Profile: Jo da Silva

Jo reflects on her own career and looks ahead to 2050, discussing the role structural engineers play in creating safe, sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities.

Buro Happold and WSP UK have committed to reducing the carbon emissions of their designs by 50% by 2030. In this article, Sarah Prichard and David Leversha set out the rationale for this target, explain how they plan to achieve this, and encourage other firms to join them in setting an ambitious agenda for governments to follow as we approach the COP26 climate summit.

Can very low-carbon buildings be constructed cheaply enough to suit the pockets of private-sector commercial developers? Yes, says Professor John French, who has set himself that target in his new role as director of sustainability for Cambridge Innovation Parks. But to do so involves overhauling approaches to procurement, contracting, materials and risk.