Constructing Excellence in the North East (CENE) is this year celebrating its 20th anniversary in business.
The industry body will toast the milestone achievement with members new and old at the Grand Hotel, Gosforth Park, this September.
CENE is the regional partner to Constructing Excellence, the single organisation charged with driving the change agenda in construction, housing and regeneration.
Notable achievements include being a key driver alongside a number of other influential bodies in helping to implement the OneVoice construction strategy in 2020, which aims to build a successful, sustainable and inclusive construction industry, equipped with the people and technology to deliver a carbon neutral built environment by 2050.
CENE was at the forefront of direct support, via its dedicated People Group, to those affected by the fall of Tolent and Metnor and annually hosts the largest construction conference in the region – the Construction Summit and Innovation Showcase which will be returning in October at the Gateshead-Newcastle Hilton Hotel.
Earlier this year, CENE announced a plethora of new faces to its board one of whom was the appointment of its new chair, head of programme management office (PMO) at Northumbrian Water, Carol Cairns, succeeding Tim Bailey.
Her arrival has been instrumental in leading a strategic review of CENE, helping to re-establish its mission, vision and strategic goals and aligning them to the national goals of Constructing Excellence.
A key goal for Carol is that CENE will become carbon neutral by the end of 2025, sending a strong signal to members that the industry can progress together on its net zero journey.
Carol Cairns, chair, Constructing Excellence in the North East, said: “We continue to deliver against the objectives of OneVoice by accelerating activity across our key theme groups – people, climate, innovation and value.
“CENE has a pivotal role to play in the region and we support our network when it comes to achieving their net zero targets, managing rising costs and connecting members.
“Although the sector has been turbulent for a number of organisations this year, we continue to diversify when it comes to new technologies and ways of working.
“Our people are at the heart of what we do and to deliver on our future ambitions we’re going to need different thinking and experiences – there’s more work to do create a fully inclusive culture that attracts talent with these different perspectives
“We need to bravely embrace innovation becoming a beacon for leading edge practices and we should be focusing on the value our projects deliver, looking beyond the design and construction to the legacy they will leave in our communities.
“We have also had much to celebrate with the Generation4Change (G4C) Awards, in which outstanding examples of excellence and best practice were highlighted by our future workforce, as well as, individuals and those organisations driving change within our sector at our CENE Awards.
“20 years is a huge achievement and Catriona and the team at CENE should be very proud.”
Catriona Lingwood, chief executive at Constructing Excellence in the North East, said: “Twenty years is a fantastic achievement and having weathered Covid, Brexit and an unpredictable economy, we are still standing strong.
“I have a fantastic team of people behind me, which includes my colleagues, Leanne Conaway, Chelsea Corbett and Dainee Brown. I want to take this opportunity to thank our board members and those who sit on our four steering groups – people, value, innovation and climate and our construction client group. Also, a huge thank you to our loyal members and everyone who has supported us over the last twenty years.”