ICE Strategy Session: BSI Flex 350: decarbonising concrete, our most used material

Prof Jim Hall

Prof Jim Hall is a trustee of the ICE and until recently, held the carbon and climate portfolio.

He’s a professor of climate and environmental risks at the University of Oxford.

His research specialises on risk analysis for water resource systems, flooding and coastal engineering, infrastructure systems and adaptation to climate change.

Prof Hall is a member of the UK prime minister's Council for Science and Technology and is a commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission.

He was a member of the UK independent Committee on Climate Change Adaptation from 2009 to 2019.

He led the development of the National Infrastructure Systems Model (NISMOD), which was used for the ICE’s influential National Needs Assessment and for the UK’s first National Infrastructure Assessment.

Prof Hall invented, and now chairs, the UK Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI).

Among various distinctions, Hall was awarded the ICE’s George Stephenson Medal in 2001 and the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water in 2018.

He was a contributing author to the Nobel Prize-winning Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Michal Drewniok

Michal is an assistant professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds.

His background is in civil engineering, and he holds PhD in concrete technology. Michal has worked at the University of Cambridge and the University of Bath on projects centred on making better use and reuse of steel in construction, the role of material efficiency in building conception and design in construction and ways to achieve carbon reduction targets in UK construction.

In 2022 Michal joined the University of Leeds as Research Fellow in Transforming Foundation Industries and was co-I of the TransFire HUB. Currently, Michal is a co-I in ICEC-MCM as well as being involved in a few Innovate UK projects on innovative SCMs. Since 2019, Michal has been involved in the work of the UK LCCG, is a co-author of the Low Carbon Concrete Routemap and is a coordinator of the Resource Efficiency in Construction and the Built Environment (RECBE) Forum.

Rachel Skinner CBE

Andrew Mullholland

Andrew is the managing director of AMCRETE UK, which provides concrete technology support and advice to many clients within the construction industry across the country. Andrew is a Chartered Construction Manager and a member of the Institute of Concrete as well as holding the position of chair of the Low Carbon Concrete Group since early 2020.

Andrew regularly lectures for the Chartered Institute of Building, reviews papers for the ICE and works with Concrete producers, clients and Contractors advising on concrete related investigations and solutions as well as introducing new and emerging cement technologies to contribute to driving down the industries carbon emissions.

Athina Papakosta

Athina is an experienced sustainability professional with structural engineering background, currently leading on sustainability and carbon for SCS (Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture) delivering civil engineering works for a large railway infrastructure project in the UK (HS2 London Tunnels).

She has a 12-year track record in environmental sustainability for the construction industry, including carbon and further environmental impact assessment and reporting, strategic direction and target setting for optimised sustainability performance, advisory on impact mitigation solutions and practical implementation and coordination thereof, preparing and delivering training and briefings for various types of audiences on sustainability matters.

Areas of specialisation/focus include: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for construction, fit-for-purpose carbon quantification and meaningful reporting, sustainability consulting primarily on resource efficiency and carbon emissions, in-depth understanding of key aspects and environmental impacts of concrete, steel, timber and energy & fuels, impact-oriented engagement with supply chain and integration of sustainability in procurement and contract delivery.

Lead author of the 1st edition of the RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) guide, co-author to the 2nd one covering infrastructure assets and overall emissions reporting and active contributor in Concrete Zero, BECD for infrastructure, the UK and European standardisation committees for sustainability assessment for construction works (BSI B/558 & CEN/TC350) and other forums, presenting and publishing. 

Natalie Bird

Natalie is passionate about tackling the climate emergency head on through developing and implementing climate mitigation plans.

She works on integrating carbon management into the investment planning process through improving carbon modelling capability, implementing PAS 2080, collaboratively exploring lower carbon solutions to challenges and developing net zero plans. 

Natalie is also building a community of climate change practitioners across her organisation and supporting the development of Mott MacDonald's climate change service offerings through the Global Climate Change Practice.

Gareth Wake

Gareth is the director of the British Ready-Mixed Concrete Association (BRMCA) at the Mineral Products Association (MPA). His main focus at the MPA is promoting ready-mixed concrete as a sustainable and resilient construction material as well as supporting sector working groups and academia to help enable their work to be applicable to industry and standards.

He a member of the LCCG, the Chair of the BSI committee for Concrete (B/517), the sub-committee for Concrete Production and Testing (B/517/1), and convener and technical author for the specification of concrete (B/517/1/20) which includes BS 8500.

He is also the head of delegation to CEN/TC 104 and TC 104/SC 1 on behalf of BSI and represents the UK on the editorial panel for EN 206, the Technical and Sustainability committees of ERMCO (European Ready-Mixed Concrete Organisation), and the Technical Committee of Concrete Europe. 

Richard Kershaw