PAS 2080 Roadshow, South West: decarbonising infrastructure and sharing best practice

Dr Stephen Allen

Dr Stephen Allen is an associate professor in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath.  His research and teachings focus on measuring sustainability in design and engineering, particularly use of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the development of construction products. He joined the University of Bath in 2018, having previously worked as the scientific adviser on energy at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and as a senior consultant and then director of energy and environmental consultancies in industry. He is also a recipient of the George Stephenson Prize (IMechE, 2008) for LCA of wind power. 

Miranda Housden

As the South West director at the ICE, Miranda is responsible for raising the profile of civil engineering in the region, maintaining professional standards, encouraging a diverse future workforce and providing leadership and direction to the ICE South West team and more than 6,000 ICE members.

Prior to moving to the South West, she was the ICE director for London and South East England, having previously been the London director for the Royal Institute of British Architects. Miranda has produced a number of films including Engineering the London Underground, Engineering Plymouth and Engineering Happiness for which she was awarded the Institution of Civil Engineers Garth Watson medal.

Alongside her ICE role, Miranda is chief executive officer for the South West Infrastructure Partnership.

Mark Hansford

Mark Hansford is the director of engineering knowledge at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He plays a crucial role in shaping the knowledge content for civil engineering professionals.

With over 20 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Mark began his career as a practicing engineer with Atkins, where he worked on water supply and distribution projects both in the UK and internationally, including a major study in Ghana.

At ICE, Mark is actively involved in strategic initiatives like Project 13, which aims to promote collaborative and sustainable approaches to infrastructure delivery.

Alice Searle

Alice covers the South West for the civil project sector for Milestone. She has over six years' experience of both minor engineering and sustainability in the highways maintenance and civil engineering sector.

Alice has particular focus and passion on driving low(er) carbon solutions, keeping up-to-date with ever evolving innovations, and most recently delivered a 17% carbon reduction on a project in Wiltshire.

Professor Colin Taylor

Colin is emeritus professor of earthquake engineering at the University of Bristol. He is an ICE policy Fellow for sub-national infrastructure decarbonisation, and is champion of the South West Infrastructure Partnership’s net zero route mapping activities. He has over 40 years' research and practice experience on the impacts of natural hazards on all kinds of infrastructure systems.

Nicole Turley

Nicole is a sustainability professional who has worked in the highways maintenance and civil engineering sector for over eight years. She has been involved in the A382 project during tender and ECI stages supporting with environmental compliance, ecology, and carbon, and is now the Milestone lead for this Live Labs project.

Janet Young

Dr Janet Young joined the ICE as director general and secretary in January 2023.

She has extensive experience in the built environment sector, having most recently worked in the Cabinet Office where she was head of the Government Property Profession, leading the profession and driving the agenda for the property and estates function.

She has also been global director of estates for the British Council, director of estates for the Ministry of Justice, and head of asset management in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

She is a Major Projects Leadership Academy graduate of the Saïd Business School, and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Royal Engineers, and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Her PhD, Towards Zero Energy Buildings, looked at the challenges and solutions for low carbon and energy developments.

Lara Young

Lara joined Cromwell Property Group in January 2023 after working in the construction and engineering industry for over 10 years. As Head of ESG, she works on further developing Cromwell’s existing ESG framework and aligning the ESG strategy with the business’s overall strategic objectives.

Prior to joining Cromwell, Lara was the driving force behind establishing and implementing Costain’s Climate Change Action Plan, which set out a detailed 15-year plan to transition to a net-zero organisation by 2035. She was most recently shortlisted as 2023 Net-Zero and Energy leader of the year at the edie sustainability awards (winners to be announced in March) and was named 2022 Young Person of the Year by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and Energy and Carbon Leader of the Year at the 2021 edie Awards. Lara has been the Chair of the Carbon Champion Review Panel since May 2021.