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University of the Built Environment (formerly known as UCEM) is the leading provider of supported online education for the built environment. Tune in for discussions about the real estate and construction industries, as well as insights into what it's like to study with UCEM and conversations with the institution's students, alumni, supporters and staff. Find out more at ube.ac.uk
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Are the construction and property industries 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, wo...
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 ...
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, presen...
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...
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...
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 Podc...
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 Podc...
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 ...
Is our sector doing enough to cater for people with accessibility needs? Almost a quarter of the UK’s population have a disability, yet the buildings we live, work and play in are still far from accessible and inclusive in their design and operation. To explore this topic further, Adrian Tagg, Lead for Building Surveying at the University of Reading, joins us for a two-part episode informed by his extensive research into built environment accessibility. Listen to the podcast via: - ...
Is our sector doing enough to cater for people with accessibility needs? Almost a quarter of the UK’s population have a disability, yet the buildings we live, work and play in are still far from accessible and inclusive in their design and operation. To explore this topic further, Adrian Tagg, Lead for Building Surveying at the University of Reading, joins us for a two-part episode informed by his extensive research into built environment accessibility. Listen to the podcast via: - ...
The built environment comprises a diverse and exciting range of sectors, but there is still a lack of representation at every level. We want this to change. ‘Be Part of the Change’ aims to celebrate the incredible success stories of our under-represented students, apprentices and alumni, as well as highlighting their challenges. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the positive practices our employers are actioning within their organisations to inspire other companies in their approach. The ...
For all the emphasis our sector places on shiny new tools and materials, we'll only be able to realise a sustainable built environment if we successfully engage one thing: people. In the latest two-part feature of the BE Sustainable podcast, Mike Speight is joined by Jenny Davidson and Sheri-Leigh Miles, co-hosts of the Sustainability Sprints podcast. With their expertise they explore the challenges of embedding and operationalising sustainability at both an organisational level and across th...
For all the emphasis our sector places on shiny new tools and materials, we'll only be able to realise a sustainable built environment if we successfully engage one thing: people. In the latest two-part feature of the BE Sustainable podcast, Mike Speight is joined by Jenny Davidson and Sheri-Leigh Miles, co-hosts of the Sustainability Sprints podcast. With their expertise they explore the challenges of embedding and operationalising sustainability at both an organisational level and across th...
The built environment comprises a diverse and exciting range of sectors, but there is still a lack of representation at every level. We want this to change. ‘Be Part of the Change’ is an awareness campaign with the purpose of celebrating the incredible success stories of our under-represented students, apprentices and alumni, as well as highlighting their challenges. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the positive practices our employers are actioning within their organisations to inspire ...
In the third instalment of our three-part feature with Jason Ratcliffe, TedX Organiser, founder of The Home Health Expert and alumni of UCEM, we turn our attention to major challenge fuelling the wellbeing crisis in the built environment – the skills gap. Together with our host, Mike Speight, the two explore how our sector can do a better job attracting more young people to professions like architecture, construction and real estate, and what the next generation should look for and expect fr...
Do we understand the impact the built environment has on our physical and mental health? Jason Ratcliffe, TedX Organiser, founder of The Home Health Expert and alumni of UCEM, doesn’t think so. For part two of our three-episode feature with Jason on the BE Sustainable Podcast, we take the previous episode’s topic of the built environment’s impact on wellbeing and explore it on a national scale. What does building well actually mean, and how can wellbeing be implemented through regulation in...
Do we understand the impact the built environment has on our physical and mental health? Jason Ratcliffe, TedX Organiser, founder of The Home Health Expert and alumni of UCEM, doesn’t think so. In the first of this three-part feature of the BE Sustainable podcast, Jason joins our host, Mike Speight, to dive into the relationship between human health and the buildings we inhabit, and how this remaining unexplored is affecting our daily lives. The topics discussed in this episode include: -...
The built environment comprises a diverse and exciting range of sectors, but there is still a lack of representation at every level. We want this to change. ‘Be Part of the Change’ is an awareness campaign with the purpose of celebrating the incredible success stories of our under-represented students, apprentices and alumni, as well as highlighting their challenges. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the positive practices our employers are actioning within their organisations to inspire ...
Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower Fire that claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017, the disappointing blame game that has arisen in the built environment has delivered one sobering home truth – the lack of accountability, leadership and responsibility in the sector. This latest, two-part feature of the BE Sustainable follows on from our previous conversation with UCEM’s Vice Chancellor Ashley Wheaton on the purpose of the built environment. This month, Mike Speight is joined by Dame Judi...
Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower Fire that claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017, the disappointing blame game that has arisen in the built environment has delivered one sobering home truth – the lack of accountability, leadership and responsibility in the sector. This latest, two-part feature of the BE Sustainable follows on from our previous conversation with UCEM’s Vice Chancellor Ashley Wheaton on the purpose of the built environment. This month, Mike Speight is joined by Dame Judi...
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