Are the construction and property industries are really making progress on inclusivity, or just making promises? Are we still seeing discrimination and unconscious bias within the built environment sector? Or are we happily witnessing progress?

What does inclusivity really look like in practice - and are we genuinely moving the dial, or just reshaping the same conversation?

On paper, the sector looks more diverse than it once did but there is still a long way to go. If we look at gender alone, women make up around 15 per cent of the UK construction workforce and roughly 31 per cent of partners or directors in architecture practices.

Despite the number of public pledges, the gender pay gap in construction still sits at around 17 per cent, barely shifting in the past five years.

Representation of ethnic minorities in construction hovers near 7 per cent, compared to about 14 per cent across the overall UK workforce, showing that racial diversity also lags behind national averages. (Statistics from the Office for National Statistics and the Construction Industry Training Board.)

Guests:

Marsha Ramroop, author of Building Inclusion and founder of Unheard Voice; Sarah Hayford, CEO and founder of The Land Collective and driving force behind Black Girls in Property; Rebecca Lovelace, Deputy Chair of CIC’s EDI Committee and founder of Building People; and Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick, CEO of RIBA.

Links to discussions:

Building Inclusion by Marsha Ramroop

https://www.buildinginclusion.info/

The Land Collective

https://thelandcollective.com/

Black Girls in Property

https://bgip.thelandcollective.com/

Building People

https://www.buildingpeople.org.uk/

CIC - Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

https://www.cic.org.uk/committees-and-networks/diversity-and-inclusion-panel

Sustainability is meant to be for everyone but when it comes to housing and communities, is sustainable living actually more of a luxury?

In this episode of BE Sustainable, we ask a bold question: are ‘sustainable communities’ genuinely inclusive, or are they the preserve of the middle classes?

The discussion comes in light of the UK Government’s latest New Towns proposal, which calls for 12 new settlements and at least 10,000 homes in each - with 40% designated as affordable and with an eye on environmental sustainability. But are ‘sustainable’ new builds more expensive to build? And if so, are we pricing lower-income workers and families out of the sustainable housing market?

In this studio debate, host Mike Speight is joined by two leading voices shaping the future of British housing:

• Professor Samer Bagaeen, Head of Town Planning at the University of the Built Environment and Vice-President-elect of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
• Dr Elanor Warwick, Head of Strategy, Policy, Evidence and Research at Clarion Housing Group, the UK’s largest social landlord.

Sources of ‘Sustainable Housing UK’ topics discussed:

1. UK Government’s New Towns proposal

2. Clarion Housing Group Annual Report

3. Annual UK Fuel Poverty statistics - 2024

4. Energy Efficiency of Housing in England and Wales: 2025

5. The Guardian article on increases in housing Service Charges

Presenter: Mike Speight
Guests: Dr James Ritson, Cecilia Pesce, Jordan Turner
Jingles by: Matthew Smith, Programme Leader BSc Real Estate Management

Traditional brickmaking produces over 1.3 billion tonnes of CO₂ each year — more than the entire aviation industry. So should we cling to the comforting warmth of brick, or finally face up to the environmental cost of our most familiar building material?

In this episode of the University of the Built Environment's BE Sustainable podcast, presenter Mike Speight explores one of the built environment’s most provocative questions: Should we bin the brick?

Mike is joined by:

Dr James Ritson, Programme Leader for MSc Innovation in Sustainable Built Environments at the University of the Built Environment — who argues the problem isn’t how we make bricks, but whether we should use them at all.

Cecilia Pesce, Principal Research Engineer at earth4Earth — pioneers of a carbon-storing brick designed to turn waste soil into a climate-positive material.

Jordan Turner, Senior Lecturer at the University of the Built Environment, whose PhD examined sustainability in the housing sector and the policy barriers preventing greener construction.

Together, they tackle some of the key questions at the heart of the low-carbon construction debate:

• Can innovation make bricks part of a net-zero future, or are we stuck with a carbon-heavy habit?
• Why are sustainable alternatives like hempcrete still treated as niche?
• Are regulations, costs and cultural attachment to the 'look' of brick holding us back from genuine progress?

Hear Jordan Turner describe the M&S Cheshire Oaks project built with hempcrete and why developers struggle to use similar materials today. Listen as Dr James Ritson challenges the very necessity of brick, while Cecilia Pesce reveals how her team’s carbon-storing bricks transform waste into a building block for a circular economy.

From carbon emissions and cultural identity to policy, price and perception, this lively debate delves into the future of how we build - and what it will take for sustainable materials to move from pilot projects to mainstream adoption.

Click play to hear the full discussion and decide for yourself: Should we bin the traditional brick?

Office buildings account for a huge share of global carbon emissions - yet the pathway to decarbonisation is rarely straightforward. In this episode, we explore why tackling emissions from the workplace is one of the most urgent challenges facing real estate, and how organisations can turn strategy into action.

Our guest, Mary Pothitou, is a leading real estate sustainability expert and ESOS Lead Assessor with an Engineering Doctorate focused on small power use and working practices in office buildings. She has advised businesses across sectors - from data centres to telecoms - on how to save energy, drive sustainable practices, and decarbonise their operations.

Mary takes us inside the complex realities of decarbonising office space: the scale of the challenge, why a step-by-step approach is essential, and how different building types, materials, and user behaviours complicate the process. We also discuss the difficulties of applying standardised frameworks across diverse portfolios and the trade-offs organisations must weigh when deciding which properties to upgrade or retain.

Adding academic insight, Dr Pippa Boyd from the University of the Built Environment (UBE) joins the conversation, emphasising how sociotechnical issues and everyday behaviours shape outcomes. Together, they make the case for embedding decarbonisation into every conversation in real estate.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1f8ZO5eWa6Jsv37sithlHx?si=8c5e9c5e5a484c97

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-14-why-decarbonising-office-buildings-is-critical/id1524980861?i=1000728424495

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R8wnRtRHU8

Sustainability is one of the defining issues of our time – but how much is it really shaping career choices, client decisions and the future of the built environment?

In the latest episode of the BE Sustainable Podcast, Student Officers for Sustainability, Kian Bruney and Jake Wright, join Mike to share their perspectives as early-career professionals navigating the sector. Speaking from their own experiences, they explore what first sparked their passion for sustainability, how it influences their day-to-day work, and what they hope the industry will achieve in the years ahead.

Listen to the podcast via:

• Apple Podcasts: Episode 13: The Next Generatio… - University of the Built Environment - Apple Podcasts
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yeXYK1mcq6gmrC6w6b6Yj?si=CaXJ388CRSGyRphcd1zHBQ
• YouTube:

The topics discussed in this episode include:

• How much did sustainability and the built environment feature when considering a career path?
• What made Kian and Jake so passionate about sustainability?
• How does sustainability influence decision-making in their work?
• To what extent can they and their employers influence clients on sustainability?
• What do they hope to see in the future – and how far away are we from achieving it?
• How can the sector attract more talent like theirs?

Guests

Kian Bruney
Kian is based in Saint Andrew Parish, Dominica. He is an Architectural Technician for Enviroplus Consulting INC, and is currently studying BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying. He serves as one of the University’s Student Officers for Sustainability.

Jake Wright
Jake is an Apprentice Quantity Surveyor studying the BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying route. He works for Dadson and Butler, a surveying firm based in Amesbury, England, and is also one of the University’s Student Officers for Sustainability.

Inclusivity and diversity are core principles of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, with the promise of “leaving no one behind.” But is the built environment doing enough to fulfil this ambition, or is it struggling to leave behind its old ways?

In the latest two-part episode of the podcast, Dr Chrissi McCarthy joins Mike to take us through her experience and impressions of the built environment, both as a practitioner and as an EDI specialist.

Listen to the podcast via:

- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ucem/id1524980861
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Czk2mZlZmknjUZfwLmLTa
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/universitycollegeofestatemanagement

The topics discussed in this episode include:

- How do you support an organisation that wants to make a genuine difference in its EDI?
- What advice do you have for professionals that could be waiting a long time to find the ideal inclusive employer to work for?
- Are you seeing a brighter future in business culture? Do you think there are better times ahead?


Guests

Dr Chrissi McCarthy

Chrissi is the Managing Director at the Centre of Behavioural Equality (COBE), a consulting service that aims to set the standard for data and context-driven EDI by bridging the gap between research, practice and employee experiences. Chrissi has a background in construction, having worked in a variety of engineering and management roles early in her career. She eventually shifted her focus into EDI, and has held roles and memberships in a range of institutions in the sector including the Chartered Institute of Building and the Construction Industry Council Diversity Panel.

Inclusivity and diversity are core principles of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, with the promise of 'leaving no one behind'. But is the built environment doing enough to fulfil this ambition, or is it struggling to leave behind its old ways?

In the latest two-part episode of the podcast, Dr Chrissi McCarthy joins Mike to take us through her experience and impressions of the built environment, both as a practitioner and as an EDI specialist.

Listen to the podcast via:

- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ucem/id1524980861
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Czk2mZlZmknjUZfwLmLTa
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/unibuiltenvironment

The topics discussed in this episode include:

- How do you support an organisation that wants to make a genuine difference in its EDI?
- What advice do you have for professionals that could be waiting a long time to find the ideal inclusive employer to work for?
- Are you seeing a brighter future in business culture? Do you think there are better times ahead?


Guests

Dr Chrissi McCarthy

Chrissi is the Managing Director at the Centre of Behavioural Equality (COBE), a consulting service that aims to set the standard for data and context-driven EDI by bridging the gap between research, practice and employee experiences. Chrissi has a background in construction, having worked in a variety of engineering and management roles early in her career. She eventually shifted her focus into EDI, and has held roles and memberships in a range of institutions in the sector including the Chartered Institute of Building and the Construction Industry Council Diversity Panel.

What is our action plan for phasing out concrete? Mike interviews Martha Dillon, writer and policy researcher, about her research into the use of concrete in construction. Why do we continue to use a material we know is harmful and exploitative?

Listen to the podcast via:

- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ucem/id1524980861

- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Czk2mZlZmknjUZfwLmLTa

- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/universitycollegeofestatemanagement

The topics discussed in this episode include:

• The environmental, health, ecological and political impact of concrete
• Why are we so reliant on concrete?
• Why can't we just ban concrete?
• Are there more viable sustainable alternatives to concrete?

Guest Martha Dillon

Martha Dillon is a writer and policy researcher specialising in housing, land and the climate crisis. She graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering, before starting her own critically-acclaimed print magazine, It’s Freezing in LA!, and working in policy and research roles at the Greater London Authority, think tanks and Buro Happold Engineering. She writes regularly for the Architectural Review and Architect’s Journal, and currently works at C40 Cities, a global network of 96 major cities.