CIBSE has announced that Fiona Cousins FCIBSE has been appointed as its new President.
Cousins has held several senior roles at Arup and is currently chair of the company’s Americas Region, which includes more than 2,000 members across 16 offices.
In this role, she has contributed to critical climate legislation and held advisory roles, including her appointment to the advisory board for Local Law 97, which requires large buildings in New York City to meet progressively demanding energy efficiency targets from this year onwards.
As Arup’s America’s chair, Cousins has led numerous award-winning projects and been recognised as a leading figure in the commercial real estate industry, said CIBSE.
The new president’s vision for CIBSE includes building on the traditional view of building performance by putting more emphasis on occupant wellbeing, air quality, acoustic performance, and resilience to climate change.
She said: ‘Much of the work of building services engineers has been very sharply focused on energy use, where the relationship with climate change has long been clear. It’s time to broaden that view to put more emphasis on other things. We spend most of our lives indoors, and buildings can support our wellbeing through air quality, acoustic performance, lighting design, or environments that support biophilia.’
Cousins takes over the presidency from Adrian Catchpole and said his efforts to promote STEM Ambassadors in schools and certified practice initiatives will continue to be a priority for CIBSE under her leadership.
She also extended ‘heartfelt’ thanks for Catchpole’s ‘significant contributions’.
