Beyond Net Zero: who carries the risk, who builds the future, and how do we get there?
Scotland’s construction sector is at a turning point. While Net Zero 2045 has provided a vital call to action, it has also exposed deeper challenges around risk, skills, inequality, and delivery that can no longer be ignored.
Our New Future: Redefining Risk, Regeneration and Resilience brings together leading voices from finance, policy, materials, public delivery, and retrofit to explore what it will really take to deliver a sustainable and equitable built environment — beyond targets alone.
Hosted by New Future Construction School, in collaboration with Friends of the Pipe Factory, Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA), and the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP), this panel discussion asks a critical question:
How can Scotland’s built environment move beyond Net Zero to build a future that works for people, places, and the planet — and ensure the workforce is equipped to deliver it?
The event will examine how climate and environmental risk is currently understood and managed in construction, why existing systems struggle to support innovation and regeneration, and how education and skills must be treated as core infrastructure in the transition to a low-carbon future.
This event is for educators, policymakers, built environment professionals, employers, community groups and anyone interested in how Scotland can align climate ambition with real-world delivery.
Speakers include:
Sandy Trust - Director of Sustainability Risk, Baillie Gifford
Karen S. - Associate Director Scottish Futures Trust
Mark Lynn - Chair ASBP - Alliance for Sustainable Building Products | Managing Director Thermafleece British Wool Insulation / Eden Renewable Innovations
Gemma Bone Dodds - Director of Insights and Policy Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (on secondment from The Scottish National Investment Bank)
Cypren Edmunds - Project Coordinator Sustainable Traditional Building Alliance | President European Straw Building Association