Five years ago, the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) decided to place sustainability on par with safety.
The first tangible actions from this strategic decision were to establish its Climate Emergency Task Group (CETG) and create a long-term plan of action for change regarding structural engineers and sustainability.
An overview of the changes achieved and collaborative successes have now been published in a review – titled “Five Years of Action” – that also previews IStructE’s climate action focus for the next three years.
The report includes a detailed infographic of hyperlinks to more than 420 learning resources such as expert guides, training courses, and video recordings about climate action. As a commitment to its climate leadership, IStructE continues to make a significant proportion of these freely available to the whole built environment industry, not only for its structural engineering members.
Dr Mike Cook, Chair of the CETG explains: “Climate action is now a guiding principle for the Institution alongside our enduring commitment to life safety. Since 2019, we have progressed well with a four-part plan to set and raise standards, support change in the profession, and work with others in the industry to enable wider change. But more needs to be done, with a continued cross-industry approach to ensure structural engineering’s voice is heard and so that policies, regulations and legislation are developed to support our profession’s response to the climate emergency.”
The Institution, its CETG, and its members’ Sustainability Panel are therefore looking to the future, stating in the report that there is a better way to build: one that repairs nature, strengthens communities, and sustains economies – and that everyone in the built environment industry has a part to play in moving this forward.
Will Arnold, Head of Climate Action at IStructE adds: “The last five years have seen us execute a cross-industry approach, to call for policy and regulatory change to support the wider profession’s response to the Climate Emergency. This collaborative work builds on our members’ expertise and the wider changes that we have made within the IStructE to better enable climate and biodiversity breakdown to be tackled by the profession.
“However, 2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing 1.5°C, and global emissions have not yet peaked, so it is more important than ever for our industry to ask how it will double its efforts. Looking ahead, our three-year sustainability strategy therefore focusses on embodied carbon, responsible material use and regenerative design, and we will be aiming to enable engineers to take bigger and bolder steps than ever before.”
The report explains how the Institution has:
- Driven new standards for teaching requirements across all accredited degree courses, with a requirement for Higher Education providers to put the climate emergency central to the education of civil and structural engineers.
- Reset IStructE’s Chartered and Incorporated Exams to include climate-related expertise, such as calculating, managing and communicating embodied carbon in their work and with their clients.
- Raised professional standards by publishing key guides such as How to calculate embodied carbon; Design for zero; Circular economy and reuse: guidance for designers; and the thought leadership title The regenerative structural engineer.
- Supported the work of industry groups such as Structural Engineers Declare to keep structural engineers at the cutting edge of the issues around climate and biodiversity breakdown.
- Brought people together through climate-related training and conferences, including its free annual Climate Emergency Conference.
- Celebrated structural engineering excellence with the annual Structural Awards where entries now have to explain the impact of projects on people, the planet, the process of design and construction, and the wider engineering profession.
Yasmin Becker, IStructE’s Chief Executive Officer concludes: “I congratulate and thank the work of the CETG and the experts who have contributed to the climate action strategy. Their willingness to give their time and expertise to instigate change ensures that the Institution remains equally committed for the long-term to sustainability and safety.”
