BE Sustainable Episode 7: Stop Playing it Safe with Safety, Pt.2 - with Dame Judith Hackitt and Marc Fleming Artwork

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BE Sustainable Episode 7: Stop Playing it Safe with Safety, Pt.2 - with Dame Judith Hackitt and Marc Fleming

January 28, 2025 • UCEM

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 Judith Hackitt and Marc Fleming, and together they dive deeper into how this lack of uniform identity is playing out in the industry today.

This episode explores the challenge the sector faces in balancing the demands of clients, the requirements of regulation and the needs of end users, and how the latter should be at the forefront of all construction and build environment professionals’ minds.

The topics discussed in this episode include:

- Does the built environment understand its purpose and its responsibility? And if not, what is this purpose?

- How do we balance the demands of the client with the needs of society, all whilst conforming with regulation?

- How can we encourage the sector to think more about the end user?

- Is it possible to bring about broad, holistic change in the sector?

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

Guests:

Dame Judith Hackitt

Dame Judith is a chemical engineer by training. Spent her early career working in the chemicals industry, both in manufacturing and as an advocate for the industry at national and international levels. She's a former President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Throughout her career, she has championed the importance of engineering and delivering solutions which provide benefits to society, and has been a role model, particularly for young women wanting to enter the profession. From 2007 to 2016, she was chair of the UK's Health and Safety Executive, and in 2017 conducted an independent review for the UK government into building regulations and fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Since publishing her final report in 2018, she's continued to press for regulatory change and for industry culture change, and a recommendation for radical reform of the regulatory system received royal assent in the Building Safety Act 2022.

Marc Fleming

Marc is Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Architectural Design Technology programme at UCEM and a Chartered Architectural Technologist. He has extensive experience in industry, secondary, further and higher education, teaching and management, as well as running his own consultancy practice. Additionally, he's a member of the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange. He's actively involved in a range of working groups and networks, all of them supporting the transformation of industry and skills and training opportunities.