The biggest ever construction sector conference held in the North East saw key, national and regional leaders discuss how the industry is transforming to meet new challenges.
The Construction Summit and Innovation Showcase, delivered by Constructing Excellence North East, supported the industry’s OneVoice campaign, which aims to build a successful, sustainable and inclusive construction industry.
It focused on the OneVoice action plan’s four key themes – value, people, climate and innovation and how they each offer a route to value. The OneVoice action plan was led by the Construction Industry Council North East (CIC), Constructing Excellence North East (CENE), Construction Alliance North East (CAN) and Generation for Change (G4C), as a rallying call to the region to become a beacon of best practice.
A key highlight was the return of the innovation showcase, an opportunity for SMEs and start-ups innovating in areas such as decarbonisation and sustainability to highlight their ideas to regional leaders in construction.
Exhibitors included multi-disciplined retrofit and net zero business, Cara EPS, leading safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) consultancy, Carney Consultancy, Disperse, a technology provider focused on boosting productivity in the construction industry, science-based climate tech company, Low Carbon Materials, shortlisted in 2022 for The Earthshot Prize, a prestigious global prize which celebrates the most innovative solutions to protect and restore the planet.
Other exhibitors included German manufacturer of Geospatial Technologies, NavVis, plus, NexGen the next generation of ‘Net Zero’ heating solutions for housing and buildings and SmartCarbon, who continue to work closely with CENE to assist companies with their decarbonisation journeys.
Carol Cairns, chair at Constructing Excellence North East, said: “The summit explored how we as an industry need to change and adapt to ensure we are delivering high quality, sustainable, whole life value for the region and beyond.
“OneVoice is an ongoing campaign to unite the industry and deliver our future together. The summit showcased examples of how we are collaborating to effect change, ensuring the North East England construction industry delivers against the OneVoice action plan. We need to continue to ensure whole life value for our clients and communities, prioritise the health of our planet, invest in our people, promote wellbeing and inclusion, and drive innovation across the region.
“I would like to thank our headline sponsor AtkinsRealis and our theme sponsors Sir Robert McAlpine, RE:GEN Group, Esh Construction and K2 Construction Management for all their support. Thanks too, to all the speakers, panellists and exhibitors for their time and commitment.”
Catriona Lingwood, chief executive at Constructing Excellence North East, said: “We have received positive feedback from both delegates and exhibitors who attended the summit. As well as our sponsors, I would very much like to thank our members for attending and the speakers on the day, each of whom were linked to our four key themes, people, value, climate and innovation.
“It is a day which brings the industry together as we continue to collectively look at ways to explore economic growth, social value and environmental improvements.”