29 June 2022 Retrofitting for the future: Net zero for existing building stock How crucial is retrofitting to meeting net zero targets? How can the scale and speed required be best achieved? Here are some of the things we learned during our recent webinar.
25 May 2022 Agricultural transformation: Can agritech solve our sustainable food problem? Are we entering the golden era of crop science? Can agritech solve our sustainable food problem, increase productivity and help farming withstand hostile and extreme weather? Here are five things we learned from our recent webinar.
13 May 2022 Building better cities: Five trends in the use of data for social good City stakeholders have always used data and information about people and activity to help make decisions to boost economic growth, productivity, welfare and health. How are new technologies, innovation and approaches being used to improve social good?
31 March 2022 Construction in the Middle East: Creating a healthier contracting environment The Middle East construction industry weathered the COVID pandemic well, but persistent causes of disputes proved troublesome. How can the construction industry create a healthier contracting environment?
07 April 2022 Net zero: A five-point guide for cities Climate change is fast becoming a key strategic objective for cities. But how can cities transition from aspiration to action and overcome the challenges of achieving net zero? Here are five things we learned during our recent webinar.
16 December 2021 Superstar cities: Unlocking the untapped potential of Africa’s urban centres Far from homogenous, Africa is a vast and diverse continent. Though some cities make strikingly outsized economic contributions, African cities are often overlooked en bloc. How can Africa’s urban centres realise their undoubted promise?
15 December 2021 Do you know where your infrastructure project is? In this webinar in partnership with ESRI, the panel discuss how integration is especially critical for large and complex infrastructure programmes and projects.
15 December 2021 Operating in uncertain times: How can the construction industry adapt to a ‘new normal’? The world is striving to resume normal service following the depths of the COVID-19 crisis. What measures can the industry take when operating in these uncertain times? How can it move away from damaging and divisive practices?
09 December 2021 Biodiversity: five lessons in cohabiting with the natural world The twin-crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are becoming more widely recognised as two sides of the same challenge. How can countries balance development with safeguarding the natural habitat?
08 December 2021 From documents to structured data: Can cost and performance data transform construction? In this webinar in partnership with ASITE, the panel discuss that unstructured documentation acts as a drag on productivity and efficiency. New ways of processing data, such as the higher dimensions of BIM, provide numerous advantages to a documentation-heavy construction industry. Improvements in cost benchmarking, completion time, and ESG performance are some of the benefits digitalisation bring
07 December 2021 Lowering embodied carbon: five trends in building design and construction To achieve net zero in the built environment, it is essential that embodied carbon is reduced. But as many low carbon materials are still far from widely available, taking consistent action now seems both costly and infeasible. How should we think about lowering embodied carbon in construction, what are the complexities and what strategies exist to reduce it right now?
23 November 2021 EU Fit-for-55 & Green deal: fit-for-buildings? The sense and nonsense of an Emission Trading Scheme In this European webinar, the panel discuss the inspiration from the success of the EU Emission Trading Scheme for the manufacturing and energy sectors, Fit-for-55 is a new legislative package proposed by the European Commission to reduce carbon emissions from fuel use in transport and buildings.
23 November 2021 Beyond Net Zero – Fossil fuel free by 2050? The technology exists, and politicians seem to be heeding societal pressure. So, what is needed to accelerate the decarbonisation drive? We recap the main points from our recent webinar.
10 November 2021 Circling the square – the possibilities and promise of a circular built environment In this webinar a panel of global experts and local leaders in sustainability and the circular economy will discuss the possibilities and promise of this exciting agenda. With awareness of the need to embed circular economy principles growing around the world, this webinar will equip you with the insights you need to play your part in delivering a sustainable future.
06 October 2021 FM 2030: Automation, jobs and the future of Facility Management To mark the release of the Drees and Sommer RICS European Facilities Management Provider Report 2021 this webinar will look at the future of the FM industry in the age of digitalisation.
13 October 2021 Sidewalk Labs and Toronto Waterfront: Five lessons for smart, innovative city building Launched to great fanfare in 2017, Sidewalk Labs Toronto Waterfront was supposed to mark a new era of intelligent and sustainable design. Three years on, the project was prematurely shut down. How can the Sidewalk Labs misadventure inform smart city strategies and solutions globally? We share five lessons.
15 September 2021 Towards more Intelligent Cities Intelligent cities upskill workforces, create new businesses and use new technology to drive forward the sustainability and resilience agenda. Is this the future of smart, sustainable urbanisation?
04 August 2021 The office is dead, long live the office: PropTech’s golden opportunity Five things we learned from our recent webinar.
20 July 2021 How are EU sustainable finance policies impacting the built environment sectors? Our most recent European WBEF webinar took place on the eve of the EU's "FitFor55" launch. The initiative targets a 55% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, and forms just one part of a much larger suite of continent-wide sustainability legislation. But questions remain as to whether these legal frameworks adequately support the bloc's decarbonisation ambitions.
09 June 2021 Resilient urban design for climate risk mitigation Urban climate adaptation isn't just about finding new solutions for new problems. In many cities, the biggest threat posed by planetary warming is the exacerbation of age-old risks and inequities.
01 June 2021 Is Europe ready for the circular economy? Sustainable, ESG compliant procurement can reduce organisational carbon footprints, encourage sustainability in the value chain and reduce costs. Isn't it time that it became mainstream practice?
17 May 2021 Global Commercial Property: The state of the sector in three graphs The quarterly RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor charts sentiment across the sector. Here we analyse the findings of the Q1 2021 survey. After the difficulties of the last year, are expectations on the rebound?
07 May 2021 The first 100 days: What can Joe Biden do for the environment? 100 days into his Presidency and Joe Biden has re-joined the Paris Agreement and pledged to halve carbon emissions by 2030. The mood music coming from the Oval Office has been encouraging; is this early momentum sustainable?
06 May 2021 The first 100 days: Five real estate investment trends in Joe Biden’s America Real estate investment priorities are changing in America. After 100 days of Joe Biden's presidency, what has changed, what are the tailwinds encouraging investment and what headwinds are still to come?
05 May 2021 Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan: Is America ready to level-up? President Joe Biden has committed to making infrastructure renewal the bedrock of sustainable growth in America. What is the scale of the challenge and is his administration equal to it?
20 April 2021 Can public transport recover from the COVID-19 pandemic? Panellists on our recent WBEF webinar were unanimous in their belief that public transport will recover. Post-pandemic, mass transit networks may look and feel different, but many of the changes will be for the better.
31 March 2021 Construction project benchmarking: Six lessons from the COVID-19 vaccine development programme Big pharma was able to do in ten months what most had predicted would take five years. What where the factors which led to this extraordinary leap in project efficiency, how can benchmarking play a role, and what lessons are there for the construction industry?
17 March 2021 Construction in the Middle East: Conflict causation, avoidance and resolution During a recent WBEF webinar, we partnered with HKA to look at disputes in the Middle East construction sector. Here’s a flavour of what we learned.
22 February 2021 You Asked Us: Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for the global construction sector? Is the industry primed for a ConTech breakthrough? What will the post-COVID-19 international client look like? You asked us during our recent webinar covering the results of the most recent RICS Global Construction Monitor. Here, two of our expert panellists respond.
15 February 2021 You Asked Us: Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for the global commercial real estate sector? Will increased demand for data centres negatively impact jobs creation? What does the future hold for out of town shopping centres? Is the global economy primed to bounce back in the second half of 2021? You asked us during our recent webinar covering the results of the most recent RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor. Here, two of our expert panellists respond.
10 February 2021 You Asked Us: A foundation for impact investment in real estate Can investors really be expected to prioritise social, ethical and environmental concerns in the midst of this economic crisis? Are financial returns really the best means of measuring the value of assets in our more climate-conscious age? And why would anyone invest in office space at the dawn of a new era of dispersed and remote working? During our recent webinar Driving ESG in real estate , you asked us. Here, two expert panellists respond.
01 February 2021 Infrastructure 2021: Five key considerations for policy makers At this time of unprecedented fiscal distress, the world's most powerful economies must put infrastructure at the heart of their inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery plans.
11 December 2020 WBEF 2020: The year in review A month-by-month look back at what has got the WBEF community thinking this year.
02 December 2020 The $50 billion question: Why are construction disputes so common and so costly? HKA's CRUX Insights report has laid bare the staggering cost of conflict and delays in the global construction sector. The world is looking to the industry to help kickstart the global economic recovery in 2021, but is the industry equipped to deliver? Here's a look back at what we learned during last week's webinar.
25 November 2020 Can cities do more to promote active travel? What can be learned from the world's most walkable, runnable and cyclable cities?
16 November 2020 You Asked Us: What did we learn in Q3 2020 about the commercial property market in Europe and North America? Which markets have displayed resilience through the traumas of the year so far? Will the crisis see rents tied to tenant cashflows moving forward? And are there any reasons for cheer in the retail sector? Our expert panellists answer your questions.
11 November 2020 Are driverless cars still the future of urban mobility? In 2016, a Business Insider Intelligence report predicted that, by 2020, there would be 10 million autonomous vehicles on the world's roads. As the year draws to a close, that figure looks wildly inaccurate. Why has progress stalled?
03 November 2020 EU Renovation Wave: A green investment fit for the future? The EU Renovation Wave is an ambitious programme aiming to double the rate at which the bloc's existing building stock is renovated. It promises to cut emissions, boost the COVID-19 recovery, create jobs and reduce energy poverty. Without cross-sector collaboration, these promises may remain unfulfilled.
28 October 2020 The economics of infrastructure and the post-COVID-19 recovery 77% of WBEF community members believe that governments should prioritise infrastructure as a means of stimulating economies hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis. But significant barriers remain to the delivery of much needed projects – across the developed and developing world. Here’s what we learned from our recent webinar.
14 October 2020 What if…the global construction industry adopted a common data standard? A common data standard could go a long way to improving the productivity, efficiency and profitability of the construction industry. The case for such a standard is commercial, environmental, ethical and, perhaps most importantly, in the public interest.
07 October 2020 The regeneration conundrum: Urban renewal without gentrification What does inclusive regeneration look like? How can local communities be empowered to lead on the renewal of their home neighbourhoods? And what are the giveaway signs that regeneration has mutated into gentrification? Here are the key points from our recent webinar.
23 September 2020 Who will develop the city of the future? Across the world, cities of all sizes are wrestling with the climate emergency, affordability concerns, liveability shortfalls and public health issues. Those prepared to continuously innovate will be best placed to succeed.
16 September 2020 What if…all public buildings had to maintain social distancing for the next five years? Social distancing has inspired various changes to our daily lives. Some have been behavioural, some technology based and others relate to our use of space. But, by their nature, most of these measures are temporary and based on an assumption that the pandemic will be short-lived. But what if that assumption were to prove incorrect?
09 September 2020 Four reasons why: Decarbonising historic buildings is not straightforward Heritage buildings are monuments to the richness and diversity of history, and constitute vital cultural assets. As the need to reduce carbon emissions across the built environment intensifies, professionals must strike a delicate balance between conservation and environmentalism. Last month, we brought together four expert practitioners from across the world to discuss the challenge.
07 September 2020 Social value of infrastructure: Seven case studies – Part 1 Embedding a social value offer into infrastructure delivery can be challenging, but these case studies show that it is possible. Today, a royal garden, a world heritage site and two sports stadia.
11 August 2020 You Asked Us: How is the global commercial property market weathering the Covid-19 downturn? The RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor is leading indicator of conditions in the sector around the world. Following our webinar on the findings of the Q2 surveys, RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn took the time to answer some additional questions submitted by attendees.
18 August 2020 You Asked Us: How is the global construction and infrastructure sector weathering the COVID-19 downturn? The RICS Global Construction Monitor is leading indicator of conditions in the sector around the world. Following our webinars on the findings of the Q2 surveys, RICS Senior Economist Sean Ellison took the time to answer some additional questions submitted by attendees.
19 August 2020 Food security in a warming world: Key points from our recent webinar How can the global food supply chain be futureproofed against geopolitical shocks and extreme natural events? Can production processes be optimised for higher productivity and lower emissions? And how might technology provide a solution?
05 August 2020 Return to the office: Five reasons why data and tech are crucial to workplace re-entry Countless businesses have already embarked on a phased return to the office, with many others readying to follow suit. While fears of a second wave of Covid-19 infections persist, thoroughly safety assured workplaces, and clearly communicated employee safety measures will be key to any successful transition. The effective and imaginative use of data and technology will be centrally important.
29 July 2020 The liveable city: Five reasons why the events of 2020 can make cities safer, smarter and healthier In this year of severe disruptions, the liveability of cities has taken on added importance. The lessons learned from this annus horribilis could make cities more resilient.
07 July 2020 The future of informal settlements in the developing world Roughly one-quarter of the world’s population lives in informal settlements. Are slums, shanties and favelas an inevitable by-product of urbanisation?
30 June 2020 Airport infrastructure in the post-pandemic world The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on international travel is well explored. Airports will not emerge unchanged from the disruption.
29 June 2020 Investible, inclusive, resilient: Infrastructure in the post pandemic world Earlier this month, WBEF joined Marie Lam-Frendo, CEO of Global Infrastructure Hub, to discuss the central role of infrastructure in global economic recovery efforts.
24 June 2020 Five reasons why we need to talk about overtourism According to the European Parliament, overtourism happens when "the impact of tourism exceeds physical, ecological, social, economic, psychological, and/or political capacity thresholds" in a place. Last week, Prof. Claire Colomb and Dr Edward Kung joined a WBEF webinar to explain what that means and how it manifests.
14 October 2020 Construction in Europe – What’s next for our society 1.5? The urge to reboot the global economy as lockdown conditions ease can't distract us from those challenges that pre-existed the pandemic. The drive towards a digital-ready, environmentally responsible construction sector must continue in our new normal.
17 June 2020 Digital transformation in the construction sector The challenges facing the construction industry are myriad. Flat productivity, failures to recruit and retain talent, and poor collaboration throughout the supply chain have hamstrung the sector for a generation. Each is, in some way, a reflection of a larger problem: failure to fully embrace the potential of digitalisation.
11 June 2020 Measuring the financial impact of climate change: You Asked Us Last month, over 300 people joined our webinar, sponsored by PwC, on the future financial impact of climate change. Here, our expert panel answers some of those questions submitted by attendees that they were unable to cover during the session.
22 May 2020 Covid-19 and the European workplace The Covid-19 crisis has asked huge questions of the FM profession. The industry has responded admirably.
21 May 2020 Covid-19 and the European logistics sector The greatest effect of the pandemic may be the acceleration of trends already apparent in the logistics sector.
20 May 2020 Covid-19 and the European residential property sector Across Europe, the residential property sector has demonstrated resilience through the early stages of lockdown. The crisis may even present the opportunity to extend housing supply and inspire new design norms better adapted for future pandemic events.
19 May 2020 Covid-19 and commercial real estate investment risk in Europe Although it’s still too early to make confident predictions, we are seeing some early indicators of how the post-Covid-19 investment landscape will look.
18 May 2020 Covid-19 and the European construction sector Near-term prospects for the construction sector are challenging, but the Covid-19 pandemic may bring about a sustained period of modernisation.
11 May 2020 You Asked Us: How is the global commercial real estate market holding up? Last week, we ran a series of webinars on the findings of the RICS Global Commercial Property Monitor. Due to time constraints, we were unable to field all questions submitted by attendees. Here, RICS economists Simon Rubinsohn and Sean Ellison address a selection of those that went unanswered.
29 April 2020 High streets and the new retail landscape Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the high street was in distress: structural and social shifts have combined to drive increasing volumes of sales online. Will the pandemic compound existing challenges, or could it provide the sector with an unlikely lifeline?
15 April 2020 Covid-19 and the European economy: Black Swan or Grey Rhino? The fast-moving nature of the Covid-19 outbreak means many short-term conclusions rapidly become outdated. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t devise long-term preventative strategies.
14 April 2020 Covid-19 and the Asia Pacific economy: First in, first out? Experts from WBEF Premier Partners Colliers International ponder how China might lead Asia Pacific – and then the world – out of the economic crisis.
14 April 2020 Covid-19 and the UK economy: A long road to recovery? Those hoping for a V-shaped recession may be disappointed.
08 April 2020 Water security: A very 21st century problem Cities must leverage their influence to ensure water, the most precious of all resources, is used responsibly and shared equitably.
25 March 2020 Innovation is inclusive: How clusters continue to work Previous understanding of clusters as hubs for enabling companies to increase productivity has evolved. Recasting the modern city as a type of cluster could be key to unlocking the potential of the global economy.
26 February 2020 Age-old problems: Housing the elderly Across the developed world, mainstream housing stock is failing the needs of ageing populations. As life expectancies continue to increase, the so too must accessibility and mobility standards.
29 January 2020 Financing a sustainable world Green bonds are rapidly growing in popularity around the world. Over US$ 230bn worth of bonds were issued globally during 2019 and issuance is expected to reach record levels in 2020. While they have the potential to transform the way green projects are valued and financed, the absence of a common language on what qualifies as “green” is a crucial hinderance.
13 December 2019 A geospace odyssey With better understanding, regulation and analysis, geospatial data can drive economic and sustainability gains across the built and natural environment.
25 November 2019 Building the $15 trillion bridge According to Global Infrastructure Hub estimates, the shortfall in projected funding for vital infrastructure projects will reach US$15 trillion by 2040. This gap cannot be bridged without the commitment of private capital.