The CIBSE Climate Adaptation and Resilience Conference welcomed professionals from across the built environment to explore the challenges posed by a changing climate and the strategies needed to create more resilient buildings, infrastructure and communities.
Held at The Building Centre in London, the conference reflected CIBSE’s leadership in climate adaptation and resilient cities, bringing together experts from engineering, consultancy, policy and the wider built environment to share knowledge, practical approaches and real-world experience.
The programme explored how the sector can future-proof infrastructure, protect communities and support sustainable urban transformation through innovation, collaboration, policy and engineering excellence.
From strategic direction to practical action
The conference opened with a welcome message from headline sponsor Ramboll, followed by a keynote from gold sponsor Qvantum.
The first session, Strategic Direction & Industry Adoption, examined the strategic vision, policies and practical actions needed to accelerate climate adaptation across the built environment. Speakers Dr Julie Godefroy, Philippa Birch-Wood and Tim Munday discussed how resilience can be embedded across the sector through leadership, standards and collaboration, as well as the importance of adopting future-focused approaches.
The second session, Climate Risk & Sector Readiness, explored the current climate adaptation landscape and the key risks facing the built environment. Chaired by Dimple Rana, Associate Director at Arup, the session brought together Dr Clare Heaviside, Serra Ardor and Susie Diamond to examine areas including overheating, flooding, moisture and water resilience, alongside emerging priorities and gaps in sector readiness.
Advancing resilience in practice
The third session, Advancing Climate Resilience in Practice, was hosted by the CIBSE Resilient Cities Group and focused on practical approaches to understanding and assessing climate risk.
Chaired by Dr Bahareh Salehi, Vice Chair of the CIBSE Resilient Cities Group, the session featured Abishek Tiwary, Dr Bahareh Salehi, Chris Medland, Herman Calleja and Professor Darren Woolf.
Speakers explored the tools, frameworks and methodologies supporting resilience planning, as well as how climate adaptation can be integrated into building design and operation. Discussions also highlighted the importance of cross-sector collaboration and the need to scale resilient solutions across different building types, supported by consistent standards and guidance.
Learning from real-world projects
The final session, Case Studies in Climate Adaptation and Resilience, showcased examples of climate adaptation in practice across new-build, retrofit, heritage and complex building projects.
Chaired by Martin Kemp, Strategic Insights Manager at BRE, the session featured Gita Maruthayanar, Gwilym Still and Sameer Pethe, who shared lessons from real-world projects and explored how teams are responding to future climate scenarios.
The case studies demonstrated the practical challenges of applying technical guidance and designing for resilience while balancing performance, practicality and the specific requirements of different building types.
Building a more resilient future
Across the conference, discussions highlighted that climate adaptation requires action at multiple levels, from strategic policy and industry leadership to building design, operation and retrofit.
By bringing together expertise from across the built environment, the conference provided an opportunity to share approaches, identify challenges and consider how collaboration, innovation and consistent guidance can help accelerate climate resilience.
The event reinforced the importance of preparing buildings and communities for the climate risks of today and tomorrow, while ensuring that adaptation is embedded as a fundamental part of creating a sustainable and resilient built environment.
CIBSE would like to thank Ramboll and Qvantum for their support, as well as all the speakers, chairs, delegates and contributors who helped make the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Conference a success.
See all the photos from the event HERE