What does Climate Action mean to us – Part 2 of 3: Imagine if we could make sustainability real

Dear Fellow Constructors

What does Climate Action mean to us – Part 2 of 3: Imagine if we could make sustainability real

If we reflect on the reasons why we got into this Company and indeed this incredible industry in the first place, perhaps many would agree that it was to make a difference. Isn’t leading change, truly where we want to be, and what we are best at? When we enter a community to deliver a new project, aren’t we often met with resistance, skepticism, doubt and fear. But our teams with their inherent emotional intelligence and brilliant technical knowhow just excel in these conditions, overcome negative perceptions, and deliver. This should give us a lot of hope.

We truly believe that helping to address the climate and biodiversity challenge plays to our strengths of our industry. We’re sure you’ll agree that we already have the purpose, the skills, the mindset, and the sheer tenacity to help fix this, or at least to be the leaders in this agenda. We all know what it takes to deliver complex projects. We innovate and solve incredible challenges every day, from the very small to the very big! From the logistics crew to QS to site manager to the cleaner, to the consultant, the architect, the subby, to all of us involved in the process – we all know how to work as a team and still deliver in incredibly demanding conditions with ever-changing requirements and specifications. But we do it. We do it every time.

In fact, we are so good at project delivery, many of us just take it for granted. Our culture is to simply let our projects do the talking. But perhaps we should be more aware that the skills we have in abundance, are exactly those we need now and more than ever! We need to let other people know just how good this industry is and what it is capable of, because not only do we face a climate and biodiversity challenge, but we face a massive skills challenge. Does anyone else see this as massive opportunity?

What if we could massively shift public perceptions and those of financial institutions, towards seeing the built environment and construction industry as being a massive part of the solution rather than a cause of the problem? What if we found a way to overturn those negative perceptions that have plagued our sector for decades: because we know a dangerous, low tech, polluting, wasteful, male dominated industry, with entrenched attitudes and a lack of diversity, are only perceptions, right?

Just imagine if we found a way to link the financing of our built environment construction and maintenance projects to social, environmental and ethical value frameworks. We would drive out these antiquated perceptions forever. We can make sustainability real, but only together we can.

Now is the time to think about our industry networks and how we can use them to help drive positive change.

Please do get in touch with climateaction@constructorscompany.co.uk if you want to find out more, get involved, and be part of something that is genuinely Making Sustainability Real.

Next Time: What can we do about it – a call to arms

With Very Best Regards

Martin Gettings and the Climate Action Committee

The Worshipful Company of Constructors