The grid in the UK is constrained, slowing down the country in its push towards net zero. This is one of the most significant challenges for the regulators as well as developers, with many connections dates now being beyond 2030. Is the scale of the problem truly understood?

The system needs to be flexible and resilient in its operation, as the events of the last couple of years (pandemic, Ukraine crisis, general political instability) have pushed energy security to the front of everyone’s minds.

The traditional approach to delivery including developing organically over longer periods is no longer going to achieve the outcomes required. The accelerated requirements of the network development need a fundamental change in philosophy to deliver. A host of holistic approaches to the practical challenge exist, but we clearly need a programmatic approach as our grid has to support adoption of low carbon technologies such as Electric Vehicles, Heat Pumps and Integrated generation and storage (e.g. Solar PV and BESS).

Covering the skills gap, the need for digital investment, Modern Methods of Construction, Social Value impact and changes are required in the delivery approach.

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, speakers from AECOM will explore these grid constraints in the transition to net zero.

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Human activity is driving the loss of biodiversity and organisations increasingly need to consider their impacts and dependencies upon nature.

This Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk will cover the terminology, why this subject is so important as well as outlining the changing landscape for organisations. It will then look at how to get started in understanding how businesses can approach this subject as part of their strategies and reporting.

What is social value? How do you embed this throughout your business? And why is it important?

This Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, led by Caron Dunlop, Technical Director of Social Value at Mott MacDonald, will seek to address these questions.

It’s been over 10 years since the introduction of the Public Service (Social Value) Act 2012 and many organisations, large and small, are still struggling with how to plan, manage, deliver, and account for social value.

This session will explore the roots of social value and how it aligns with CSR, ESG, Sustainability and Social Impact. It will be a back-to-basics webinar that sets out some simple and easy to understand principles, tools and techniques that will allow listeners to get to grips with the foundational elements of creating a robust social value strategy.

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, Mott MacDonald will explore decarbonisation and climate resilience, how they are typically approached on projects, and how to deliver an integrated approach (and the benefits of doing so), through early engagement, the use of nature-based solutions and more.

The CIRPASS Consortium is currently developing the landscape for the roll out of unified Digital Product Passports (DPPs) in Europe. A DPP is a digital record of a product’s unique identity. DPPs are the way in which stakeholders, right across the supply chain, can access key traceability data on that specific product. DPPs will be an extremely useful resource for businesses in practically addressing climate change.

This Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk will shed light on how the CIRPASS Project is developing the future of product identification and the passage of products through our economy.

The proposal to replace Environmental Impact Assessment with Environmental Outcome Reports in the UK has generated mixed reaction. What is it about the proposed reform that causes concern, is it the potential change in process or the change in focus from assessing significant effects to environmental outcomes?

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, Mott MacDonald will consider the positive impact a focus on environmental outcomes could have on project delivery and protection (or rather enhancement) of our environment.

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, Mott MacDonald will present change in carbon sequestration rates that result from BNG designs for infrastructure development to answer the fundamental question: did BNG increase carbon sequestration rates and, by doing so, help to address climate change, or did BNG decrease carbon sequestration and make climate change worse?

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, held in partnership with Jacobs, we will look at how we can approach this requirement, using a combination of traditional and innovative approaches, to create new market funding and finance opportunities.

This Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, held in partnership with Jacobs, will explore the positives and negatives of the current ways of assessing ‘total value’, and where we need to get better evidence to provide a more robust analysis.

No and low carbon hydrogen is seen as a key part of decarbonisation of the energy system - not a week goes by without an announcement about a new mega project, a national plan, or an industry transforming trial. We will try to assess what does this mean in reality, where will it be used and where will it be produced.

Although there is uncertainty of the future uses of hydrogen, the demand from its existing uses can be captured and in times of uncertain fossil prices no-carbon hydrogen can be increasingly competitive. What are the barriers to delivering this no-carbon hydrogen?

Any no-carbon hydrogen project requires three main ingredients– lots of renewable energy, fresh water, and electrolysers; the challenge is to secure supplies of all of these.

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, AECOM will discuss how they are working with clients to unlock these challenges, with case studies to explain how these challenges are being overcome.

In this Sustainability Delivery Group Expert Talk, held in partnership with Jacobs, we will demonstrate the importance of the independent systems’ integrator role in bringing together diverse stakeholders to agree on a common vision, and how this has played out in real-life scenarios.

Speakers:

Phil Raynor, Director of Water and Environment, Jacobs
Joseph Danyluk, OneWater Director, Jacobs
Dee Grahamslaw, Place Based Planning Pilot Lead, United Utilities, Jacobs