Sustainability white paper - your contribution

By CICES president Dr Andrew Evans

Our industry faces a challenge: how to address the immediate and longer-term effects of climate change and develop more sustainable ways of working.

No doubt you’re already aware of (and possibly helping to shape) plans that your own organisation is taking to reduce its environmental impact.

And now I’m asking you, as a member of CICES, to provide your invaluable expertise and experience to help us make a meaningful contribution.

We’re producing a white paper, to clarify unequivocally how both geospatial and commercial can interpret and apply the four main topics as defined in our Sustainability Strategy 2021-2030.

These are as follows:

• Carbon (embodied and emitted)
• Social (including the work of EDI)
• Circular economy
• Waste

The ultimate goal is to put in place a digital plan of works for sustainability that works - for CICES members and for our clients.

We want this white paper to benefit related parties, such as clients and legal teams, for example.

This will position CICES as ‘the people measuring sustainability’ – effectively quantifying relevant factors like:

• Vehicle tracking
• Positions of materials
• On-site elements

The document will be chaired by myself as President, with the support of co-sponsors Dave Bennett and Andrew Thompson.

While the three of us can draw on considerable combined experience in both geospatial and commercial, we need to hear more voices.

I’m asking you - regardless of your discipline, organisation, gender, age or any other factor - to get involved.

Sustainability is an issue that affects us all and will determine the future of our profession probably more than any other single factor. 

How can you contribute?

To shape the structure and create the content for this white paper, we will need working groups.

These will be formed of people who are keen to get involved in advancing this discussion in a meaningful manner - no bandwagonism or greenwashing.

And if you can’t commit to a working group, you can still contribute information on your own (or your organisation’s) best practices.

Your input, whether you already sit on a committee or panel, or as an individual member, will be invaluable.

That can be anything from full participation in a working group, to a simple email or phonecall to share your initial thoughts in response to this call-to-action.

We need to know what you think, for the sake of our future.

 

Andy Evans CEng FCInstCES, president

 

If you want to be further involved or share any thoughts on this initiative, please register your interest with Matt Haigh C/O CICES HQ.