Sustainability
A call to action
Andy Evans CEng FCInstCES, President
OUR industry faces a challenge: How do we address the immediate and longer-term effects of climate change and develop more sustainable ways of working. No doubt you’re already aware of (and possibly helping to shape) plans that your own organisation is taking to reduce its environmental impact.
Now, I’m asking all of you to provide your invaluable expertise and experience to help us make a meaningful contribution. We’re producing a white paper, to clarify unequivocally how both geospatial and commercial can interpret and apply the four main topics that are defined in our Sustainability Strategy 2021-2030.
These are as follows:
- Carbon (embodied and emitted);
- Social (including the work of EDI);
- Circular economy; and
- Waste.
The ultimate goal is to put in place a digital plan for sustainability that works – for not only CICES members but for our clients too. We want this white paper to benefit related parties, such as clients and legal teams, for example. This will position CICES as ‘the people measuring sustainability’ – effectively quantifying relevant factors like:
- Vehicle tracking;
- Positions of materials; and
- On-site elements
The document will be chaired by myself as president, with the support of co-sponsors, Dave Bennett and Andrew Thompson. While the three of us can draw on considerable combined experience in both geospatial and commercial, we need to hear more voices. I’m asking you – regardless of your membership, discipline, organisation, gender, age or any other factors – to get involved. Sustainability is an issue that affects us all and it will determine the future of our profession probably more than any other single factor.
How can you contribute?
To shape the structure and create the content for this white paper, we will need working groups. These will be formed of people who are keen to get involved in advancing this discussion in a meaningful manner – no bandwagonism or greenwashing. And if you can’t commit to a working group, you can still contribute information on your own (or your organisation’s ) best practices.
Your input, whether you already sit on a committee or panel, or as an individual member or non-member will be invaluable. It can be anything from full participation in a working group, to a simple email or phonecall to share your initial thoughts in response to this call to action. We need to know what you think, for the sake of our future.
Andy Evans CEng FCInstCES President
If you want to be involved or share your thoughts on this initiative, please register your interest with Matt Haigh at CICES HQ at mhaigh@cices.org