Rain, Resilience, Collaboration and Inspiration at UKREiiF 2024

Rain, resilience, collaboration, inspiration, were all in abundance at this year’s UKREiiF. With attendees hailing from practically every region and organisation in the property and infrastructure sector, networking was in full swing and there was such a dynamic variety of perspectives and expertise to learn from that it was hard to choose our stand out moments, but here are a few that shone out:

Most Insightful Panel Discussion – Creating the Right Team for Major Projects

A highlight for our team was the engaging panel session on creating the right team for major projects. The discussion offered numerous thought-provoking opinions on recruiting and retaining talent and building effective, high-performing teams. Louise Lado-Byrnes from IPI provided a compelling account of the IPI alliance contracting solution, addressing many of these challenges. Her presentation was so impressive that fellow panellist Jackie Sadek, Chair of the UK Innovation Corridor, remarked, “Listening to Louise talk, I don’t know why she isn’t running the country.” With an election on the horizon, maybe we should start a campaign for Louise!

Emotive Focus on Mental Health

We were moved by a deeply personal presentation by Steve Kerslake, founder of Construction Sport, providing wellbeing support through the power of physical activity, at the Sir Robert McAlpine evening event. Steve spoke passionately about mental health in the construction industry, and his message was both powerful and necessary. It underscored the importance of taking action and providing platforms for such critical conversations.

Collaborative Local Solutions

A recurring theme throughout the event was the need for cross-agency collaboration to solve local challenges. Examples like the Springfield Village District Heat Network (STEPS) and the newly signed £500 million Worthing Heat Network, two projects which Artelia knows well, highlighted how pooling resources can lead to innovative and commercially viable solutions. Such cooperation is essential for structuring effective projects within the constraints of limited public funding and available private investment.

Big picture decarbonisation

The energy transition is one of the most complex challenges facing our society – we are seeking to transform a system that is essential for everyday life, while simultaneously ensuring that it continues to provide energy reliably and affordably. Decarbonisation for Artelia is increasingly focused on facilitating the development of new energy networks and we were excited to engage in some intense Conference dialogue around new energy networks, mobility, the UK’s nuclear supply chain, tidal power, interconnectors and the development of a hydrogen ecosystem – all working together to build a secure, home-grown energy sector.

UKREiiF 2024 yet again outshine other industry events for the quality of networking, diversity of attendees, the collaboration and exchange of ideas. Thank you to everyone who organised, attended and contributed to making it such a success. We’ll see you again next year and hope we need suntan lotion rather than brollies!