Adrian Catchpole, left, and Kevin Mitchell
Engineers have never been more needed to provide creative solutions to the challenges presented by climate change and building safety, according to CIBSE’s new president Adrian Catchpole. In his presidential address at the CIBSE AGM , Catchpole highlighted the need to deliver an ‘urgent’ response to the challenges. He told his audience at the Royal Society: ‘ We must help move the built environment from being a signifi cant contributor to global emissions to being an exemplar of how to reduce them. Each one of us needs to step out of our comfort zone … and commit to “taking a lead”.’
Catchpole, who succeeds Kevin Mitchell as CIBSE President, announced initiatives aimed at attracting young people to the industry, improving engineers’ competencies, and increasing collaboration across industry. He launched a STEM Ambassador Scheme to match engineers with secondary schools and a new CIBSE Chartered Organisation Programme that will enable organisations to demonstrate competence. Catchpole also highlighted CIBSE’s lead role in developing the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard.
