Climate emergency

The Climate Emergency Task Group help the profession to tackle climate breakdown. Their 2020 report reviews the group’s activities through the year.

Will Arnold describes the role structural engineers can play in tackling climate change, by making informed design decisions and influencing other members of the project team.

Mike Cook and Will Arnold outline the Institution’s approach to providing guidance on the climate emergency, discussing six key areas this guidance will fall into.

This foreword briefly summarises the commitments that engineers have made in declaring a climate emergency and considers first steps to build action plans that will support these commitments.

An introduction to the goals and how structural engineers can use them to tackle the climate crisis and create a better world.

Mike Cook summarises the outcomes of the IABSE British Group’s annual debating forum, setting out key actions that stakeholders in the construction industry can take to enable a transition to net zero.

Natasha Watson explains how structural engineers can produce designs that make efficient use of material to reduce their environmental impact.

Ian Poole explores ways to improve the utilisation ratio of designs, and encourages engineers to challenge assumptions that favour rationalisation over optimisation.

The IStructE Safety, Health and Wellbeing Panel considers the safety implications when aspiring to a lean design.

A study shared by BuroHappold to share knowledge that may help address the climate emergency.

Luke Bisby urges structural engineers to improve their understanding of ‘fire resistance’ as the profession looks to innovate rapidly in response to climate change.

The article showcases the University of East Anglia's Enterprise Centre project, a low-carbon, sustainable building which achieves both Passivhaus standard and BREEAM Outstanding rating.

Tim Chapman and Ian Firth highlight the carbon differences between civil structures and buildings projects, and propose that engineers work with their clients to target low-carbon outcomes, rather than just low-carbon structures.

How can structural engineers influence decision making?

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.

William Algaard presents ways in which structural engineers can help shape the direction of a project by confidently and constructively sharing their expertise in a language that client and architect will understand.

Will Hawkins, Angus Peters and Tim Mander argue for designers to challenge overspecification and grasp the opportunity that reduced floor loads offer for low-carbon structural design.

Hear from the engineer behind the Structural Award-winning Newquay Harper Footbridge project - and get into the mindset of only doing what is necessary.