made me very passionate about urban design, so I studied a master’s in architecture in Sustainable Urban Design at the University of Nottingham and gained a Distinction for research on the urban design role in rebuilding urban identities post crises, through public places taking Mostar and Beirut as case studies.
2. We would love to dive into your story and understand your journey from an architect to an urban designer today?
In my last semester at university, I was left with no option but to stay in the UK due to the deteriorating circumstances in Yemen. My family had moved to Egypt, and it was extremely hard to secure a visa to join them. As a refugee professional, I faced a lot of challenges when job hunting mainly in the construction and architecture industry. To be honest, I thought it would have been relatively easy. I had the experience; I spoke multiple languages and had the relevant qualifications. However, it was a very long journey to finally secure my role today.
I was constantly faced with barriers that didn’t make much sense to me. I was hearing from employers that I didn’t have the experience in the UK, although I had 10+ years’ experience abroad, which was always disregarded. So, I decided to apply for entry level roles, but I was told I was overqualified. This is a dilemma that many overseas professionals face in the UK.
Although I couldn’t find a relevant position in our industry, I worked as an interpreter for Discovery Education then as an employer advisor for Renaisi, mainly to help other refugees with their journeys in the UK. Luckily, I participated in a virtual workshop through Transitions, and I came across a HR Director at Egis who addressed candidates on equal grounds, mentioning she was there to look for talent and wasn’t doing anyone any favours. I admired her dignified approach and for once I felt respected by an employer, so I asked a colleague at Renaisi to put me in the same breakout-room as her. I asked if I could send her my CV/portfolio and here I am today perusing my career and not just doing a job. It took me almost 2 years to finally make this happen, but it restored my faith in humanity.
3. How important do you think Fairness, Inclusion and Respect is to the built environment industry?
Fairness, Inclusion and Respect should always be at the forefront of everything we do, it’s just simple human necessities that we all need to be reminded of every now and again. It’s so important to realise that being a refugee is not an identity, it’s just an experience that people can go through temporarily and with the current world politics, a pandemic and climate change, people should be able to better relate to this. From my personal experience, I believe FIR needs to be adopted at every stage of recruitment and employers need to change the stigma around refuge and immigration. Ultimately, refugees will be the citizens of tomorrow and can contribute highly to society just like anyone else.
Minority groups overall need empowerment not sympathy. It should always be about looking at someone’s potential and approaching the issues they face with an open mind and pose opportunities to enable them to work if their field of choice, so we can all make the built environment a better workplace for all.
It’s everyone’s social responsibility to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. We can all do more, including myself which is why I’m taking the steps to learn more and become a FIR Ambassador through the FIR Programme. It’s only a small step that will help me raise awareness in this area. In this world, there are two types of people, people who go through adversity but when things get better, they might rightfully choose to forget the pain and move on. I choose to own my experiences so that I can hopefully stand up for those who don’t feel that they can.
4. From your experience, what final words of advice do you have for the industry?
Having gone through this journey myself, I want to say that refugees don’t expect to be prioritised, we’re here to compete but all we want is for the competition to be fair and respectful. I believe the mindset around minorities needs to change; we shouldn’t be looked at through labels. Let’s look at individuals for what they bring to the table, their qualifications, their experience, and skills. Everyone deserves that.
More importantly, the construction industry has a skills shortage and will need to recruit an additional 217,000 new workers just to meet demand. That’s the forecast of the Construction Skills Network (CSN) 2021-25, published by CITB. Companies need to spot the business opportunity of tapping into this pool of talent as they contribute to their corporate social responsibility.
It is essential to understand that profession and social environment plays a huge role in one’s identity and it’s what gives them character and sense of belonging. Thus, an inclusive workplace that values employees of all backgrounds and diverse characteristics and understands the significance of inclusiveness for the company’s growth and sustainability. It is up to us to see differences as the liability or the opportunity. In addition, companies that do not adopt diversity within their workforce will cease to exist in the future. This is the way forward.
A business where every employee feels welcomed, important and supported to thrive and reach their potential. And where employees are treated as assets, cherished and equally challenged is a company that creates a strong culture that cares about the people and the workplace. I am glad to be part of Egis, which is a genuine people’s company. One can only shine where they belong.
Finally, I would like to suggest, always asking people for their names before you assign any to them, see beyond the difference, actually see the glory in the difference. Ask them about their story and never have a single story or one perspective. Building a prosperous society is equally as important to building beautiful and great places.
Watch Marwah speaking at the Inspiring Change Conference 2021. Simply click the first video and fast forward to 1hr 50mins to listen to Marwah’s speaking slot.
In celebration of the School’s 10 Year Anniversary, throughout June, we will be publishing a series of Q&As conducted with Partners of the School. For this, we asked each Partner to reflect on the past decade of sustainability in the UK Built Environment industry.
For the third edition of our ‘Reflections From…’ series, we spoke with Raj Neelakantan, the Procurement Operations Manager for Cadent Gas Ltd.
How would you describe the sustainability state of the built environment industry before the School was launched in 2012?
“Sustainability was previously seen as a chore and tick-box exercise by many with varying degrees of understanding, action and take-up across the industry. There were numerous examples of people ‘talking the talk’ but having little to show by way of tangible progress.
There was also a skewed perspective towards environmental sustainability, with economic and social angles often overlooked. Sustainability was also seen as an unwelcome cost of time and resource but had to be done to win business.”
What impact has the School had on the built environment industry during this last decade?
“The School and its vast array of carefully curated subject matter have vastly improved the industry’s awareness of sustainability. Companies – large and small – have been given the opportunity to take various initiatives to a higher level and this leaves little room for any organisation to use lack of resources as an excuse for lagging. The Partner & Member format has gone a long way towards promoting awareness, participation and interest in the field.”
How has the School enabled the industry to drive positive sustainable change?
“The School has given depth and breadth to the many facets of sustainability and enabled a complex and rapidly changing situation, especially on the environmental front, to be managed effectively by the School’s Partners and Members. The Bronze– Silver – Gold membership progression combined with tailored development plans and analytics have enabled what was previously a woolly subject to be underpinned by effective metrics, actions and results. This puts organisations on the path of a holistic approach towards people, planet and profits.
There is also true collaboration on display with the many benefitting from synergetic improvements between the companies actively working with the School to develop content.”
In celebration of the School’s 10 Year Anniversary, throughout June, we will be publishing a series of Q&As conducted with Partners of the School. For this, we asked each Partner to reflect on the past decade of sustainability in the UK Built Environment industry.
For the second edition of our ‘Reflections From…’ series, we spoke with Craig Murphy, the Supply Chain Director for John Sisk & Son Ltd.
How would you describe the sustainability state of the built environment industry before the School was launched in 2012?
“Whilst responsible developers, designers, contractors and manufacturers have for some time considered sustainability as critical to their business agendas, collective industry efforts and improvement initiatives were sporadic in frequency and, in my experience, more often than not focused at a project level. This meant genuine industry level traction was difficult to achieve, best practice difficult to capture and the pace at which we could drive change or upskill ourselves as a sector was far slower than we’d have liked..”
What impact has the School had on the built environment industry during this last decade?
“The establishment of the Supply Chain Sustainability School provided a vehicle within the industry for like-minded, responsible organisations to share best practice and collectively leverage resources and expertise to effectively address critical sustainability-led issues facing our industry.
Whether it’s dealing with the ongoing risks and challenges of modern slavery in our industry, the transition towards MMC /DfMA and offsite construction, or the more recent efforts to inform and equip the industry to manage, measure and reduce carbon generation; the School is now consistently at the forefront of the industry’s efforts to create a step-change in sustainability performance by enhancing knowledge, skills and behaviours..”
How has the School enabled the industry to drive positive sustainable change?
“A real feature of the School’s success is the accessibility it provides to all tiers of the supply chain, including SMEs. The School has been able to touch & positively influence a widespread and diverse audience, with organisations of all sizes making use of the training materials and reference documents. The scale of the School’s reach and engagement is, in my experience, quite unique, and has provided a really strong platform for the School to effect genuine behavioural change at an industry level.”
In celebration of the School’s 10 Year Anniversary, throughout June, we will be publishing a series of Q&As conducted with Partners of the School. For this, we asked each Partner to reflect on the past decade of sustainability in the UK Built Environment industry.
For the first edition of our ‘Reflections From…’ series, we spoke with Kris Karslake, the Sustainability Manager for BAM UK and Ireland.
How would you describe the sustainability state of the built environment industry before the School was launched in 2012?
“A decade ago, the built environment felt fragmented, and it was challenging to involve organisations in our supply chain with sustainability strategies. The working group for principle contractors was in a silo, and outputs weren’t necessarily shared across the value chain.”
What impact has the School had on the built environment industry during this last decade?
“The Supply Chain Sustainability School has connected organisations and been a driving force to raise the bar for critical topics like carbon reporting, offsite construction, modern slavery, and diversity and inclusion.”
How has the School enabled the industry to drive positive sustainable change?
“The School’s multiple engagement methods, from in-person hands-on workshops to webinars and e-learning modules, have upskilled our supply chain, leading to positive change. Furthermore, the recent additions of Learning Pathways have really helped us to highlight specific areas for focus.”
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