Why does the hospitality industry accept that perfectly good interiors will be ripped out and burnt or buried? It is a catastrophic failure to plan for a completely predictable outcome, and it costs developers, operators and the planet.

In this session, James Goldsmith of Sibley Grove joins Nick Harrison of Design Foundry and Gerry Byrne of Castlebrook to challenge the status quo. The panel will argue that Design for Disassembly (D4D) and designing for longevity are not idealistic ambitions but essential, commercially proven strategies. They will explore how simple changes; bolts instead of glue, quality materials instead of cheap laminates, modular systems instead of fixed assemblies, can reduce refurbishment costs by up to 40%, cut carbon by up to 75% and transform how hotels maintain and refresh their spaces. With real examples and hard numbers, this session makes the case that the industry's biggest waste problem is also its biggest missed opportunity.

The range of low-carbon and circular concrete solutions is growing rapidly  from novel binders and recycled aggregates to new design and specification approaches. Yet adoption on live projects often lags behind technical feasibility.

This session explores how developers, designers and contractors can bridge that gap and accelerate real-world delivery. Drawing on practical project experience, we will explore how guidance, carbon targets, collaborative risk-sharing and a strategic approach to innovation are helping to bring novel solutions into mainstream use.

38 Finsbury Square is a major retrofit delivering 52,000 sq ft of future-ready workspace in the heart of London. The project is defined by an ambitious and genuinely holistic sustainability brief, balancing environmental performance, social value and commercial viability. Alongside targeting BREEAM Outstanding, enabling WELL Platinum and progressing through the IDR process towards a NABERS target, the project is a pilot for the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard and adopts a comprehensive materials passport framework. L&G has also embedded clear social value requirements within contractor procurement.

In a volatile and uncertain market, the underwriting process is often undertaken when limited information is available about the true cost and risk implications of future modernisation, decarbonisation and certification requirements.  

This session explores how design teams can better support investors during underwriting by translating incomplete early-stage data into meaningful, robust analysis. It will examine how designers can align more closely with investment priorities, balancing speed, accuracy and flexibility to inform decision-making at a critical point in the acquisition process: 

How are assumptions are formed, stress-tested and communicated? 

How can design insight help quantify risk around capital expenditure, compliance and long-term asset performance?  

Drawing on real project experience, the panel will consider how collaboration between design and investment teams can improve confidence in underwriting models, even when information is constrained highlighting practical tools, workflows and mindsets that enable design teams to add maximum value, ensuring underwriting decisions are better informed, more resilient and aligned with long-term asset strategies. 

As the industry accelerates towards low‑carbon delivery, the tension between cost and carbon is reshaping project value.

Version 1 of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (the Standard) was published in March. It lays the groundwork for formal, independent verification that will go live in Q2 2026, allowing buildings to undergo rigorous assessment and formally demonstrate Net Zero Carbon Alignment. 

Updates to the Standard include new Annexes covering landlord- and tenant-only routes to verification, and an optional verified check at Practical Completion to determine whether a building is on track. 

This session will cover:

2 Finsbury Avenue is a 38‑storey, 106,000 sq m development set to

Chairperson

Marion Charlier, Central Engineering Lead - Arcelor Mittal

Speakers

Matthew Webster, Head of Sustainability - British Land

Ollie Wildman, Director - Buildings - Ramboll

Kathryn Castledine, Senior Sustainability Manager - Sir Robert McAlpine

Jonathan Davis, Technical Director - William Hare Group

David Chapman, UK Sustainability Lead - ArcelorMittal

One Exchange Square reimagines a 1980s office building and demonstrates how novel methods can be used to expand commercial floor space on a large-scale cut & carve project whilst minimising carbon impact. The whole building has been redesigned to deliver healthier working environments with roof terraces, interior planting and a diversity of uses contributing to a revitalised whole.

The project delivers a substantial 11-storey, 7.5m extension above London Liverpool Street Station without foundation strengthening, avoiding the significant embodied carbon associated with new basements and deep piling. An exoskeletal transfer truss and hanger system redistributes loads back to the retained structure, enabling 94% structural retention by volume, prioritising flexibility and material efficiency. Preloading the structure and removing it as the facade was installed minimises movement of the cladding system.

Investor approaches to greening real assets span a wide spectrum—from doing the bare minimum to comply with regulation, to deep retrofits designed to meaningfully reduce climate impact. This session explores what truly matters to investors across this range of ambition and how differing priorities shape capital allocation, asset design, and operational decisions. We examine how owners, developers, lenders, and asset managers weigh cost, risk, return, and reputation when assessing sustainability strategies, and how these considerations translate into real-world outcomes for the built environment.  

The discussion will also tackle: