Visionary Leadership

Visionary leadership can drive a sustainable construction industry

Meaningful change has to come from the top in any organisation. As we head towards the UK’s 2030 Net Zero deadline, business leaders across all sectors are being asked to engage with the shift towards a more sustainable, circular economy.

And, speaking as someone who’s spent over 30 years in the construction sector, it’s fair to say that nowhere is the need for strong leadership more urgent than on our own home turf.

Creating a better built environment must now be front and centre of the boardroom agenda, given what we now know of the negative impact that aspects of the built environment are having on the world around us.

The status quo is no longer fit for purpose. The traditional ‘business-as-usual’ mindset that has characterised our sector for so long simply won’t wash, given the regulations that lie ahead and the demands of Net Zero just around the corner.

Any resistance to change must be replaced by purpose-driven organisations whose sights are trained on a sustainable, regenerative construction industry.

Not an easy ask, I grant you. We are unlikely to see startling changes overnight. The construction industry faces many sector-specific challenges, including intense competitive pressures, legal implications, insufficient supply chains and the implications of the energy crisis. Small wonder that the idea of dealing with profound change ahead is a daunting prospect for many.

Many construction firms are now, frankly, playing catch up in terms of meeting imminent regulatory demands and rapidly changing customer requirements. That’s particularly the case with smaller businesses which comprise some 80-90% of the industry.

Yet I personally am optimistic about the industry’s ability to rise to the occasion – and the opportunities that will mean for growth. Where there’s a wall, there’s way, you might say. Specialists in the built environment are known for their creativity and adaptability. What’s essential is having leaders with the vision to create the positive culture needed – both within their own organisation and sector-wide – to make a sustainable, regenerative construction industry a reality.

At Lumybel, we help leaders lead the charge. A new construction business consultancy and practitioner, we support construction clients, contractors and specialist contractors as they embrace ESG as a driver for business improvement and growth.

We work closely with leadership teams to support them in creating purpose and value through construction, with sustainability and the circular economy sitting right at the heart of their business and strategy.

We help our clients define their purpose, create a sustainable business plan and ensure these goals are fully implemented across the company’s entire operations, at every stage from initial design to the choice of supply chains and contractors.

We also support leaders in growing their own skill sets in terms of sustainability, so that they grasp the nature of the challenges and have the insights needed to create resilient, future-fit projects. If you want to win hearts and minds when it comes to a sustainable, circular economy, that is the way to do it.

It’s not purely about the leaders, of course. Nor is it just a matter of ensuring a handful of the largest construction businesses get their house in order. It’s also about the vast numbers of small and medium sized firms within the industry understanding what they need to do next, how and when. Larger firms with greater resources can lead by example, demonstrating best practice, sharing expertise, spreading the message, showing smaller organisations how it’s done.

Get this right and we’ll all be winners. The more collaboration there is across the industry, the greater the cooperation beyond with Government and the regulators, the closer the goal of a sustainable construction industry becomes. And that really will be for the benefit of us all.